MEDFORD, Ore. – Local residents voiced sharp opposition Tuesday to weather modification during an Oregon Department of Agriculture public hearing. The meeting was held at the Jackson County Library in Medford regarding a license application from Rainmaker Technology Corporation to initiate cloud seeding operations across Southern Oregon. The El Segundo, California-based startup seeks state authorization to conduct a wintertime research and development campaign using autonomous quadcopters and manned aircraft to release silver iodide into mountain cloud systems over Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, and Klamath counties. State officials noted that under Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 558, approval requires determining the operation will benefit water or crop resources without endangering public health or safety.
Community members testifying in person and virtually raised concerns over the chemical used, ecological impacts, and a lack of independent environmental oversight. “I personally do not consent to weather modification activities being conducted over or affecting our communities without adequate public disclosure, independent scientific review, environmental assessment, and meaningful public oversight,” said Anestasie Brocchinia, a Jackson County business owner. Other speakers echoed fears regarding silver iodide accumulation in local watersheds, agricultural soils, and livestock. Rainmaker representative John Seibels defended the company’s modernized approach, emphasizing transparency, low material usage, and safety. “Cloud seeding’s an 80-year-old technology. What Rainmaker brings to the table that’s different is we use unmanned aerial systems. We use drones,” Seibels said.
Founded in 2023, Rainmaker Technology Corporation modernizes traditional cloud seeding by swapping piloted planes for autonomous drones, AI weather modeling, and real-time radar. The company was founded by CEO Augustus Doricko, a UC Berkeley dropout and Thiel Fellow, who created the company to turn weather modification into a precise, data-driven tool for restoring watersheds and building mountain snowpack. The company relies on silver iodide released via aircraft flares and hygroscopic salt to induce ice crystal growth and force precipitation in supercooled or warm clouds…