The following years brought a great influx of colonizers, who settled in all of the fertile valleys in the region The greater part of the Uintah Basin was established as an Indian reservation in 1861. During the period from 1890 to 1905, the lands required by the Indians were allotted to them in severalty, and in 1905 the remaining lands were opened to homesteading by settlers. The Central Utah Project development has been considered by local groups and Government agencies since about the turn of the century. In 1902, farmers and civic leaders first investigated the feasibility of diverting water from the Colorado River to the Bonneville Basin in central Utah. Agriculture is the basic industry throughout the project area, except in the Salt Lake City-Provo vicinity where mining, smelting, and manufacturing are of great importance economically.
Livestock raising is also a principal agricultural pursuit.
A favorable base for livestock operations are the feed crops extensively produced on irrigated lands and the vast range resources that are available on nearby mountains and plains. Although feed crops are a principal product, diversified crops are grown in parts of the project area, particularly in the Bonneville Basin. The Central Utah Project plan has evolved from investigations of various independent projects. Continuous investigations have been conducted by the Bureau of Reclamation since 1945 from a plan which started in 1902 on the Strawberry Valley Project. It was recognized early in the investigations that the project was of such magnitude and complexity that it should be divided into separate units to facilitate planning and construction.