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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />in areal extent and have a rather short lifetime compared with <br />orographic clouds. Although an individual seeded cloud may <br />produce twice as much rain as it would have naturally, the <br />effect on total storm precipitation may be quite small. At <br />present, we cannot clearly identify which clouds are most <br />suitable for seeding, nor at which stage of development. <br /> <br />\\~~ <br /> <br />Most experiments on stratus clouds have resulted in dissipation <br />of the clouds following very light precipitation. This is <br />probably due to the lack of a continuing supply of moist air. <br />At the present time little work is being done on increasing <br />precipitation from stratus clouds. <br /> <br />Our ability to augment natural precipitation through cloud <br />seeding has not progressed to the point where we can turn <br />deserts into forests or grasslands. The effects which can be <br />produced are atill within the natural variations of precipi- <br />tation. Nor are we at a point where we can turn precipitation <br />on and off upon demand. That day is many years of intense <br />scientific study in the future. <br /> <br />B. Why is the Bureau of Reclamation involved? <br /> <br />The Department of the Interior is concerned principally with the <br />management, conservation, and development of the natural resources <br />of the United States. Since water is one of our most important <br />naturel reaources, and atmospheric water is a part of the total <br />water resources of our nation, it is only fitting that the <br />Department of the Interior take an active part in exploring the <br />potential of cloud seeding. <br /> <br />An important purpose of the Bureau of Reclamation is irrigation <br />of arid and semiarid lands. Of course, the benefits from <br />Reclamation projects extend far beyond this. In carrying out <br />its mission, the Bureau has constructed many dams which impound <br />millions of acre feet of water. These storage reservoirs and <br />water conveyance facilities place the Bureau in e unique position <br />to take advantage of the runoff resulting from the artificial <br />augmentation of precipitation. <br /> <br />The Bureau of Reclamation's Atmospheric Water Resources Program <br />came into being as a result of an insertion in the 1962 Public <br />Works Appropriation Bill which provided $100,000 for cloud seed- <br />ing research. The appropriation grew to $2.98 million for <br />fiscal year 1966. From its small beginning, the Bureau has <br />emerged as a leader in the field. <br /> <br />f;, <br />