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Ou25~3 region. Therefore, HIPLEX has field facilities and research staffs at three sites: Miles City, in eastern Montana; the Goodland-Colby area of northwest Kansas; and the Big Spring-Snyder area of west- central Texas. These sites also test three methods of project management: (1) in Montana, the site director is a Bureau employee assigned full time to Miles City; (2) in Kansas, the site director is a contractor who reports directly to the Bureau; and (3) in Texas, the site director is a subcontractor who reports to the Texas Department of Water Resources, the Bureau's prime contractor for that area. Formal HIPLEX field activities began in 1975 following a limited program of radar and photographic observations in Miles City in 1974. The first 3 years' effort was directed toward developing a more thorough climatology of High Plains cloud and precipitation charac- teristics; improved understanding of the physics of natural clouds; and development and testing instrument networks, equipment systems, and operational procedures. Seeding calibration studies investigated crystal development due to seeding. By the end of the 1977 field season, a comprehensive, high quality data base had been acquired. A series of workshops and technical conferences on HIPLEX issues began in July 1974. In December 1977, the HIPLEX Design Workshop focused on the scientific basis for a randomized experimental pro- gram, defining the operational procedures, measurements, and analyti- cal techniques required to evaluate hypotheses. The availability of suitable facilities and experimentation to perform required measure- ments were also assessed. Workshop participants agreed that current understanding is sufficient to permit a randomized experiment in 1979 at Miles City. Knowledge of cloud and precipitation processes in small cumulus congestus clouds in Montana and the ability to measure pertinent variables are adequate to support the experiment. . , I i ~ The 1978 activities in Montana emphasized descriptions and measure- ments of primary variables that show the effects of seeding, deter- mination of appropriate seeding rates, and development of specific statistical and physical evaluation techniques. Based on data analyses, a practical seeding hypotheses for cumulus congestus clouds has been developed. Activities in Kansas and Texas continued to focus on collection and analysis of cloud and precipitation data to develop as thorough a seeding climatology as possible. The States of Montana, Kansas, and Texas are sponsoring studies to learn the advantages and possible disadvantages of additional rain- fall to the economy, the environment, social considerations, and water supplies. Agricultural, municipal, industrial, and recrea- tional uses are also considered. Citizens in HIPLEX areas, local civic groups, and Government agencies are working together to deter- mine public needs and concerns. 111-2