Laserfiche WebLink
<br />PROCEDURE <br /> <br />Selection of Counties <br /> <br />Eight mountain and Western Slope counties in Colorado were <br />selected for study. Eagle, Lake and Routt in northern and central <br />Colorado and La Plata, Ouray and San Juan in southwest Colorado were <br />chosen because their residents have expressed interest in or concern <br />about weather modification. Garfield and Rio Blanco, on the Western <br />Slope, were chosen because they are in the area where a cloud seeding <br />project to increase the flow of the Colorado River has been proposed by <br />the Bureau of Reclamation. <br /> <br />The counties chosen vary considerably in size. Garfield and Rio <br />Blanco, the largest, contain approximately 3,000 square miles; Lake and <br />San Juan, the smallest, contain approximately 500 square miles. Miles <br />of highway maintained in the winter ran;e from about 15 in San Juan <br />County to approximately 900 in Rio Blanco County. All counties studied <br />contain high mountains with peakS of at least 11,500 feet and, except <br />for Lake and San .Juan, also relatively low, flat areas. For example, <br />the northern half of La Plata County is mountainous but the southern <br />half lies in the basin south and west of the San Juan Ivbuntains. <br />Variation of terrain within the counties makes it difficult to group <br />them by elevation or topography--characteristics which may be related to <br />snow removal procedures and costs. <br /> <br />Although these counties were not selected randomly, we have no <br />reason to believe that snow removal costs and procedures differ greatly <br />in Colorado mountain and Western Slope counties not selected. <br /> <br />-5- <br />