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. ;BJ'SALT PROJECT GENERAL DISCUSSIONS ~.' ~,~ ","" ",' ." ~t,,,,~ ( water. to increase livestock feed production have forced the livestock operators to reduce the size of their herds with resulting economic hardships. Development of the various resources of the area is interrelated in several wa,ys. Establisl>.ment of an adequate irrigation water supply would necessitate the expansion of service industries and public facilities. These developments would. in turn. increase demands for agricultural products. fuels. electrical energy, and other materials and services required for an expanding economy. Investigations and Reports Previous investigations . A plan to provide more irrigation "ater for the Cattle Creek area was outlined in the Bureau of Reclamation's Colorado River Basin Report of March 19li6 which inventoried potential reclamation developments in the entire Colorado River Basin. The Cattle Creek plan involved enlargement of the Missouri Heights Reservoir and enlargement of the reservoir feeder canal from Cattle Creek. Later studies showed. hm;ever. that runoff of Cattle Creek would be insufficient in many years to fill the additional capacity of the reservoir. Further reconnaissance plans for the development of the water resources of the Colorado River Basin above the mouth of the Gunnison River at Grand Junction. Colo.. were reported by the Bureau of Reclama- tion in its status report of February 1954 entitled, "Cliffs-Divide Proj- ect." A plan was presented for the Cattle Creek unit of the Cliffs- Divide project Which would increase the irrigation supplies for Cattle Creek and Spring Valley areas and for bench landS on Missouri Heights and Spring Valley benches. The plan involved the importation of water to the Cattle Creek drainage area and the regulation and distribution of the water for irrieation. The water would be imported from Cottonwood Creek. a tributary of the Colorado River; East Brush Creek, an Eagle River tribu- tary; and 15 small tributaries of Fryingpan River. The reconnaissance studies showed this plan to be questionable economically with a benefit- cost ratio of slightly less than unity. Means of providing water for the Sopris area were also investigated in connection with the Cliffs-Divide project investigation. Some major structures planned at that time have been constructed by private groups. Some of the structures do not have sufficient capacity to allow full development of the area and apparently some water exchanges required in the irrigation plan have not been made so that an adequate water supply is not available for all arable lands of the area. . 10