1. Big Picture: Drought Early Warning
and the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS)
Michael Hayes, Director
National Drought Mitigation Center
School of Natural Resources
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Photo: NRCS, Western Oklahoma, June 2011

4. 2011 Billion Dollar Disasters
Groundhog Day Blizzard, 1/29 – 2/3
Tornadoes, 4/4-5
Tornadoes, 4/8-11
Tornadoes, 4/14-16
Tornadoes, 4/25-30
Tornadoes, 5/22-27
Drought, fires, heatwave, spring, summer, fall
Mississippi River flooding, spring and summer
Upper Midwest flooding, summer and fall
Hurricane Irene, 8/27-29
89 Presidential Disaster Declarations

5. Billion Dollar Disasters NCDC, 1980-2010
Disaster Events Damage$ $/Event
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
Droughts
Floods
Fires
Winter-related
Total

6. Drought Impacts
Drought is one of the most costly U.S. natural disasters
Texas: $5.2 billion in agricultural losses through July
Livestock $2.1 billion, Crop losses $3.1 billion
$13.1 billion in agricultural losses since 1998
$250 million wildfire damage in Bastrop County
$4.5 million for dead tree removal in Houston
Oklahoma: more than $2 billion in agricultural losses
Kansas: more that $1.7 billion in agricultural losses
North Carolina (2010): $8.6 billion loss due to landscapers, nurseries, well drillers, irrigation companies, Christmas tree farmers

7. The Cycle of Disaster Management

8. Perspective.
Windows of opportunity for risk management.

11. Report of the NDPC Guiding Principles of a National Drought Policy
1. Favor “preparedness” over insurance, insurance over relief, and incentives over regulation.
2. Set research priorities based on the potential of the research results to reduce drought impacts.
3. Coordinate the delivery of federal services through cooperation and collaboration with nonfederal entities.

12. Evolution of NIDIS
2007
2004

13. Public Law 109-430 (The NIDIS Act 2006)
National Integrated Drought Information System
Public Law (The NIDIS Act 2006)
“Enable the Nation to move from a reactive to a more proactive approach to managing drought risks and impacts”
“…better informed and more timely drought-related decisions leading to reduced impacts and costs.”

14. NIDIS Objectives Creating a drought early warning information system:
Coordinating national drought monitoring and forecasting systems
Providing an interactive drought information clearinghouse and delivery system for products and services—including an internet portal and standardized products (databases, forecasts, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), maps, etc.)
Designing mechanisms for improving and incorporating information to support coordinated preparedness and planning 14 14

15. Drought and Water Resources: Federal Partnerships (States, Tribes, Urban, other)
Drought and Flood Impacts Assessments and Scenarios
Monitoring & Forecasting
Early Warning Information
Examples: The Interagency U.S. Water Monitor Streamflow – Reservoirs – Groundwater – Forecasts – Snow
Drought Monitor, NIDIS
Engaging Preparedness & Adaptation
Communication and Outreach

18. NIDIS Knowledge Assessments
Remote Sensing Contributions to Drought Monitoring
Boulder, CO, February 2008
National Status of Drought Early Warning Systems
Kansas City, MO, June 2008
Drought, Climate Change, and Early Warning on Western Lands
Jackson, WY, June 2009
WGA/WSWC Workshops-NIDIS Constituencies
Washingon, DC, October 2009, April 2010, Sept. 2010
Building a Network of Sustainable Communities
Chicago, IL, June 2011

19. The NIDIS U.S. Drought Portal 19

21. National Drought Mitigation Center
Michael Hayes
National Drought Mitigation Center

22. Managing Drought Risk on the Ranch
Drought planning process and web-based educational resource for forage and rangeland producers
Initiated with RMA funding in 2006
Collaborators include SDSU, TX A&M, UNL, and ranchers and advisors from SD, NE, KS, CO, TX

23. Writing a Ranch Drought Plan
Drought planning process developed with input from rancher and advisor stakeholders
Interviews and participatory workshop resulted in a recommended process involving 7 planning steps
Website includes links to resources to help with drought planning, as well as sample drought plans by producers across the Great Plains

24. Risk Management Education for Ranchers: Drought Planning, Range Management, and FCIC Options including Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage Insurance
RMA Risk Management Education Project 10/11- 9/12
Project Leader: Dr. Cody Knutson, NDMC
Goal: increasing ranchers’ capacity to manage drought risk, through improved understanding of:
risk management tools such as Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage Insurance, range and forage best management practices, and web-based financial and risk management tools;
the types of risk addressed by these risk management tools; and
how to make sound risk management decisions using a drought planning methodology developed by the NDMC in conjunction with Great Plains ranchers.

25. Risk Management Education for Ranchers
Products: Workshops in KS, CO, NE; workbook based on Managing Drought Risk on the Ranch website; archived materials available online
First workshop scheduled for January 21st, Emporia, KS
Workshop Curriculum
Downloadable Workbook
Updates to Managing Drought Risk on the Ranch Website
Materials Development
3 Workshops – KS, NE, CO
Participants also view via Webinar
Webinars Archived as Web Modules for NDMC and other targeted websites
Delivery of Materials
Pre- and post-Workshop assessments
Follow Up evaluations 1 month post-workshop
Documentation of Results