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<br />~ <br /> <br />~~"':"!~ <br />u"_ y .I , ... <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Working under the direction of the Governor and in cooperation with the <br />Federal Drought Coordinator, the WRDATF was instrumental in shaping the proposal <br />and prompting timely passage of the President's $844 million "Drought Package." <br />(See Appendix B, page 90.) The "Drought Package," including some new funding <br />as well as supplements to existing federal programs, provided needed relief <br />assistance to drought-stricken areas in the West. Federal/regional coordina- <br />tion was highlighted by the dispatch of four federal agency personnel to Salt <br />Lake City to work with WRDATF staff. <br /> <br />The WRDATF played a significant role in providing valuable information to <br />drought coordinators and pol icy-makers. The Western States Water Council, a <br />staff arm of the WRDATF. pub 1 i shed and di stri buted a news 1 etter "Update: Week ly <br />Drought Conditions: 1977" which provided reliable information regarding <br />regional weather conditions and status reports on federal and State drought- <br />related activities. The WRDATF further carried out its coordination mission <br />with the assignment by Governor Lamm of the Director of the Institute for Policy <br />Research, the other WRDATF staff arm, to the Office of the Federal Drought <br />Coordinator in the White House. This assignment resulted in formal "Weekly <br />Reports" to the western region of firsthand information on the progress and tone <br />of Administration and Congressional drought activities and a comprehensive <br />"Directory of Federal Drought Assistance." The publication and distribution of <br />6,000 copies of the "Directory of Federal Drought Assistance" in early June 1977 <br />provided federal, state and local officials with concise descriptions of federal <br />assistance programs and where and how the described assistance could be <br />obtained. (See Figure 1-3.) <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />The WRDATF was a unique and valuable governmental entity--valuable in the <br />essential nature of its mission (Who knows how long it would have taken to <br />procure federal aid without it?), and unique in its ephemeral disposition (It <br />disbanded when its job was done). (See Appendix B, page 107 , which contains a <br />copy of a letter from Governor Larrun to Lieutenant Governor George Nigh of <br />Oklahoma recommending the termination of WRDATF.) <br /> <br />21 <br />