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ANNUAL SNOW SURVEY Data collected by the Camas SCD at two manual sites is recorded and sent to Boise where it
is used to forecast water availability for users from municipalities to farmers. There are still 176 manual sites being monitored by soil conservation districts or private individuals who bid for
the winter job of monthly monitoring in Idaho.Each site is accessed by snowmachine, and once there the depth of snow is measured
in a metal tube assembled on-site, then weighed by a hand-held scale, then recorded with pencil and paper. Once back in the office, the data is transmitted to the NRCS State Office where it becomes part of history. Over 600 "Snotel" automated sites in the western states have replaced many of
the more remote sites and provide daily data from "snow pillows" which automatically weigh the snow on the pillow,
calculate the water content, and then transmits that data via a radio signal to the NRCS state office in Boise. Snow Surveys
have been conducted in Idaho since 1927. Steve Miller, long-time Camas SCD supervisor, has completed
the Snow Survey for the last eight years. To see the NRCS data
and recent statistics on this project visit: click HERE for a March 2011 NRCS report Forecast on Adequate Water Supply
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