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<br />letter from Greg Walcher Executive Director, dated August 2002, reaffirmed that agreement and directed
<br />the CWCB to conduct hearings and make initial recommendations to the Executive Director's Office for
<br />final approval. The CWCB acts as the state level regulator of programs, issues permits and monitors them
<br />for compliance with program rules and regulations and state statutes based on: the 1951 Weather
<br />Modification Act, the 1972 Weather Modification Act, HB 92-1018, HB 92-1129, and SB 96-90.
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<br />State fees collected for wintertime weather modification in operational year 2002-2003
<br />Target Area Program operator Project Sponsors Base Contract State fees
<br /> 2002-03 collected 02-03
<br />Upper San Miguel Western Weather Telluride Ski and Golf Co" San Juan $46,868,83 $937.37
<br />Telluride areas . Consultants WCD, Southwestern WCD
<br />VaillBeavcr Creek Ski Western W cather Vail and Beaver Creek Resorts $163,735,11 $3,274,70
<br />areas Consultants
<br />Central Colorado Western W cather Denver Water, Upper Arkansas DW $700,000 $2,000
<br />Mountains Consultants WCD, Southeastern Colorado WCD UAWCD $142,157 $2,843
<br />San Juan Mountains Western W cather Purgatory Ski Resort, San Juan $111,011 $2,220.23
<br /> Consultants WCD, Southwestern WCD
<br />Grand Mesa Area Pete Kasper, consultant Grand Mesa Water and Power N/A N/A
<br /> meteorologist Authority
<br />Gunnison County North American Weather Gunnison County, Crested Butte, $80,000 $1600
<br /> Consultants a~icultura1 users
<br /> APPROXIMATE TOTALS $1.2 million $12,000
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<br />Current permits - 14 total permits for Winter seeding: Colorado's Central Rocky Mountains, Vail
<br />Beaver Creek Ski Areas, Tellmide Ski Area and Upper San Miguel
<br />Basin, Western and Eastern San Juan Mountains, the Grand Mesa
<br />areas and most of Gunnison County. AND Hail suppression:
<br />Eastern Cheyenne County, East of Ault, Brighton, Fort Lupton,
<br />South of Brush, Near Gilcrest, and the San Luis Valley,
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<br />Benefits: Approximately 70% Of Colorado's water is supplied by
<br />snow melt runoff, The primary benefit of cloud seeding is
<br />economic but can also have multiple benefits to fish and wildlife,
<br />fishing, hydroelectric power, agriculture, water supplies, salinity
<br />reduction, ski industries and water based recreation and possibly
<br />forest fire danger reduction through wetter conditions,
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<br />Dillon Reservoir summer 2002
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<br />The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation: A 2003 BOR report The Feasibility of Operational Cloud Seeding in
<br />the North Platte River Basin Headwaters to Increase Mountain Snowfall states "Several options are under
<br />consideration to provide additional water including reservoir management. Cloud seeding technology
<br />improvements in the past 20 years now provide logistically feasible and cost-effective option to enhance
<br />fresh water resomces in some mountain watershed of the western United States......, Regarding the
<br />scientific support cloud seeding, current policy statements of the American Meteorological Society and
<br />the World Meteorological Organization state that statistical analyses of some cloud seeding programs
<br />have suggested mountain snowfall increase of 10 to 15% per winter. Cloud seeding experiments
<br />conducted and/or supported by the Bmeau of Reclamation in the I 980-90s have contributed sorely needed
<br />physical measurements and analyses that documented cloud and precipitation responses to cloud seeding
<br />and indicated that specific areas can be targeted for treatment effects, These studies along with the
<br />substantial improvement in computer modeling of weather and clouds provide methodology that can be
<br />applied to seeding winter clouds in Colorado and expect to obtain measmable additional precipitation, .
<br />(Johnnie G. Medina, BOR River Systems and Meteorology)
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