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Show PART viil RECOMMENDATIONS 6. An expanded land management program should be pursued through the existing land-administering agencies and private interests for purposes of coordinating future land uses and instituting land treatment and pro- tection measures. ?• Detailed land use studies of presently irrigated lands and addi- tional land classification surveys of potentially irrigable lands should be conducted to insure proper management and best use of the land and water resource for future developments. 8. Future needs of the mineral industry should be provided by: (l) reasonable access to mineral-bearing lands for both exploration and devel- opment purposes, (2) availability of dependable water supplies based upon competitive principles, and (3) the emergence of a government-industry "policy climate" that would encourage domestic minerals development, sup- ported by meaningful research efforts, and with due consideration to long- range social and environmental obligations of industry. 9» A flood damage reduction program should be adopted as a general guide for solving the flood problems of the region. The proposed possible solutions to the serious flood problems should be studied in detail and followed by timely implementation of appropriate damage reduction measures. 10. Balance among economic sectors should be sought in the planned economic development of the region. For instance, development of recrea- tional areas should be supported by related service-type needs of the industry. 11. A more comprehensive evaluation of the effect of regional water development and management programs in terms of production and utilization of labor and capital is needed. The region contains underdeveloped areas and areas of economic depression and in many cases an immobile work force. Providing jobs and income to those areas should be an important objective of the region and the nation. 12. Additional analyses of alternatives and assumptions should be conducted--particularly as they pertain to efficiencies of water use, alternative cropping patterns, alternative crop yields, level of water availability, agricultural production possibilities of food and livestock products for export (red meat), and alternative government agricultural programs. 13* The economic impacts of private or public investment in regional mineral resources development (oil, shale, coal, uranium, etc.) upon the rate and level of regional economic growth as measured in terms of employ- ment, personal income, output, and relative contribution to gross regional product should be analyzed in depth. 108 |
