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Show PART I INTRODUCTION Irrigation started in Utah's Uinta Basin with the establishment of the Uintah Indian Reservation in 1866. Non-Indian settlers began to ar- rive in 1877. In 1905, after the Uintah Indian Reservation lands were allotted to the Indians in severalty, the remaining lands were returned to public domain and opened to settlement. Settlement began during the same period in other areas of eastern Utah wherever water and land were available. Long irrigation seasons and fertile soil favored crop produc- tion in the southern Utah area. Flooding frequently destroyed temporary diversion structures, however, thus disrupting the water supply for the small parcels of land served. The earliest established communities in the region were isolated and, therefore, self-sustaining. Crops produced consisted of wheat, oats, corn, beans, and potatoes, but with the advent of better transportation methods and with the abundance of free rangeland close at hand, livestock production became the principal agricultural enterprise. Early irriga- tion systems were simple, consisting of rock and earth diversion dams with ditches to convey water to easily reached lands. In time, more so- phisticated irrigation systems were introduced, utilizing community ditches and small privately financed irrigation companies whose works diverted directly from the perennial streams. As streamflows became more fully utilized, it became evident that there was not enough water for late season use although there were usu- ally excess flows during early spring runoff. Near the end of the 19th century storage of water in reservoirs was initiated by irrigation com- panies and many small reservoirs were constructed. The "building of large reservoirs on major streams was generally too difficult and expensive for the irrigation companies. An increased number of these large and expensive projects have been financed and constructed during the past 60 years by the Federal Government. In recent years these projects have become more complex and multipurpose in use, providing for irrigation, hydroelectric power, flood control, fish and wildlife enhance- ment, outdoor recreation, municipal and industrial use, sediment control, and area redevelopment. By 1965, irrigation developments included the following projects: Grand Valley, Collbran, Uncompahgre, Paonia, Colorado- Big Thompson, Smith Fork, Fruitgrowers, Mancos, Pine River, Pine River Indian Irrigation, and Florida in Colorado; Eden Project in Wyoming; Moon Lake, Scofield, and Vernal Unit of the Central Utah Project in Utah; Nav- ajo (Dam), Hammond, and Hogback Extension Projects in New Mexico; and numerous small Indian and private developments throughout the region, comprising an additional 63,000 acres. Although the region has some 7 million acres of additional land suitable for irrigation development, there is insufficient water for all of this land. Additional water developments are planned to meet the growing demands of the region by providing more regulatory storage, fur- ther deve Lopment of ground water, greater use in pumping and transfer of water between drainage basins, and the possibility of increasing |