Public response to proposed snowpack augmentation in the Sierra Nevada

During the summer of 1974, a series of 21 public meetings was held in the northern Sierra Nevada about a proposed orographic cloud seeding pilot project sponsored jointly by the State of California and the USBR. The purposes of the meetings were to inform the public and to activate citizen participation early in the planning process.Comments and questions arising from the meetings are summarized and analyzed from a sociological perspective. Comments are categorized by topical area (including general information, project justification, potential benefits, and potential problem areas); the highest proportion of comments are with regard to potential problems connected with the project. The major problem areas addressed by citizens were extra-area effects, flooding, environmetntal/ecological concerns, and local damage and costs. Comments are stratified by geographical location of the meeting site (mountain, valley, or lee, in relation to the contemplated project target area). Differences in the kinds of comments are found by location.