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<br />../ <br /> <br />II. HISTORY <br /> <br />The Southwest Drought Research Program was initiated and assigned to Reclama- <br />tion by a directive of the Senate Committee on Appropriations in Report <br />No. 95-1069 on the Energy and Water Development Appropriation Bill for 1979, <br />dated August 7, 1978, page 90, which reads: <br /> <br />"Further, the Committee recognizes the importance of the develop- <br />ment of weather modification as a means of mitigating drought in <br />semiarid regions of the United States. The Committee recommends <br />that the Bureau of Reclamation allocate $1,000,000 from within <br />the total resources available to the Bureau to conduct rain <br />augmentation research in the Southwest in areas where drought <br />patterns are developing." <br /> <br />With no changes by the Conference Committee, this recommendation accompanied <br />the Appropriation Bill (Public Law 95-482), signed October 18, 1978. <br /> <br />The "Southwest" was tentatively designated by the Bureau of Reclamation to be <br />the States of Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. <br />Allor part of these States, except Arizona, are included in the Bureau's <br />Southwest Region. At the request of Governor Matheson of Utah (January 29, <br />1980), the State of Utah was added to the designated area, effective <br />February 15, 1980. <br /> <br />Since the recommendation did not specifically include an additional appro- <br />priation of funds, reprogramming was necessary to accomplish the fiscal <br />arrangements. A fund change order was approved on September 19, 1979. <br /> <br />A. Background <br /> <br />Drought has always caused increased interest in weather modification as a <br />means for getting more precipitation from the clouds. Man's first attempts <br />were based on magic and ritual, such as rain dances. More scientific attempts <br />in the United States began in the 19th century. These included setting large <br /> <br />4 <br />