CHAPTER
10
DUCHESNE COUNTY ECONOMICS: THE 1960S TO THE 1990S
T.
he backbone of Duchesne County's economic development is its natural resources: water, land, oil, minerals, and timber. Because of this, the county's economic development is greatly influenced by national economic trends and, especially in the last half of the twentieth century, by international political and economic developments. Although the county is rich in many natural resources, it lacks capital to fully develop them. As m u c h as the county residents pride themselves on being self-reliant, rugged individualists, willing to work hard; many economic developments of the county have come to rely on outside financial assistance, including direct or indirect state and federal government financial aid. A primary example of federal financial aid is the construction of the Upalco Unit of the Central Utah Project. As it was originally planned in 1956, the Upalco Unit was to i m p o u n d 19,900 acre-feet of water annually for irrigation, municipal, and industrial use. Millions of government dollars have been spent on reclamation and irrigation projects in the county since the turn of the century. During the Depression there were cattle buyouts and other federal programs such as the CCC, WPA, and the 336
