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<br />OS33J6 <br /> <br />CHAPTER I <br /> <br />GENERAL DISCUSSIONS <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />temperatures ranging from a minimum of about 350 F. below zero to a <br />maximum of 980 F. The average period between killing frosts (280 F.) <br />is 114 days and the average frost-free ~eriod (320 F. minimum) is <br />91 days. Freezing temperatures, however, have occu,rred every month <br />of the year. <br /> <br />Precipitation averages about 23.93 inches annually, 9.84 inches <br />of which occurs during the usual irrigation season, May 15 to September <br />30. The short cool summers preclude the growing of most of the cash <br />crops found in regions of lower al ti tude. <br /> <br />Temperature data for this report Here estimated by weighting data <br />collected at Pagosa Springs (elevation 7,108) and data collected at <br />Valleci"(;o Dam (elevation 7,650). Precipitation data were esti;ns.ted <br />from an arithmetical average of that recorded at Pe.gosa Springs, <br />Vallecito Dam, and Palisade Lakes weather stations. Palisade Lakes <br />station is at elevation 7,721. All climatological data were projected <br />to cover the period 1928 through 1954. . <br /> <br />Present Development <br /> <br />. Population <br /> <br />The project area is thinly populated as shown by the tabulation <br />below. <br /> <br /> 1930 1940 1950 <br />Pagosa..Springs 1,591 1,379 <br />Archuleta County 3,204 3,806 3,030 <br />Hinsdale County 449 349 263 <br />Mineral County 649 975 698 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />The decrease in the area's population from 1940 to 1950 can be <br />attributed to several causes. The lumbering industry has been cur- <br />tailed in the last decade because of the depletion of easily acces- <br />sible timbered areas. Many of the smaller ranches in the area have <br />been consolidated into large, highly mechanized ranches requiring <br />less hired help. Local residents, especially young people, have <br />tended to seek employment in more populated and industrialized areas <br />where better opportunities exist. Employment in the project area is <br />limited primarily to livestock raising, and the limited amounts of <br />water and irrigated lands make the area incapable of supporting a <br />larger agricultural population with a reasonable standard of living. <br /> <br />Local Industry <br /> <br />Agriculture is the basic industry of the project area with live- <br />stock being the major source of income. Sheep and cattle are the only <br /> <br />2 <br />