I am writing to you in regards to the recent letters to the editor regarding the County ballot measure regarding Weather Modification in Bowman County. I believe that Bill Fisher and Wilbur Brewer had a vision and the guts to take a thought and turn it into reality. This vision, fifty years ago, changed farming practices and outcomes around the county for the better. I have read testimonials from Marlene Koubas and others about such. However, that was fifty years ago, and weather patterns change, not necessarily for the better. Hail fell on our ranch four times: in late June and again in early July and then again in mid-July and then again in late July. The first hail storm took care of everything, but the next three made sure we didn’t have to get the combine out. Fortunately, we had no property damage, just crops and hay ground and grazing were destroyed. This doesn’t include the fact that we had less than 2 inches of rain from May 1st to June 27th to get those crops started with in the first place.
With that being said, I don’t believe that Weather Modification’s hail suppression and rain enhancement are all they are cracked up to be. I give John Palczewski credit for bringing this issue to the forefront, something for the voters of Bowman County to decide the fate of. However, be wary of voting Weather Modification out of the county. If we do, every entity in the county will be grabbing at the mills that were allotted for Weather Modification. Will we get a decrease in taxes, or will the county commissioners will just move them to another cause? If a couple years from now, we as voters, decide we made the wrong choice to abolish Weather Modification, we may have to eat extravagant tax increases to reinstate it to the county, if that is even possible.
We need to vote to keep Weather Modification in Bowman County for now. However, in the future, we need consider putting together a county ballot measure that looks to suspend operations for at least 2 years. In this time period, it would be worthwhile to see if weather modification truly is having the effect we are paying for as tax payers. Is it really enhancing rain and suppressing hail throughout different regions of the county like it did fifty years ago, or have climate patterns shifted enough that we account and hold it until we have conclusive evidence one way or another as to the relevance of hail suppression and rain enhancement. At that time, we can make a better assessment as to whether or not we, as a county, want Weather Modification to continue or not. A simple “yes” I want it, or “no” I don’t is not the correct channel at this time.
- Payco Holecek, Bowman County
