WMOD00319

• Title: North American Interstate Weather Modification Council - Fiscal Year 2009 Request
• Prepared By: McClintock Associates, Inc.
• Date: 1/1/2007
• Weather Modification - Doc Type: General Information

I
I
I
I,
1\
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I

;.?;AtLiANCE '"

P.O. Box 216 Klamath Falls, Oregon 97601

February 23, 2007

To Whom It May Concern:

The Family Farm Alliance at its annual meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 22,2007
took formal action supporting the reintroduction of S. 517 and HR 2995 or similar bills into the
1 10th Congress that will establish a coordinated national weather modification research program.

The Family Farm Alliance is a grassroots organization of family farmers, ranchers, irrigation
districts and allied industries in 16 Western states. The Alliance is focused on one mission: To
ensure the availability of reliable, affordable irrigation water supplies to Western farmers and
ranchers.

Much of the West depends on water originating from snow, and there is strong physical and
statistical evidence that wintertime weather modification can create additional snowpack in
watersheds. We understand that several Western water user groups fund wintertime ground
based cloud seeding programs to meet current and future water needs. These organizations could
use state and federal funding assistance to evaluate efficacy of weather modification operational
programs by independent investigations into program design and execution.

The 109th Congress introduced Senate Bill 517 and H.R. 2995 to develop a comprehensive and
coordinated national weather modification research program that would provide financial
assistance to private and public entities. The Family Farm Alliance supports the reintroduction of
these or similar bills into the 11 Oth Congress that will establish a coordinated national weather
modification research program providing that:

1. The Boards governing the newly established research program have adequate state
government representation; and

2. State governments work on behalf oflocal programs to leverage federal research funding
for the evaluation and refinement of the weather modification operational programs.

Thank you for this opportunity to provide input on this matter, which is very important to the
family farmers and ranchers of our membership. If you have any questions about this letter, I
encourage you or your staff to contact me at (541 )-850-9007.

Sincerely,

'- --=~-~~~-l!v

Dan Keppen
Executive Director