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Steps Urged To Redirect Colo. Growth By A..''DY ROGERS Denver Post Slaff Wrltff A report prepared for the Colora~o Rural Development Commission-{'umm- ing the state's rural growth and economla problems-suggests spending $300 millOD for tural development in five years 8,? redirecting 40 per cent of the stllte s growth to areas outside the Front Range. The -l7.page report. prepared b~ the Denver Research Institute of the uruversi- ty of Denver and released Saturday, s~g. gests methods of funding and controlling the state's growth. Doubling of Populotion The report warned that if trends eon- 'Unue tmehecked, the population. ~f the Front Range will grow to four million by 19!1O--3bout twice the present popul~tlon- while popublions in rural areas will con. I tinue to decline. . f The report is titled "Policy AnalYSIS or Rural Development and Growth Manage- ment in Colorado." "The present trends o~ ~omic a~ &ocial de\'elopment are disturbmg, partic- ularly for the rural counties," OM conclusion of the report reads. "If the trends are extrapolated, they 100'< "E!'Y. bleak. Yet under the present roIe;'\,..of ~ developmtnt game, that's the way ,,^,I('t..~ do is apt to be" Among the Items the report suggest! are an Integrated regional _Jnd stat, growth management. a rural ~~ve.lopment " p....~..rvalion of 'agncultural corpora lOn, ,....,... d ''pa land, a development ~ains .tax an .Y- as-you.grow" public fmancIng, a~d police powers and improved marketing pro- cesses to direct growth. I legislotion Urged The report notes that no single remedy will alleviate the problems of Colorado', rural counties. Rather. a combined and integrated approach is necessary, requlr~ ing legislation and perhaps some constitu-. tionalre\'ision. Two-thirds of Colorado's 63 counUes-all rural-are declining in population, the report slates. The counties witb the sharpest declines in POPUlation were marked with the most specialized economies, often agrfcunure and ranching, the report continued. I The report noted Olle "conspicuous lack" in state help 10 rural counties. That lack W33 Identified as "a set of growth I pnhcies" which would clartfy how stale agencies could "deal with decline and growth _ . ," 'Fragmentary' Policy State growth policy is often enWlCiated I in "route decisions 011 the interstate high. way system or in elrpansion of tWl>year colleges to four.year status." The report called such policy "fragmentary." The report outlined a "hierarchy of goals, policies and objectives for rural de.- velopment" for the state from 1975 to 1980. The objectives were broken down into three problem regions. The report recommended that the east. pm plains counties and southeastern see-- I tion of the state, Including the San Lui, Valley, be stimulated with at least 8000 new jobs. The 28 rural counties in 'the region are continuing to decline In POpula- tion and per capita wealtb and are ex- periencing severe poverty problems, the report staled. Northern Region , In the rapidly growing north-centraJ region of the state, including Routt, Jack~ son, Grand, Eagle. Summit and Pitkin Counties, "growth &hould be held to a rat& locally acceptable," the report continued. ."O"erspeclalization of the economy With total dependence on tourism and resort construction should be avoided." The report suggested that, to presen:e the aesthetic values essential for main. taining the recreation industry and to prevent the extreme conversion of agricul. tural land to other uses, land in the six counties should be policed and land purchased by the state to preserve its use. The report said that with no contrcls Continued on page 20. I ~ \I.\~\) Peron Merely 'a Soldier' In New Argenlina Regime Rm.lE-(AP)-Juan D. Peron, former Argentine dictator, says be is only "4 soldier" in the ranks of Argentina's presi~ dent-elect Hectot J. Campora. Campora was elected ~Iarch 11 and will take o\'er the government trom the ~ilitalJ' May 25. He was Peron's top 81de belore he ran for the presidency.