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<br />for agricultural projections which were based on series E <br />population estimates, but compensated for changes In export, <br />domestic consumption, and crop yield patterns. <br /> <br />The population estimates of the E series through a five-decade <br />period beginning in 1976 is seen as: <br /> <br />Decade Midpoint <br />(year) <br /> <br />1980 <br />1990 <br />2000 <br />2020 <br /> <br />U. S. Population <br />(million people) <br /> <br />223.5 <br />246.0 <br />263.8 <br />297.1 <br /> <br />The higher series C estimates show a U. S. population of 400 <br />mill Ion by year 2020. <br /> <br />Given projected national demands under each series, these were <br />disaggregated to each geographic area and assigned an allocation <br />of this demand for each series. WRC's Principles and Standards <br />advise the determination of alternative plans for a basin's <br />ability to meet its allocation under each projection. This <br />was not the case for the Rio Grande Basin; it could not meet <br />its allocation under the lower series E' projections and, <br />therefore, it would have been futile to attempt to meet any <br />higher projected demands. <br /> <br />Not all problem-related projected demands or allocations, such <br />as for wilderne~s, could be ascertained directly from OBERS. <br />In those cases allocations were determined from other sources <br />available and correlated to OBERS population estimates. Also, <br />some demand factors cross-cut more than one problem area. For <br />instance, crop production demand projections encompassing <br />numerous individual crops are affected by many of the iden- <br />tified problems in Chapter III. In those cases related <br />problems and demands were grouped. <br /> <br />Obviously, many environmental conditions escape quantification. <br />Situations of that nature were verbally described as what <br />would be ideally environmentally preferred. In some cases, <br />such as for forest environs, several environmental qual ity <br />Indices were developed, each involving a spectrum of related <br />parameters. <br /> <br />The environmental quality evaluation system developed for <br />federal forest and range lands of the Rio Grande is produced <br />on a scale of zero to one hundred--the higher the index value, <br />the better the environmental quality. These quality indices <br /> <br />003418 <br /> <br />V-28 <br />