The History of Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasting
Interviews with U.S. Department of Agriculture Pioneers
Description:... Since 1935, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has coordinated the cooperative effort in snow surveying and water supply forecasting in the Western States, known for many years as the Federal-State Cooperative Snow Surveys. In 1939, the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), predecessor to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), assumed responsibility for the cooperative snow survey from the Bureau of Agricultural Engineering (BAE). The seven oral history interviews and three articles in this volume recount significant historical developments in this program since its establishment through the full implementation of the automated SNOTEL system. Two articles by Douglas Helms that appeared in the proceedings of the Western Snow Conference, "Bringing Federal Coordination to Snow Surveys" and "Snow Surveying Comes of Age in the West," provide an overview of the program. Arch Work was an employee of the BAE at the time that Bureau received Federal funds for the Federal-State Cooperative Snow Surveys in the 1930s. In addition to the interview with Work, he provided a typescript article of his recollections, which is provided here. The remaining interviewees joined the program after World War II, and their interviews are arranged approximately in chronological order.
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