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<br />PRELIMINARY DRAFT - SUBJECT TO CHANGE - 05/13/99 <br /> <br />capacity. Local planning officials believe that there is a long term demand for additional <br />industrial park space in the area [Roser; Crane]. The Southern Ute Indian Reservation <br />may have an opportunity to develop its own industrial park in the area near Durango, and <br />thereby provide additional space to meet the growing demand. Although the Tribe owns <br />some land in the Animas River Basin a few miles south of Durango, they may wish to <br />purchase land closer to town. Assuming an industrial park with 500,000 square feet of <br />office, light industry and warehouse space, the water use would be approximately 40 acre- <br />feet per year [Billings and Jones, p.16]. <br /> <br />D. RECREATION AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT SCENARIO <br /> <br />Both reservations are located in a scenic area that is a popular tourism destination. The <br />proximity of the Southern Ute Indian Reservation to Durango would allow the <br />Reservation to take advantage of the established flow of tourists and help draw visitors to <br />Reservation facilities. One possibility is for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe to purchase <br />land overlooking Ridges Basin Reservoir and build its own resort hotel complex, including <br />a 300 room hote~ conference center, 18 hole golf course and casino. The hotel would use <br />about 30 afy, assuming 75% occupancy, 2 people per room and 60 gallons per person per <br />day [EPA, p. 23]. The golf course would approximately 520 afy, assuming 140 irrigated <br />acres, 2.6 acre-feet per acre [Water Wiser], and 70"10 application efficiency. A 50,000 <br />square foot casino would use approximately 10 afy, based on water use rates experienced <br />at other casinos. Finally, assuming 10% of diversions are used for miscellaneous <br />purposes or are lost in transmission [Wilson and Lucero, p. 11], the total water use <br />associated with this complex would reach approximately 620 afy. <br /> <br />The Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation is further from the Durango tourist area than is <br />the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. The Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation, <br />however, is adjacent to Mesa Verde National Park (Mesa Verde was carved out of the <br />Ute Mountain Reservation), and additional, less popularized Anasazi ruins are within the <br />Reservation itself. The Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation may have an opportunity to <br />establish a tribal visitor center, with a 300 room hotel and 18 hole golf course, to cater to <br />visitors who are drawn by the unique collection of ancient sites in the area. Similarly to <br />the characteristics of the hotel and golf course hypothesized for the Southern Ute Indian <br />Reservation, we would expect water use to be approximately 30 afy for the hotel and 520 <br />afy for the golf course. Adding in miscellaneous uses and transmission losses, total <br />diversions for the Ute Mountain Ute hotel and golf course would be about 610 acre-feet <br />per year. <br /> <br />E. ENERGY DEVELOPMENT SCENARIO <br /> <br />Both reservations lie in the northern portion of the San Juan Basin, which is a structural <br />basin that underlies northwestern New'Mexico and southwestern Colorado. The Basin <br />contains large reserves of coal, oil and gas, and is the location of many operating coal <br /> <br />3 <br />