ABSTRACT
The areal extent of the 1977 drought is unprecedented. Over 2,200 counties in the United States have been designated as "emergency drought areas" during 1977 for purposes of federal relief. The impacts of the 1977 drought have likewise been pervasive and severe. Some of the major efforts undertaken by the State of California to deal with these impacts include: the State of Washington, like its sister States, Oregon and Idaho, has been caught up in its worst drought in history. The Farmers Home Administration alone reports that it has spent more than $700 million on some 24,000 drought-related loans exclusive of the two emergency programs it is administering as part of the White House "drought package." By Mid-spring, more than 50 drought-related bills had been introduced in Congress. Although the federal government and several multistate task forces have provided substantial assistance, the states themselves and their political subdivisions have served as the principal instrumentalities for managing the current drought.
