[PCA] Fwd: NEWS RELEASE: Experts Launch Project to Assess Drought Effects on Ecosystems and How Communities Can Adapt

[De Angelis, Patricia]

Forwarding this for your information.

If the links below don't work, see the news release online at:
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=4481#.VvFu7eIrJpg

NEWS RELEASE; March 22, 2016

Experts Launch Project to Assess Drought Effects on Ecosystems and How
Communities Can Adapt: A Partnership of USGS, The Nature Conservancy, and
Wildlife Conservation Society under the Science for Nature and People
Partnership

In recognition of World Water Day and in conjunction with the White House
Water Summit, the U.S. Geological Survey is raising awareness of water
issues and potential solutions in the United States.

*RESTON, Va. -- * A new public-private research collaboration supported by
the U.S. Geological Survey will tackle how to best cope with the increasing
droughts of the future.

The USGS, The Nature Conservancy, and The Wildlife Conservation Society are
launching the Ecological Drought Working Group as part of the Science for
Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP). This research group is composed of
drought, climate change, economic and conservation experts from these and
other institutions. The scientists will conduct a comprehensive assessment
of the ecological impacts of drought on ecosystems and wildlife and people
and their livelihoods, as well as propose methods to lessen such impacts,
both ecologically and economically.

“The group’s findings will inform local communities, businesses and
conservation practitioners about the most effective ways to prepare for and
respond to drought impacts,” said Shawn Carter, senior scientist at the
USGS National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center and a co-lead of
the working group.

Carter noted that both historical and recent droughts not only cause great
economic hardships, but they also are often ecologically devastating.
Droughts, which have ravaged much of the United States in recent years, are
estimated to have resulted in more than $100 billion in damages between
1980 and 2000.

“Our work can help communities adapt to the long-term effects of drought by
supporting healthy ecosystems,” said Carter. “For example, even a
relatively simple action, such as reintroducing beavers into ecosystems
where they used to live, can boost the natural storage capacity of
watersheds.”

 Working group co-lead Molly Cross, North America WCS climate change
adaptation coordinator, emphasized that for people to be adequately
prepared for drought they need to understand how drought-impacted
ecosystems can harm human communities, such as through increased wildfire
hazards or through adverse effects on fish and wildlife valued for hunting-
and angling-based economies. “By raising awareness and understanding about
these ecological impacts of drought, we’ll be able to help people all over
the country make informed decisions to prepare for and respond to long-term
drought,” Cross added.

Products from the SNAPP Ecological Drought Working Group will be tailored
to add value to state and local drought planning, including in the Upper
Missouri headwaters of Montana. In 2015, five counties in this region were
declared disaster areas due to their extreme drought conditions.  The Obama
Administration’s National Drought Resilience Partnership
<http://www.drought.gov/drought/content/ndrp> selected this region as a
place to demonstrate how federal and state agencies can leverage knowledge,
capacity and resources to better prepare Montana communities for future
drought impacts. Additional case studies will be examined by the SNAPP
Ecological Drought working group to encompass a range of drought impacts
across the United States.

“Drought has been plaguing our country for decades, but people tend to
focus on immediate challenges such as the impacts on agriculture and
surface and groundwater availability,” said Craig Groves, executive
director of the Science for Nature and People Partnership. “Drought and its
impacts are much more complicated and profound than that.  Even seemingly
minor changes in water supply can have huge ecological impacts that are
keenly felt by both people and nature. The Science for Nature and People
Partnership is delighted to be working with USGS to better understand and
respond to this mounting challenge for people from all parts of the
country.”

“Climate change is likely to intensify the frequency and ferocity of
droughts in places where it typically occurs, and lead to novel drought
impacts in unexpected places,” said Giulio Boccaletti, Global Managing
Director for Water, The Nature Conservancy. “The new SNAPP initiative will
be crucial for helping us to better anticipate the range of future drought
impacts so that we can implement strategies to protect people and nature,
and improve the odds of achieving long term benefits from our drought
planning efforts.”

##

*About the United States Geological Survey*

The USGS is a science organization that provides impartial information on
the health of our ecosystems and environment, the natural hazards that
threaten us, the natural resources we rely on, the impacts of climate and
land-use change, and the core science systems that help us provide timely,
relevant, and useable information. For more information, visit
http://www.usgs.gov.

*About the Science for Nature and People Partnership*

Founded in 2013, the Science for Nature and People (SNAPP) partnership is
the world’s premier innovation engine of conservation science and
sustainable development policy, partnering with public, non-profit and
private sector organizations around the world to transform the relationship
between people and nature. Backed by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the National Center for Ecological
Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California, Santa
Barbara, SNAPP funds, convenes and supports Expert Working Groups
addressing challenges in four focus areas: Food Security and Nature, Water
Security and Nature, Community Resilience and Climate Change, and Ecosystem
Services and Biodiversity Benefits. SNAP has been generously supported by
Angela Nomellini and Ken Olivier, Shirley and Harry Hagey, Steve and
Roberta Denning, Seth Neiman, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Ward
W. and Priscilla B. Woods, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. For
more information, visit http://snappartnership.net/
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