WSP08059

• File Number: 8507
• Description: Rio Grande Project
• State: CO
• Basin: Rio Grande
• Date: 9/1/1978
• Title: Main Report - Water and Related Land Resources Rio Grande Basin Colorado part 2
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

market values of an AUM, but estimate the wholesale vqlues of
livestock sold by ranchers and feeders.) With a total annual
value of $3,645,000 for red meat produced, the grazing industry
on Federal lands plays a major role. The total inventory
values (not sales) of all cattle and sheep as of January 1,
1969 and 1974 in the entire basin are noted in Table V-9 as
19 million and about 55 million dollars for cattle and calves
and about 3.7 and 3.4 million dollars for sheep and lamb
respectively.

Lamb production for meat is locally the most important use of
sheep. A federal subsidy on wool is helping many operators
and allowing them to continue production. Most livestock
operations combine sheep and cattle, with flock sheep being
the most popular locally. There is significant range grazing
activity that takes place on forests during the summer and
southward into New Mexico during the winter months.

Several problem areas in the local and national sheep industry
serve to explain its rapid decl ine in importance. They are as
follows: the industry is particularly short of capable and
dependable herders and shearers; high costs for product
processing; large losses of stock throughout the basin due to
lack of predator control, particularly coyotes; and consis-
tently low prices, competition from synthetics, and high
import quotas tend to stagnate the wool market.

3. Forest-Related Products

Forest-related products are those outputs commonly associated
with forest environs. Included here are timber, grazing,
recreation and game wildlife and fish. Other forest-related
values are not easily quantified, but have considerable social
values. These would include esthetics, wildlife, and water
quality and flow regulation.

Timber harvested in the Rio Grande Basin during 1974 amounted
to some 29 million board feet on all ownerships, most all of
it coming from national forest land. The average 1974 market
value of the lumber of all species was $175 per thousand board
feet, creating a total market value of over $5 mill ion for
lumber and wood products manufactured from the 1974 harvest.

495,000 visitor days occurred in the developed campgrounds on
National Forest lands in 1974. Total expenditures (outlay)
(Table V-10) amounted to nearly 6.0 mill ion dollars for
developed recreation (although not a true measure of value)
indicating the importance of this activity in the basin.

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