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<br />The total watershed area is 1,918 square miles (1,227,520 acres) <br />with 758 square miles in Sublette County, 91 square miles in Fremont <br />County, and 1,069 square miles in Sweetwater County. Included in the <br />Big Sandy Unit is a noncontributing area named Sublettes Flat lying <br />directly north of the lower reach of the Big Sandy River. <br /> <br />The Big Sandy River and its major tributary, Little Sandy Creek, <br />originate at elevations of about 13,000 feet mean sea level (msl) in the <br />Wind River Range of the Bridger National Forest. These streams flow in <br />a southwesterly direction--coming together within the irrigated area of <br />Eden Valley near the community of Farson. From this confluence, the <br />Big Sandy River continues southwesterly for another 26 miles before <br />entering the Green River. <br /> <br />The BR withdrawal area comprises approximately 90,000 acres. <br />area is approximately 21 miles long in a north-south direction and <br />7 miles wide (east-west direction). The upper north end of the <br />withdrawal area encompasses the Big Sandy and Eden Reservoirs. <br /> <br />The <br />about <br /> <br />LAND USE AND OWNERSHIP <br /> <br />The Eden Valley Project comprises 18,370 acres of water-righted <br />lands. Detailed investigation indicates approximately 15,700 acres are <br />presently being irrigated. The principal crops grown in order of <br />acreage are alfalfa, other hay, pasture, and small grains. <br /> <br />Some 68 percent of the watershed is national resource lands <br />administered by the BLM. About 15 percent is national forest land <br />administered by the Forest Service and about 9 percent is BR withdrawals <br />for agricultural purposes. The remainder of 8 percent is equally <br />divided between private and state ownership. <br /> <br />The major land use is range or pasture lands which constitute <br />1,096,970 acres or 89.0 percent of the total watershed area. The <br />forested land of the mountains total 74,600 acres of which 62 percent is <br />suitable for grazing by domestic livestock. The water-righted cropland <br />accounts for 18,370 acres or only about 1.5 percent of the area. No dry <br />cropland is currently being farmed in this area. Other land uses total <br />37,580 acres. <br /> <br />UJll53 <br /> <br />3 <br />