Over 20 years ago, the severe winter drought of 1976-77 sent shock waves through Colorado’s economy and state government. Bare ski slopes, empty reservoirs, and drifts of topsoil left many

of us in government feeling helpless and ill prepared. At that time, Governor Richard Lamm convened a special council of experts who assessed the crisis and proposed ideas for lessening the

impacts on recreation-based industries and agriculture. 

The greatest frustration expressed by decision makers then was the lack of timely and integrated information on which to make plans and base actions. How severe and how widespread were the

drought conditions? Who was affected and what were the current and emerging impacts? The state needed better information.

This report describes some of the new techniques for drought monitoring that have been developed in Colorado, and presents results of drought studies which have been supported by the Colorado

Office of Emergency Management, the Colorado Water Resources Research Institute and the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station.