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This was later modified to include only the southeastern limb of the original area,; in which ecology study areas I, 2, 3, and 4 are located. This automatically excluded that portion of the area containing human habitations, principally the towns of Silverton, Tellu- ride,and Ouray. Simultaneously with the progress in cloud-seeding technology there occurred the rapid growth of the North American environmental ethic, and "ecology" be- came a household word. Cooper and Jolly (1969) prepared for the Bureau of Reclamation a general report on the possible ecological effects of weather modification. They recommended that all weather modification experi- ments and operational proje~ts be accompanied by studies of their possible ecological impacts. Con- sequently the Bureau asked Colorado State University, in concert with the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) of the University of Colorado, and Fort Lewis College, to present a problem analysis and study plan for evaluation of the potential ecological impact of snowpack augmentation in the San Juan Moun- tains (Teller et al. 1970).' A Steering Committee of six, composed of representatives from the three institutions, was established to oversee the develop- ment of the project design" although contributions were obtained from a large number of individual scientists. The Steering Committee realized very early that major scientific and organizational problems would need to be overcome if a project of this magnitude and com- plexity were to be successful. The large number and diversity of the San Juan M~untain ecosystems, the great variability of precipitation both from place to place and year to year, the, ecological plasticity of many species, and the ability of organisms to adjust to environmental changes in'mountain areas, were all important considerations. Logistical considerations, both in terms of the exis- tence of the two major groupings of potential partic- ipants in separate/institutions, and fieldwork organ- ization in a complex mountain system, led to the prag- matic decision to break do~ the major study objective along broad ecosystem-type divisions rather than by ecosystem components such as producers, consumers, decomposers, and abiotic fa~tors. Thus four groups of research proposals were ori~inally solicited with agreement that Colorado State University would be primarily, although net exc+usively, responsible for production of forest and aquatic ecosystems proposals while INSTAAR would hold primary responsibility for producing tundra ecosystem and paleoecological pro- posals. To facilitate the usefulness of these research proposals a series of guidelines were: laid down by the Steering Committee. First, it was considered beyond the man- power and estimated financial limits to undertake any full-scale ecosystem research endeavor; thus emphasis was to be placred upon identification of a series of specific research projects that collectively would help elucidate the effects qf artificially increased snowpack on the ecologically related resources of the San Juan Mountains in terms:of their economic and/or public interest. Further, it was stipulated that, since cloud seeding would begin simultaneously with any proposed ecological research, a classical before- and-after approach would not be possible. Next, a treated versus control type:of methodology was rejected because no area with an envtronment sufficiently similar to the San Juan Mountains could be identified with confidence to serve as'the control area. This problem was the more intrac~able because of the scarcity of ecological information on the San Juan Mountains themselves. All qf these guidelines led to the conclusion that "the most likely chance of success would be derived from developing a series of "process studies" whereby the relations between snow and in- dividual ecosystem components be evaluated. Thus the focus of attention would be placed on assessment of how the characteristics of each selected ecosystem component changed with varying snowpack regardless of whether or not, or to what degree, cloud seeding proved successful. This carried the implication that an initial cloud-seeding pilot project of four-years' duration would not likely show detectable impacts so that any actual attempt to measure ecological responses directly would not be appropriate. The need for an ecological overview was recognized as a means of yielding a baseline description of the area under study. The types of study identified above could probably be undertaken anywhere in the Rocky Mountains where mountain slopes extended above tree-line, and still yield answers relating to the ecological impacts of snowpack augmentation. Nevertheless, since the effect of snow, as one ecosystem component, varies with all other components, such as temperature, soil, geological structure, topography, and associated plants and ani- mals, there was a unanimous resolve that actual field investigations in the San Juan Mountains themselves would form the core of any research program. The principles discovered there will undoubtedly be applicable to other areas, to the extent that each investigator is able to account for environmental variables and in relation to the degree of similarity between another area and the San Juan Mountains. Furthermore, proven methodologies could be modified and applied elsewhere and the record of our false starts used to improve future research designs. Changes due to bng-continued increases in snowfall were assumed to be primarily long-term changes in the species composition of the different ecosystems. Since such changes would likely appear only after many years of cloud seeding, a measure of current community structure (i.e. phytosociology) would effectively show pre-seeding conditions. For further discussions of this rationale see Chapter II. To return to the organizational and project design process, it should be noted that likely effects of increased snowfall were discussed as part of Phase I, in light of the Cooper and Jolly (1969) assessment and our collective ecological experience, and potential project proposals were solicited throughmost of Colorado. The technical quality of the proposals were initially reviewed by each of the two institutional groupings, then by the tri-institutional Steering Committee, and finally by the latter group in confer- ence with three consultants. The constraint of a broadly estimated annual budget was imposed, and a group of 29 project proposals were selected that met the following criteria: (1) Important to overall objectives, as shown by our analysis system (2) A good research plan and scientist qualified and avail- able to conduct the proposed study; and (3) Fiscally compatible. The resultant list of project proposals was submitted to the Bureau of Reclamation who, along with its own ecological consultants, completed a "final review. The set of proposals that survived this screening process is represented in the reports of Chapter IV. The projects and administrative organization are indicated in Figure 2. It should be pointed out, however, that virtually half of the proposals submitted to the Bureau of Reclamation did not survive the screening process, and most significantly, the aquatic 3