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<br />As you can see in the pages that follow, our work consists of two groups <br />of interrelated activities: (1) monitoring of water quantity and quality at <br />specific sites, and (2) studies of the hydrology of specific areas and (or) <br />the hydrologic consequences of human activities. The information gathered in <br />both types of activities, including any scientific interpretations of the <br />information, is made available to the public as a basis for long-term as well <br />as immediate use in managing Wyoming's finite water resources. <br /> <br />Over the years, our work has changed in response to changes in needs for <br />water-resources information. Our monitoring, or network, operations have been <br />and will continue to be the foundation upon which problem-oriented, <br />multidisciplinary hydrologic studies are based. New activities include the <br />expansion of our Statewide network for monitoring ground-water quality, a <br />network of flood-monitoring stations in and around Cheyenne, and assessments <br />of contamination of ground and surface water by organic compounds and (or) <br />trace elements in selected areas. Also, we are beginning to apply a new <br />computerized process known as GIS (Geographic Information System) to water- <br />management problems, such as an assessment of cumulative hydrologic impacts of <br />coal mining in the Powder River basin. <br /> <br />Our capacity to carry out our investigations is greatly enhanced by our <br />partnerships with local, State, and other Federal agencies. For example, <br />under the unique Federal-State Cooperative Water Resources Program, the <br />Wyoming State Engineer has been our partner in hydrologic-network activities <br />since 1915 and in intrepretive studies since the 1940's; this cooperation is <br />continuing. Another example is a 28-year project to determine the magnitude <br />and frequency of floods in Wyoming, done in cooperation with the Wyoming <br />Highway Department; this project will end this year. In recent years, the <br />U.S. Bureau of Land Management has sponsored important investigations related <br />to land and energy. The many other agencies that co-sponsor the work we do <br />are identified throughout this report. Needless to say, the Geological Survey <br />values these partnerships highly. <br /> <br />The staff of the Wyoming District is dedicated to serving the public. In <br />spite of budgetary uncertainties and the increasingly technical complexity of <br />our work, I am confident that we can meet the challenges that lie ahead. <br /> <br />James E. Kircher <br />District Chief <br />U.S. Geological Survey <br />Water Resources Division <br />Cheyenne, Wyoming <br /> <br />3 <br />