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'l.':':I",~1 ',...~. V J ) '1 . Policy formulation occurred in these regions without the benefits of regionwide policy advisory groups. Instead, policy review and approval took place within the established regional infrastructures. In one region, the county commissioners of each county within the region ilssumed policy-making responsibilities. In another, all drought program initiatives were reviewed and approved by the COG governing board. t 3.1.3.2 The Active Technical Advisory Committees A similar policy-making procedure occurred in regions where the regional drought coordinators were successful in organizing responsive technical advisory committees (TACs). While policy-making in those regions was performed either by the governing board or the executive director of the regional or- ganization responsible for drought management, the TACs were utilized to the fullest extent possible for input and ev~luation pertinent to the full range of planned or ongoing drought response programs within their region. TAC members were most often chosen on the basis of their drought-related expertise, influence in the regional community, and geographic distribution. The design was to encourage a cross-section of participation from locally based federal and State agency personnel as well as from local officials and citizenry. Available resource pools within the region included: . Locally based federal Farmers' Home Administration, Agricultural Soil Conservation Service, Soil Conservation Service, or Rural Conservation and Development Districts personnel; and/or . State Forest Service, Division of Wildlife, or Extension Service personnel; and/or . Local irrigation company, county, municipal officials, and local citizenry. ~ Wide geographic representation was sought because the regions .in Colorado are large, averaging about 8,019 square miles. The various physical attributes, conditions, and problems within the regions are correspondingly diverse. One ROC compensated for his region's size and diversity by organizing separate TACs, one within each of the four river basins which existed within the region's boundaries. Wide geographic representation on the TACs was inv~~uable to many of the RDCs, especially in assessing regionwide drought severity and impacts. One ROC devised a system in which TAC members prepared status reports by indicating the level of local drought severity on county maps. Other RDCs mailed question- na ires to gather comprehens i ve i nformat i on on loca 1 i zed drought severity and drought-related needs. Themail surveys were ut il i zed to supplement TAC meetings, most of which were held on a monthly basis, t 41