Government Response to Drought in the United States: With Particular Reference to the Great Plains

Drought relief has become an expected response of the federal government to periods of widespread drought in the United States. A wide range of emergency, short-term and long-term drought programs were formulated to deal with the extreme drought of the 1930\u27s. By 1977 there were 40 separate programs administered by 16 different federal agencies. This paper traces the development of federal drought relief bureaucracy, including drought designation criteria and procedures. Two obvious deficiencies of past drought relief efforts in the United States are noted. First, drought relief organizations and programs have been hastily assembled during periods of crisis. This has resulted in reduced program effectiveness as implementation has often been delayed pending program formulation and congressional approval. Second, previous efforts have had no adequate and systematic provision of timely information on drought conditions and impacts to persons or agencies involved in administering drought programs. The design, implementation and evaluation of a near real-time drought surveillance and early warning system is mentioned as one way atmospheric scientists can contribute to improved drought response in the United States

CHANGING FIELDS: AGRICULTURAL LAND USE CHANGES IN NEBRASKA 1925-1974

The series of graphs and maps which follow illustrate agricultural land use changes in Nebraska from 1925 to 1974. With these graphs and maps, the major agronomic crops of corn (dryland and irrigated), wheat, sorghum and soybeans are analyzed. The purpose of this analysis is to provide a pictorial history of Nebraska\u27s ever-changing cropping system and, hopefully, to stimulate ideas and discussion with regard to trends and future directions. The Nebraska Water Resources Center is deeply interested in both the past and the future of Nebraska\u27s agriculture because of the demands which agriculture places on the state\u27s water resources. An examination of the maps showing land use changes within counties across the state will reveal not only the ever-growing magnitude of this demand, but also its evolving spatial characteristics. In 1925 crop production in Nebraska was almost exclusively dryland, and corn was the primary crop. Although corn is still our primary crop, irrigation has greatly altered the nature of its geographic importance. Additionally, alterations in the pattern of wheat acreages and the introduction of sorghum and soybeans have modified and diversified Nebraska\u27s crop production system. From the above, one can conclude that Nebraska\u27s water resources are being utilized far differently today than in the past. Because demands are increasing and our water resources finite, it is easy to understand the growing conflicts among users. The Water Resources Center hopes that the information presented in this publication will broaden our comprehension of the past and thereby assist in a better understanding of future issues and the conflicts which may confront us

From the Director: February 1997

In the October issue of Drought Network News, I briefly discussed two policy initiatives that developed in response to the severe and widespread drought that affected the Southwest and southern Great Plains states in the United States during 1996. The first of these activities, a multistate workshop (and its subsequent report), was coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This report was submitted to President Clinton in late August; it contained a series of recommendations that focused on short- and long-term issues. The second initiative, under the leadership of the Western Governors’ Association (WGA), was not available in final form as we went to press with the last issue of the newsletter. This report is now available and is summarized below. In June 1996, the WGA adopted a resolution, sponsored by Governor Johnson of New Mexico: “The western governors believe that a comprehensive, integrated response to drought emergencies is critical . . .[and that] it is important to work together and cooperatively with other affected entities to plan for and implement measures that will provide relief from the current drought and prepare for future drought emergencies.” From this resolution, a WGA drought task force was created and charged with (1) coordinating the drought response needs of the states by immediately identifying barriers to effective response at the federal level; (2) working with existing state, federal, and private entities to develop criteria for assessing various stages of drought and corresponding emergency response measures and mutual assistance; and (3) sharing solutions and relief measures that can be implemented within the states and localities in the West. Beginning with a meeting of the Drought Task Force in September, four working groups (drought management, agriculture, water resources, and wildfire and forest health) began working on a report that was to be presented at the November 1996 meeting of the 19 western governors

From the Director: Fall 2000

The NDMC hosted the first annual “Drought Monitor Forum” in November. Most of the readers of Drought Network News are probably aware of the Drought Monitor web site (http://enso.unl.edu/ monitor/index.html) and the products that are provided to users. (Mark Svoboda of the NDMC provided an overview of the Drought Monitor product in the Winter/Spring 2000 issue of Drought Network News.) This weekly product, jointly produced by the NDMC, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, has been widely accepted in the United States, and other countries are considering the adoption of a similar technique for mapping drought occurrence and classifying severity levels. The web site receives about 30,000 hits a week and is published widely in newspapers across the country. It has also been adopted by The Weather Channel. A diverse set of users and technical specialists came together to review the product’s successes and failures during its first year. We also discussed some of the more technical aspects of product development such as nomenclature and the use or modification of climate indices for incorporation in a blended index. Expect to see changes in the product, some subtle and some more dramatic, in the months ahead. We also expect NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center to join us as a new partner in this activity in the spring of 2001. The Drought Monitor was highlighted in the report of the National Drought Policy Commission (NDPC) to Congress and the President in May 2000, and the NDPC recommended continued and expanded support for this partnership effort. (The NDPC report can be found at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/drought/finalreport/accesstoreports.htm.

Western Drought Coordination Council: Frequently Asked Questions

Contents: What is the Western Drought Coordination Council (WDCC)? What does the WDCC hope to accomplish? What prompted the formation of the Council? Preparedness and Mitigation Monitoring, Assessment, and Prediction Response Communications To Whom does the WDCC report? How do I get in touch with the Council

From the Director: February 1998

If it seems like considerable time has elapsed since you received the last issue of Drought Network News, it is not just your imagination. After much discussion, we decided not to publish the newsletter in October 1997. First, we had a limited number of submissions to include. Second, the task of editing the manuscript for a new drought book was an overwhelming task that was involving much of my time and that of my publications specialist, Deborah Wood. She is also responsible for Drought Network News. With more submissions and the near completion of the drought book, I am pleased to be publishing this issue of the newsletter. The National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) organized and conducted two training workshops on drought contingency planning in 1997. These workshops were very successful, with more than 200 participants representing a diverse background of tribal, local, state, federal, and regional organizations and agencies. Three more workshops are planned for this spring. An article about the workshops is included in this issue (p. 3). The National Drought Policy Act continues to be discussed in the U.S. Congress. The Senate version of the bill (S222) passed last November. An identical version of the bill was introduced in the House of Representatives (HR3035) in November. I testified in support of the bill at a hearing in late January. Although some minor modifications may be made in the bill, it is expected to pass the House. This bill would establish a commission to review existing drought programs at the federal, state, and local level and make recommendations to the Congress and the president on the elements of a national drought policy. The commission would have 18 months to complete its task. The NDMC will work closely with the commission

From the Director: Fall 2000

The NDMC hosted the first annual “Drought Monitor Forum” in November. Most of the readers of Drought Network News are probably aware of the Drought Monitor web site (http://enso.unl.edu/ monitor/index.html) and the products that are provided to users. (Mark Svoboda of the NDMC provided an overview of the Drought Monitor product in the Winter/Spring 2000 issue of Drought Network News.) This weekly product, jointly produced by the NDMC, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, has been widely accepted in the United States, and other countries are considering the adoption of a similar technique for mapping drought occurrence and classifying severity levels. The web site receives about 30,000 hits a week and is published widely in newspapers across the country. It has also been adopted by The Weather Channel. A diverse set of users and technical specialists came together to review the product’s successes and failures during its first year. We also discussed some of the more technical aspects of product development such as nomenclature and the use or modification of climate indices for incorporation in a blended index. Expect to see changes in the product, some subtle and some more dramatic, in the months ahead. We also expect NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center to join us as a new partner in this activity in the spring of 2001. The Drought Monitor was highlighted in the report of the National Drought Policy Commission (NDPC) to Congress and the President in May 2000, and the NDPC recommended continued and expanded support for this partnership effort. (The NDPC report can be found at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/drought/finalreport/accesstoreports.htm.

Series Preface — Drought and Water Crises

Drought is a normal part of the climate for virtually all climatic regimes. It is a complex, slow-onset phenomenon that affects more people than any other natural hazard and results in serious economic, social, and environmental impacts. Drought affects both developing and developed countries, but in substantially different ways. Society’s ability to manage droughts more effectively in the future is contingent upon a paradigm shift—moving from a crisis management to a risk-based management approach directed at increasing the coping capacity or resilience of nations to deal effectively with extended periods of water shortage. In 2005, I edited a book for CRC Press, Drought and Water Crises: Science, Technology, and Management Issues. The goal of this book series is to expand on the theme of the 2005 book by providing new information and innovative approaches to drought monitoring and early warning systems, mitigation, planning, and policy and the linkages between these challenges and important natural resources and environmental issues such as climate change, including increased climate variability, water scarcity, food security, desertification, transboundary water-related conflicts, and water management, to name just a few. There is an increasing demand for more information from scientists, natural resource managers, and policy makers on issues related to these challenges that are at the intersection of drought and water management issues as pressure on the world’s finite water resources intensifies