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The land use and ownership patterns today are probably a reflection on the early days of the <br />Colorado Cooperative Company. Mercer (1967) states that individuals were permitted water rights <br />on up to 40 acres for each share of stock, though it required several shares of water to adequately <br />irrigate 40 acres. Land ownership today is usually in 40 -acre parcels or multiples thereof. Years <br />of operations and management have resulted in most of the arable land that can be reached by <br />irrigation to be put into one form of agricultural production or another. This includes the majority <br />of First Park and a large portion of Second Park. Irrigation of potential farm lands on Third Park, <br />located across Coal Canyon north of Second Park has not been carried out because of a lack of <br />a water delivery system. The extension of the Colorado Cooperative Ditch across Coal Canyon <br />and onto Third Park would be prohibitive at this time in terms of engineering, construction <br />requirements, and cost (Mrs. Tom Garvey, personal communication, June 1987). <br />The areas of deeper, more productive soils within the permit areas are used for alfalfa hay <br />production, crops such as annual grains and corn silage, and irrigated pasture. Some of the <br />irrigated pasture contain areas of shallow soils or rock ledges and outcrops at or near the surface <br />(see Tab 6, Geology and Tab 7, Soils). This places restrictions on management and production. <br />Lands within the permit area are used for pasture rental, hay sales, as a pasture or hay base, and <br />support facilities for livestock run on adjacent private and Federal ground during the spring, <br />summer, and fall, or as hobby or retirement properties. The latter are used to produce some hay <br />or pasture for the few livestock owned by these operators. Farm ground on the western portion <br />of the permit area is used for production of grain, irrigated alfalfa or corn silage, some of which may <br />be sold as cash crops. Generally, these crops are fed back to livestock run by the operator. <br />Irrigated Cropland also occurs within the western portion of the permit area. One abandoned <br />orchard occurs within the permit area. Orchards established early after the establishment of Nucla, <br />were used principally for cash crop with a large portion of the production going to the mining <br />districts around Telluride. By the 1940s, the market demand was gone and the orchards were <br />abandoned (James Johnson, personal communication, May 1987). These orchards are no longer <br />managed and only local incidental use is made of them now. Some of these orchards may, at least <br />seasonally, be grazed along with adjacent irrigated pasture. Property ownership and vegetation <br />and production information for the permit area can be found in Section 2.03, (Legal, Financial, <br />Compliance and Related Information) and Section 2.04.10 (Vegetation Information), respectively. <br />Because of the proximity of the site to the town of Nucla, a small amount of residential use (outside <br />of the farmsteads) has occurred in the northeast and southeast portions of the permit area. Five <br />homesites occur in these areas and range from mobile homes to traditional permanently located <br />(Revised Sept 09) 2.04.3 -16 <br />