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coordinators carried out programs depended to a large degree upon a variety of region-specific forces including the severity of regional drought conditions and the program priorities of the drought coord i nators, techni ca 1 advi sory committees, and pre-ex i stent intraregiona1 political infrastructures. . De1iVer{ of services to drought-impacted clientele characterized regiona efforts, especially. The mode of delivery activities centered upon survey processes for identification of needs followed by appropriate mitigative activities such as technical assistance. . Intergovernmental coordination characterized efforts at the federal, State, and regional levels. Cooperation among all levels of government were necessary elements of program areas in which effective delivery of services occurred. Also included in this category of activity is intragovernmenta1 coordination manifested at the State level by the development of multi-agency task forces to preside over each of the program areas. . long-term spinoffs grew out of many of the program initiatives aimed at drought. Often drought miti gat ion programs over1 apped ongoi ng State and regional concerns and/or 1 ay the groundwork for future beneficial programs and activities. 3.3.1 THE PUBLIC AWARENESS PROGRAM AREA5 The media did not require much prompting to pick up on the powerful onslaught of the drought during the winter of 1976-77. The peculiarities of the drought conditions--its climatological aspects, its impacts, and the mitigation responses generated by it--natura11y attracted media attention. National media chronicled the contrasts between the severe cold and snows which characterized the winter in the Eastern United States and the unusually mild and dry conditions which prevailed in the West. The meeting between the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Cecil B. Andrus and 18 Western Governors in Denver to discuss Western regional drought relief needs provided fuel for national media coverage as di d the subsequent, stepped-up cons i derat ion and enactment by Congress of drought assistance legislation. In the meantime, the disastrous ski season and the potential crisis fostered by severe water shortages tantalized Colorado media. It is safe to conclude that the public could not help but become acutely aware that drought conditions did indeed exist in Colorado and the West. . With the inception of the first State Drought Council, conservation became the focus of the State's pub 1 i c awareness campaign. The Governor officially proclaimed 1977 as CONSERVE WATER! YEAR to emphasize a Statewide need 5 A summary of Colorado's public awareness act;vities is depicted in Figure 3-3. 50