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<br />12,. Describe the significant ecological impscts which may result from the <br />project such as how precipitation patterns might be changed and how <br />increased runoff would affect erosion. <br /> <br />Based upon the results of other similar wintertime programs that have operated <br /> <br /> <br />in Colorado snd our own experience, this project does not involve any high <br /> <br /> <br />degree of risk of substantial harm to the land, people, ssfety, property, <br /> <br />health or the environment. The anticipated changes in the precipitation <br /> <br />amounts in the project area would fall within the natural annual variation <br /> <br /> <br />of precipitation except possibly during a very heavy winter snow season <br /> <br /> <br />when seeding operations would be suspended. The natural stream systems <br /> <br /> <br />would be expected to adequately handle any natural and augmented precipitation <br /> <br /> <br />resulting from this project. <br /> <br />Since essentially no effects are expected upon the environment by this program, <br /> <br />no evaluations will be made of environmental effecta. <br /> <br />A comprehensive environmental research program accompanied the 5-year <br />Upper Colorado River Basin Pilot Project. The abstract and specific summariea <br />of the specific environmental reports for this program is attached as an <br />appendix. Underscored portions in the appendix verify that either no effect, <br />or no substantial effects are expected to the environment from seeding <br />programs of this design. Some minimal effects could result from very heavy <br />snowpack on some small mammals and erosion. Under these heavy snowpack <br />situations, seeding ..ctivities could have been susl,ended by environmental <br />concerns built into lhe program's 01',..-at1011s al1d safely suspension criteria <br />presented in Section 09. <br />