Here’s the release from the Western Governors Association:
The Western Governors’ Association (WGA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding today (June 9, 2014) in Colorado Springs that renews and strengthens collaboration on drought and flood preparedness.
The purpose of the new MOU is to improve the development, coordination and dissemination of drought and extreme weather data, information and analysis in support of resource management decisions in Western states.
The agreement was signed in a ceremony during the opening day of the 2014 WGA Annual Meeting in Colorado Springs by NOAA Administrator Dr. Kathryn Sullivan and WGA Chairman and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.
“The droughts and wildfires across our nation’s western states directly, or indirectly, affect us all,” said Dr. Sullivan. “NOAA is working, along with our partners like the WGA and governors, to ensure that people have the environmental intelligence they need to be prepared to tackle threats from drought and wildfires. From weather and water forecasts to climate analyses and predictions, demand for NOAA’s data is greater than ever, as western businesses and citizens plan for what is likely to be a very dry summer.”
The parties will work to ensure that collection and sharing of crucial drought, flooding and extreme weather-related data and information are improved and sustained. This may include soil moisture monitoring in the Missouri River Basin and snowpack monitoring in the Mountain West and coastal watersheds.
“I never met anyone who ran for Governor because he or she wanted to be the state’s chief emergency services manager,” said Jim Ogsbury, WGA Executive Director. “But that is one of the roles that Governors perform. In renewing this Memorandum of Understanding with NOAA, Western Governors are working to ensure that they have the data and analysis they need for an informed response to drought, flooding, and wildfire.”
The partnership will also support the Western Governors’ Drought Forum, an initiative of incoming WGA Chair Gov. Brian Sandoval.
For additional information or to arrange an interview, contact: Joe Rassenfoss, Communications Director, Western Governors’ Association; 720-897-4555 or joe@westgov.org
Read the complete MOU.The WGA Annual Meeting continues through Wednesday, June 11, at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. Follow the meeting by visiting the Western Governors’ Association (@WestGov) website.
From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
Wildfires are bigger, droughts are more severe and floods are catastrophic. States usually are at a loss to predict when or where those events will happen and can only mop up after the disasters.
On Monday, the Western Governors Association signed an agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration designed to give more certainty in forecasting nasty weather.
“We get the benefit of the finest scientific minds out there about what kind of weather we’ll have for the season,” said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, chairman of the WGA.
A three-day conference at The Broadmoor is looking at weather, water and wildfire, along with oil and gas development — issues common to the Western states.
The agreement with NOAA will improve the regional analysis of data by combining the global expertise of the federal weather agency with onthe- ground observations at the state level. It will look at ways to improve lesser understood indicators like soil moisture and snowpack measurement.
“The fire season is 60-80 days longer,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell told the governors of 10 states who attended the meeting. “We’re getting smarter about it, but we have to work closely with state, local and federal agencies.”
Interior announced Monday it is providing nearly $20 million in grants to look at ways to improve water efficiency at its projects throughout the West.
Federal agencies have learned much from floods and droughts in the last five years, added Jo-Ellen Darcy, assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, which includes the Army Corps of Engineers. In some states, reservoir releases controlled by the Corps can be timed to help alleviate impacts of severe weather.
NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan said there is the possibility for more floods and drought-related fires this summer. She said improved observation can reduce states’ exposure.
The federal Agriculture Department also is cooperating in the effort.
“One of the things we found out in the 2012 drought was the importance of good conservation practices,” said Robert Bonnie, Agriculture undersecretary.
From KRDO (Carl Winder):
A partnership has been renewed to combat extreme weather conditions in the Western U.S.
Colorado has been through flood, wildfire, and drought, all of which cost the state millions.
The Western Governors’ Association (WGA) and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) signed a memorandum of understanding. It’s agreement to help the Western states in times of emergency. The agreement was renewed for five years
Roger Pulwarty works for the NOAA. He said the organization can help Colorado by providing data.
“We are working with the different offices the Colorado Water Conservation Board, the Natural Resources Department on how best to use the climate information and weather information and making sure to reduce risk and highlight investments at ski areas and other recreational places that can be sustained,” he said.
“We can dispatch those resources, those people, those assets and firefighting equipment assets to states like Colorado in the case of a fire and (when there is) need of them,” South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard said.
From TheDenverChannel.com:
Ten Western governors are meeting this week in Colorado Springs to discuss issues including the drought and the environment.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval are hosting the meeting at The Broadmoor hotel, which starts Monday.
Environmental Protection Agency Gina McCarthy is scheduled to speak to the governors on Tuesday, a week after announcing big cuts in pollution produced by the country’s power plants.
The other governors attending are Jan Brewer of Arizona, Butch Otter of Idaho, Sam Brownback of Kansas, Steve Bullock of Montana, Jack Dalrymple of North Dakota, Dennis Daugaard of South Dakota, Gary Herbert of Utah and Matt Mead from Wyoming.
Released in May, a federal scientific report called the National Climate Assessment concludes that the harms of global warming will become more and more disruptive across the nation throughout this century and beyond. The report emphasizes how warming and its all-too wild weather are changing daily lives, even using the phrase “climate disruption” as another way of saying global warming.
Colorado and the rest of the southwest region are described in the report as having increased heat, drought and insect outbreaks all linked to climate change and resulting in increased wildfires. The report also found the region has declining water supplies, reduced agricultural yields, health impacts in cities due to heat, and flooding and erosion in coastal areas.
The report finds that temperatures in the decade between 2001-2010 were the warmest on record, with an average temperature almost two degrees Fahrenheit warmer than historic averages. It also predicted that if global emissions continue to rise, average temperatures in the southwest region could rise by as much as 9.5 degrees by sometime between 2070-2099.
If emissions are “substantially reduced,” the report reduced temperature increase during the same time frame by 3.5 to 5.5 degrees.
“Summertime heat waves are projected to become longer and hotter, whereas the trend of decreasing wintertime cold air outbreaks is projected to continue,” the report says.
Because the southwest has the highest percentage of population living in cities, the report says the heat may cause repercussions for public health. The authors suggest that as high temperatures or heat waves are magnified by the urban heat island effect, the energy system will become stressed and thereby increase the possibility of brownouts or power outages. Without adequate cooling, populations will be subjected to the heat and face increase chance of illness or death.
By the end of the century, the report projects Colorado’s average snowfall will be reduced to 74 percent of what it was in the 30 years preceding 2000. Additionally, the report predicts the snow will melt earlier because of a layer of dust and soot resulting from agriculture and development.
Warmer winters and dryer conditions due to climate change are referenced in the report as causes of exacerbated bark beetle outbreaks leading to dead trees and wildfire danger. Other factors cited as increasing wildfire danger include non-native grasses and the federal policy of fighting fires, which allowed fuels to accumulate.
The report recommends prescribed burning, mechanical thinning and retention of large trees.
“These adaptation measures also reduce emissions of the gases that cause climate change because long-term storage of carbon in large trees can outweigh short-term emissions from prescribed burning,” the report says.