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<br />Therefore, in lieu of a proponent sho~ing that the act ~ill not create <br />any long-tenn :L>1pact, ......-e have gone to a systen of TIoni toring the effects <br />of impact upon the em"ironoent. Is there anythi::1g else that I can say <br />to I!'.ake this more clear? <br /> <br />DR. K\HAX: If that satisfies Arnold, it certainly satisfies me. <br /> <br />In the area of federal policy, there tends to be for.nal statements and <br />then there tends to be realities. The formal statements don't al~aYs <br />address all the realities. There have been Keather TIodification <br />activities going on over ...dlderness areas for sone time. There has <br />been a difference of opinion of \\'hat \\'as intended, and I think \-ie are <br />approaching an era of understanding. Since there are certain things <br />that should go on, they should not violate the principles of the <br />Wilderness Act. Taking hydrometeorological observations in a wilder- <br />ness is something that does go on. There is a process of evolution of <br />just ho~ much instrumentation can be permitted in a wilderness area. <br />Are there further questions? <br /> <br />CHWES COOPER: I t seems to me it' 5 important to keep in r.J.ind that <br />in conforming to the procedural requirements of the ~ational Environ- <br />mental Policy Act, \~hich led to the requirement for making an environ- <br />mental impact statement for the Sierra Cooperative Pilot Project <br />itself, you shouldn't lose sight of the fact that the real problem is <br />assessing the environmental inpact of the capability for developing a <br />seeding teclmology. It is not the impact of the Sierra Cooperative <br />Pilot Project itself that people are concerned about, but the long-term <br />environmental impact of a successful development of such a program. <br /> <br />I think the new regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality <br />will go a long "'''aY tm\ard making it possible to de-emphasize the fonn <br />and re-emphasizing the substance of ~hat environmental iopact state- <br />ments really should be as an addition to knowledge, rather than con- <br />forning to procedural requirements. But it is really the long-term.h <br />-12- <br />