Drone cloud-seeding pitched for La Sal and Abajo ranges; county asked to consider funding

Rainmaker Technology representatives told the Grand County Commission on Oct. 7 they are ready to run a drone-based cloud-seeding pilot over the La Sal and Abajo ranges starting Nov. 1 and asked the county to consider contributing to the program’s local funding share.

The company’s project director, Jared Smith, said the technology uses weatherized drones to fly into icing clouds and disperse silver iodide to convert supercooled droplets into ice crystals. “The solution, from our perspective, is in the sky,” Smith said, describing the approach as a way to increase seasonal snowpack by roughly 10–20 percent in some areas based on historical studies of cloud-seeding programs.

Why it matters: State officials have agreed to pay the bulk of first-year costs for a pilot in the region, Smith said — roughly $350,000 of an estimated $400,000 program — but the vendor and local sponsors are asking adjacent jurisdictions and private partners to supply remaining funds. Commission discussion focused on environmental safety, operational details, and how a single mobile drone team would be allocated between the La Sal and the Abajo ranges when storms favor one target over another.

How it would work: Smith said the drone platform can reach up to 15,000 feet and carry anti-icing systems to operate in the same icing conditions that previously required aircraft. Operators would deploy about three grams per minute of silver iodide while launched for 30–60 minutes per sortie; teams would be mobile and could be based locally or in Salt Lake. Smith said the team already has a radar deployed near Moab and expects an operational season of Nov. 1–April 30.

Safety and effectiveness questions: Commission members asked about silver iodide’s environmental effects and about measurable benefits. Smith pointed to multi-decade studies and state research indicating that silver concentrations measured after long-term seeding operations are many orders of magnitude below levels of regulatory concern and said historical program evaluations show seasonal increases in precipitation in seeded areas; he cautioned that results vary by region and cloud type. “I don’t want to overpromise,” Smith said, but added that the drone delivery method should be at least as effective as older ground-generator systems because material is placed directly into icing conditions.

Funding and governance: Smith said the state is offering substantial first-year support and that the vendor can sign a contract with payments deferred to January 2026 to accommodate local budgeting cycles. Commissioners discussed the possibility of multi-jurisdictional cost-sharing with Moab, Monticello, Paradox-area partners and San Juan County and asked staff to coordinate a follow-up that would include more detail on costs, proposed local match amounts, and any required land use or launch-site permissions.

No formal county commitment or vote was taken at the meeting. Commissioners asked staff to gather more information, to seek a presentation to affected municipalities, and to return with a potential funding plan and timeline.

Ending: The commission did not vote at the Oct. 7 meeting. If the county decides to participate it would be asked to sign a contract and (per the vendor) could defer the first payment until January 2026 so that the program could begin in the state-funded pilot season on Nov. 1.