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<br />2.2 Mineral Resources
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<br />2.2 MINERAL RESOURCES
<br />The basin's geologic histOl)' has resulted in rich deposits of extractable petrolewn, coal, and non-
<br />fuel minerals (Figures 4 and 5) (Melancon et al. 1979, Roybal et al. 1983). The basin's coal fields are
<br />primarily found in New Mexico and Colorado and its oil and gas fields are concentrated in New Mexico
<br />and Utah. In the past, uranium was also heavily mined in Utah and in the southernmost portion of the
<br />basin in New Mexico.
<br />
<br />2.3 LAND OWNERSHIP
<br />The most recent compilation of land ownership statistics for the basin is from 1974 (Melancon
<br />et al. 1979, Roybal etal. 1983). In that year, 25% of the basin land was federally owned and administered
<br />by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the National Park Service (NPS), or the Forest Service.
<br />Non-Indian private property accounted for 13% of the land, and state and local governments owned and
<br />managed 3% of the basin's area. The remaining portion, nearly 60% of the land, was owned by four Indian
<br />reservations. The Navajo Reservation held 30,000 km2 in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah; the Ute
<br />Mountain Ute Indian Reservation owned 2300 lan2 in Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah; the Jicarilla
<br />Apache Reservation had 2485 km2 in New Mexico, and the Southern Ute Indian Reservation had 1214 km2
<br />in Colorado (Figure 1) (Melancon et al. 1979).
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<br />2.4 POPULATION
<br />Within the basin, small population centers are scattered along perennial river valleys and
<br />ephemeral. streams and arroyos, as well as at widely dispersed locations within the Indian reservations
<br />(fables 1 and 2) (New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission 1976). The principal mnnicipalities
<br />in the basin are Durango and Cortez in Colorado; Aztec, Bloomfield, Farmington, and Shiprock in New
<br />Mexico; and Blanding, in Utah.
<br />It is difficult to arrive at population estimates for the study area because basin and county
<br />boundaries do not coincide. In an analysis of a portion of the basin, Goetz and Abeyta (1987) compiled
<br />census statistics for that part of the watershed upstream from Shiprock and reported the 1950 population
<br />as 46,000. A population boom occurred, largely in the subsequent decade, and by 1980 the population had
<br />nearly tripled to reach 120,000 (Figure 6) (Goetz 1981).
<br />San Juan County, New Mexico, is the most densely populated area within the basin. By 1990, the
<br />COWlty'S population was 91,605, and New Mexico's total population within the basin was 107,381 (U.S.
<br />Depar1ment of Conunerce, 1992; Wilson 1992). At that time, approximately 62% of all New Mexicans
<br />in the basin were living in urban centers (Wilson 1992).
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<br />2.5 IRRIGATION
<br />Irrigated agriculture is present on the San Juan River plateau as part of the Navajo Indian Irrigation
<br />Project as well as in perennial stream valleys of the basin, while dJy farming is nearly nonexistent (Stone
<br />et al. 1983, Goetz and Abeyta 1987). Along the San Juan River there are currently five Department of the
<br />Interior (DOl) sponsored irrigation projects: the Hammond Irrigation Project, Fruitland Irrigation Project,
<br />Hogback Irrigation Project, Cudei Irrigation Project, and Navajo Indian Irrigation Project (NIIP) (Figure
<br />7) (Blanchard et al. 1993). Other irrigation projects within the basin include the Dolores Project, which
<br />transports water from the Dolores River to the San Juan basin to irrigate Colorado lands; the Pine River
<br />Project, which distributes Los Pinos River water, stored in Vallecito Reservoir, to lands located primarily
<br />on the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado; the Florida Project, located on the Florida River in Colorado;
<br />and the proposed Animas-La Plata Project, which if developed would irrigate Colorado lands using water
<br />from the Animas and La Plata rivers (U.S. Water and Power Resources Service 1981). No statistics are
<br />available for the total area of irrigated land in the basin.
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