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Show to support and adjust the initial data. Yields attained during the 1966 season indicate the soils are productive under proper management. c. Eden Project The Eden Project is located in Sweetwater County, southwestern Wyoming, about 45 miles north of Rock Springs. Major physical features consist of the Big Sandy Reservoir (39,700 acre-feet) and the Eden Reservoir (7,500 acre-feet). There are 113 miles of canals and laterals to serve the project. The present project area under water right is 17,088 acres. Irrigation development was initiated in 1907 under the Carey Act, and rehabilitation was authorized in 1940 under the Water Conservation and Utilization Act of 1939, but work was stopped during World War II by order of the War Production Board. Work was resumed by the Bureau of Reclamation by the Act of June 28, 1949, with land improvement and settlement by the Department of Agriculture. Construction started in 1950 and was completed in 1960. First water was available through Bureau-constructed works in 1953. By contract dated June 8, 1950, the Eden Valley Irrigation and Drainage District assumed responsibility for repayment of construction cost of $75 an acre over a 60-year period with the remaining costs to be repaid from revenues of the Colorado River Storage Project. Operation and maintenance is being performed by the Bureau of Reclamation, using funds advanced by the District. Short water supplies in some years, short growing season, limited crop production, general economic conditions, and farm management have been factors limiting farm income. Rehabilitation and Improvement The Farmers Home Administration, Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, the Soil Conservation Service, and the Bureau of Reclamation have been active in improving adverse project conditions. The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives of the 87th Congress in House Report No. 1728 suggested the appointment of a Wyoming reclamation projects review commission to study all reclamation projects in the State of Wyoming. The report was published in 1963. The Bureau of Reclamation has been studying the review commission's report and the adverse situation on the Eden Project. 112 |