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system at Steamboat Springs. This downward trend in growth reversed itself in the mid- 1960's, largely due to development of two large electric generating stations at Craig and Hayden, and the related resurgence of the northwest Colorado coal industry. Both the power plants use Yampa River water for cooling. Later development reflects the rising importance of environmental and recreational uses, as well as the necessity of cooperative efforts and agreements. For example, Steamboat Lake was developed jointly by the Colorado Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation and proponents of the Hayden Station Power Plant. Elkhead Reservoir similarly was a j oint prof ect of the Colorado Division Wildlife and the Yampa Project Participants who operate the Craig power plant. Yamcolo Reservoir was developed for irrigation, but its ability to supply water in the upper Bear River was enhanced through an exchange agreement with the multi-use Stagecoach Reservoir. Table 1.1 Key Water Resources Developments Date Description 1939 Stillwater Reservoir 1956 Fish Creek Reservoir 1963 Crai Station Ditch and Pi eline 1964 Che enne Sta e I 1965 Steamboat Lake 1974 Elkhead Reservoir 1977 Lake Catamount c. 1979 Che enne Sta e II 1981 Yamcolo Reservoir 1988 Sta ecoach Reservoir 1996 Fish Creek Reservoir enlargement 2003 Hi h Save Reservoir There are no Federal projects in the Yampa River basin, nor are there any main stem reservoirs below Steamboat Springs. During the 1950's, the Bureau of Reclamation proposed a dam at Echo Park as part of the Colorado River Storage Project, which would have inundated 46 miles of the Yampa and a comparable amount of the Green River. Controversy surrounded the region for more than a decade until a compromise was reached, in which Echo Park was foregone, and Glen Canyon Dam was built without any formal opposition. - __. i' _•~ a ~7i ~" sue- ~._ ,r 1' .:. Yampa River Basin Infor~~It~p~ark i-4