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<br /> <br />Natural, Esthetic, and Cultural Resources <br /> <br />Many unique or outstanding large natural areas in the basin <br />have been preserved or are managed by the Federal Government. <br />These areas include scenic badlands, high mountain ranges, <br />mountain streams and canyons, alpine lakes, extensive coniferous <br />forests, lakes and marshes in the sandhill prairies, and several <br />unique landmarks and geological formations. Several outstanding <br />wilderness areas within the national forest system have been <br />preserved, and recently a number of grassland wilderness areas <br />were set aside as national refuge or monument lands. Several <br />national parks, including Glacier, Yellowstone, and Rocky <br />Mountain, provide extensive outdoor recreation. <br /> <br />Since the passage of the national Wild and Scenic Rivers <br />Act, increased attention has been given to qualifying rivers <br />within the basin as wild and scenic or recreational. Federal <br />efforts have been supplemented by State and private efforts to <br />acquire outstanding natural areas. In some cases the private <br />effort has been significant in filling in voids in Federal and <br />State programs. Cultural, historic, and archaeological resources <br />have also received Federal protection and interpretation, and <br />several outstanding sites have been acquired. <br /> <br />SOCIOECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS <br /> <br />PoPulation <br /> <br />In 1975, the population of the basin was estimated at 9 <br />million, or about 4.3 percent of the national total. Although <br />the basin's population has slowly increased since 1940, its <br />proportion of the U.S. population has declined, reflecting a <br />decline in small-scale farming and agricultural employment. <br /> <br />Fifteen Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSA's) are <br />currently designated in the region. Their locations are shown on <br />figure 4. They contained nearly half of the basin's total <br />population and 75 percent of its urban inhabitants in 1975. All <br />metropolitan areas in the basin have experienced population <br />increases since the 1930's. <br /> <br />Two trends csn be expected to influence future settlement in <br />the basin. First, population is expected to increase in those <br />urban areas near energy development sites. A second is the <br />increased preference of persons not engaged in agriculture to <br />settle outside of metropolitan areas. <br /> <br />-18- <br />