Permanent settlement of this frontier region is approaching the end of a century, but only in small measure have the basin's bounties been applied to man's use. Present developments are indicative of future possibilities. A growing Nation and a world power is demanding full development and use of all its resources.

UPPER BASIN

Agriculture, particularly livestock raising, and mining are the principal industries of the upper basin. Oil refining, lumbering, transportation, trade, recreation, and construction are of lesser but growing importance.

Growth and distribution of population were discussed in chapter II. With its 1940 population of 286,450 distributed over 110,500 square miles, the upper basin's average of 2.6 persons per square mile is only one-seventeenth of the national population density. Sparse settlement and great distances between communities create special economic and social problems. Goods and services are more difficult to obtain and more costly than in thickly populated areas. A few ranch homes are 100 miles from medical, dental, and hospital facilities. Many families are located long distances from schools, churches, and trading centers. Opportunities for many forms of recreation and social and educational activity are restricted.

In such a large, sparsely settled area difficult problems arise in providing and maintaining roads and other public services. Many local roads are poor and during parts of the year impassable by motor vehicles. Some rural homes are without electric service, but power lines are being extended to small communities, farms, and ranches, thereby adding to the convenience and comfort of the people.

LABOR FORCE

The economy of a region is affected more by the labor force, employed workers and those actively seeking work, than by any other segments of the population. It is this group that is the highest in both production and consumption of goods.

The labor force expands or contracts with changing economic conditions. In good times its ranks are swelled by young people leaving school before completing their courses and by housewives, retired persons, and others who normally are not employed. The size of the labor force also is influenced by the composition of the population. Where the percentage of children or old people is above average the labor force is likely to be small. Employable persons who make up the labor force are most likely to migrate to areas where economic opportunities

are greater. The percentage of the total population in the labor force generally is an index to the economic prosperity of a region.

The United States census for 1940 shows a male labor force, over 14 years of age, of 72,317 in the upper basin, equivalent to 25 percent of the total population, compared with 40 percent for the Nation as a whole. Thirty-four percent of the upper basin's workers were employed in agriculture, 13 percent in mining, and 35 percent in other regular occupations. The other 18 percent were either employed on Government “relief” projects or were seeking work, the proportion of the labor force in this group being larger than for the average of the Nation. TABLE V.-Labor force in selected employment groups in upper basin (1939)i

About 70 percent of the total land area is classed as grazing land in the tabulation. Grazing is also extensive on national forest lands and on other areas so that much more than 70 percent of the total area is actually grazed. The 1940 United States Census reported 285,000 acres of irrigated land used as pasture.

The better grazing lands are in the higher stream valleys and on the mountains and foothills. These lands are used for summer grazing of cattle and sheep, and the scanty vegetation in the lower desert areas provides winter range for sheep.

Crop land, both irrigated and dry-farmed, comprised only 2.3 percent of the total acreage in 1939 and only 1.9 percent was actually cropped.

Farming without irrigation is generally unsuccessful in the Upper Basin because of the uncertain rainfall. It is practiced, however, to some extent in the Yampa and White River Basins, and favorable climatic conditions in the few years together with high prices have encourpast aged expansion of dry farming in the Dry Side area of the La Plata River Basin and on the upland mesa between Cortez, Colo., and Monticello, Utah. In general, at altitudes where rainfall is sufficient during the summer to grow crops without irrigation, the season is too short for crops to mature.

types of soil are found: (1) alluvial soils made up from stream-deposited materials; (2) glacial soils in the form of glacial deposits or out-wash plains derived partly from granites and other igneous material of the higher mountains; (3) residual soils formed in place by the weathering of surface rocks but altered in places through deposition from higher residual lands; and (4) aeolian, or wind deposited soils, appearing in a few places as sand dunes and other formations.

In the upper valleys lands suitable to agricultural development are largely composed of alluvial soils and are confined to the bottom lands, terraces, and valley fills. These soils are high in organic matter and are inherently fertile. They are generally of sandy loam to loam in texture. Most of these soils have good natural drainage provided by light textured soil over gravelly subsoil and a moderate slope. With the exception of small localized areas the soils in the upper valleys are free from harmful accumulations of alkali. The depth of the soil and the amount of rock on the surface usually determine the suitability of the lands for agriculture.

Mesas, plateaus, basin-like depressions caused through erosion, and narrow valleys along the various streams characterize the lower sections of the upper basin. The broader valleys and depressions that have been covered with alluvial soils are more suitable for cultivation where soil is of sufficient depth. Vast areas of residual soils are too shallow or too alkaline for agricultural development. Extensive drainage is often necessary in the lower valleys where irrigation is practiced.

Wind formed soils are not extensive. Some are found in small areas south of the San Juan River along the northeastern sides of ridges or other topographic uplifts which break the winds and harbor the deposited materials. The largest area of arable aeolian soil is east of Chaco River on the high benches south of Farmington, New Mexico.

WyomingColorado

In 1939, livestock and livestock products accounted for 75 percent of the total value of the products sold and traded in the upper basin. Livestock alone amounted to 55 percent and wool to 10 percent of the total. Compared with the Nation as a whole the upper basin farm income from animals and wool was greater, while income from dairy products, poultry, poultry products, and crops was less. A considerable part of the crop income was from the sale of feed to local livestock men for winter feed of breeding stock.

In the Wyoming portion of the basin only 3 percent of the income was from crops while in the New Mexico area 40 percent was from crops.

The farms of the upper basin produce primarily meat, hides, and wool, supplies of which are inadequate to meet the Nation's needs.

The livestock industry in the upper basin is based upon vast areas of grazing land unsuited to more intensive agriculture. Much of this land belongs to the Federal Government and is in either forest reserves or grazing districts. The rest is privately owned or belongs to the States. By reason of differences in elevation and climate some of these lands can be grazed only during summer months and others only during the winter, spring, and fall. By moving livestock with the changing seasons of the year, sometimes long distances, some animals are grazed the year around. This is particularly true of sheep. The carrying capacity of range lands varies. The summer grazing lands normally carry more stock per acre than do the spring, fall, and winter lands. Because of this and the necessity of providing supplemental feed from crop lands to carry stock over extremely severe winter periods and abnormally dry summer periods, the use of crop and range lands is interrelated. Maximum use of grazing lands is not possible without forage from crop lands, and much of the crop lands would have little value except in conjunction with the use of grazing lands.

Range lands of the basin have been stocked at the maximum for a long time and in local areas damage has

resulted from over grazing. Much of the damage resulted from a lack of sufficient forage from irrigated crop lands to balance natural range production. Although corn and other concentrated feeds are shipped into the basin each winter to carry sheep through severe storms and other critical periods, these imports do not eliminate the need for local forage from irrigated crop lands for cattle.

An increase in the production of farm produced forage would avoid damage to range lands by over grazing and by keeping livestock off grazing land until vegetation has a good start in the spring; enable livestock men to feed breeding stock through drought periods without losses, and thus avoid liquidation of breeding stock because of inadequate local feed supplies; and permit, in many cases, more liberal feeding of breeding stock and calves to increase the calf and lamb crops and reduce losses from death.

Livestock. With such a large proportion of the upper basin lands usable only for grazing livestock, range livestock production has become the dominant industry. Although the number of farms has continued to increase in the area, the grazing resources were fully utilized prior to 1910. Since that time the total number of cattle and sheep has remained about the same, increasing and decreasing slightly as a result of livestock cycles and climatic conditions. The number of dairy cows, however, has increased proportionately with the number of farms. Many of the cows classified as dairy cows are of beef breeding and hence the average milk production per cow is low. Trends in the number of cattle and sheep in the upper basin for the period 1890-1940 are shown on an accompanying chart (fig. 3).

Compared with the average farm in the United States in 1940 the average farm in the upper basin had about 12 times as many sheep, and 2.5 times as many cattle, but fewer dairy cows, swine, and chickens. While livestock production is the dominant enterprise not all livestock farms are operated on a large scale. In the Utah area most of the cattle operations are small, but in Wyoming cattle ranches are generally large.

TABLE IX.-Livestock in upper basin (1939)

and wool. Most of the animals are sent to the Corn Belt, where they are finished for market. Livestock operations in the basin thus complement those of the Middle West. A few grass-fattened cattle, lambs, and sheep are shipped directly to slaughter markets. Except in favorable years, however, forage is inadequate to fatten more than a small proportion of the animals.

Crops and yields. Of the total cropped acreage harvested in the upper basin in 1939 about 83 percent was irrigated and 17 percent was dry-farmed. Most of the dry-farmed crops were produced in Colorado and consisted mainly of wheat and dry beans.

Al

The land harvested totaled only 1,073,130 acres. falfa hay, the most important crop, amounted to 28 percent and all hay 64 percent of the total. Other crops, including corn, oats, barley, and some wheat, raised the total amount of the harvested land used for feed crops to more than 80 percent. Row crops grown for cash income included potatoes, sugar beets, and dry beans. The beans are grown largely on dry land in the San Juan River area and make up a considerable part of the cash crop acreage. The Grand Junction area and other smaller areas of Colorado are important fruit producing areas.

Compared with most irrigated areas and with many nonirrigated regions, the average yields per acre of many crops in this basin are low. This is due partly to the fact that much of the land has an inadequate irrigation supply and precipitation is insufficient for satisfactory yields without irrigation. The growing season is short for most crops. Often two cuttings of hay per season and sometimes only one are obtained. Some lands with soils too poor to produce high yields are now being cultivated.

have been established in areas where the acreage and other resources per farm are smallest, forcing in some instances a change to a more intensive type of farming. With grazing privileges on public lands fully utilized, new farmers in most cases have had to follow a type of farming for which the area is not well adapted. Especially is this true in areas of high elevation and where the irrigation water supply is uncertain and inadequate. This has also resulted in a large number of part-time farms in localities with little opportunity for supplemental work away from the farm.

Size of farms. Although the number of farms has been increasing without a corresponding increase in available farm land, census reports paradoxically show the size of the average farm in the upper basin to be increasing also (fig. 5). The apparent but largely unreal expansion of the farm area has resulted in part from the transfer of public grazing land into private ownership. The average size of farms in the basin is relatively large as would be expected from the type of farming practiced, but there are also some small farms. According to the 1940 census, 27 percent of all farms consisted of less than 50 acres. With some types of farming, 50 acres would constitute a large farm but in this basin 50 acres are entirely inadequate except in a few localities such as those where fruits and vegetables are grown successfully. There were 1,304 farms of less than 10 acres, nearly all operated, no doubt, on a part-time basis. Farms are largest in the Wyoming portion of the basin where stock raising is dominant and smallest in Utah, where a high population pressure results from a birth rate near the highest in the Nation.

TABLE XII. Sizes of farms in upper basin (1939)

Percent of total number of farms in various size groups