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Western Governors' Association Wildlife Corridors Initiative Report
June 2008
In response to policy resolution 07-01, Protecting Wildlife Migration Corridors and Crucial Wildlife Habitat in the West, the Western Governors' Association (WGA) launched a Wildlife Corridors Initiative in 2007, a multi-state and collaborative effort in which six work groups were charged with developing recommendations on various aspects of wildlife corridors and crucial habitat in the West.
Resource Category: Planning
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Hotter and Drier: The West's Changed Climate
March 2008
Comparing average temperatures in the last five years to 20th century averages, the West has experienced 70 percent more warming than the world as a whole. This report assesses impacts the West faces with rising temperatures and changes in precipitation levels and patterns. Chapters 6 and 7 provide an overview of mitigation actions to date (2008) and makes high-level recommendations for policymakers. Appendix A provides a 100-year analysis of warming for each of the 11 states in the West (1908-2007).
Authors or Affiliated Users: Stephen Saunders, Charles Montgomery, Tom Easley, Theo Spencer
Resource Category: Assessments
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A Sustainable Path: Meeting Nevada's Water and Energy Demands
2008
In this report, Western Resource Advocates (WRA) assess future water demands for municipal water use, agricultural water use, and water use in electricity generation for Nevada. Under several scenarios, the water demands in each sector are projected for 2015 and 2030. The scenarios developed include alternate scenarios that demonstrate the positive impact of water use efficiency, energy efficiency, and renewable sources of energy.
Authors or Affiliated Users: Stacy Tellinghuisen, David Berry, Bart Miller, Taryn Hutchins-Cabibi, Charles Benjamin, Nicole Theerasatiankul
Resource Category: Solutions
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The Importance of Climate Change for Future Wildfire Scenarios in the Western United States
December 2007
This report reviews current and projected climate variables that may affect the frequency and severity of wildfires in the Western U. S. for the 21st century. It is one of four case studies in an overall report, titled "Regional Impacts of Climate Change: Four Case Studies in the United States," that examines impacts of particular interest to different regions of the U. S. This section summarizes projections for the 21st century from vegetation models that integrate knowledge of past fire occurrence to simulate changes in fire patterns and their effect on carbon sequestration in western states.
Authors or Affiliated Users: Dominique Bachelet, James M. Lenihan, Ronald P. Neilson
Resource Category: Assessments
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Colorado River Basin Water Management: Evaluating and Adjusting to Hydroclimatic Variability
February 2007
This brief from the National Research Council of the National Academies summarizes an assessment of existing sources of scientific information - including temperature and streamflow records, tree-ring based reconstructions, and climate model projections - and how they relate to Colorado River Basin water supplies and demands, water management, and drought.
Resource Category: Assessments
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Water Needs and Strategies for a Sustainable Future
June 2006
This report, along with the 2008 report, "Water Needs and Strategies for a Sustainable Future: Next Steps," include consensus recommendations and action items to both encourage and assist local, state and federal planners and managers and private sector partners to coordinate effectively to prepare for and address challenges of over-appropriated watersheds, population growth, land use changes, water needs for in-stream uses, and water supply and water management strategies in Western states. These reports address six specific issues, including: examining water policies and population growth, providing water supply to meet future demands, maintaining water supply infrastructure, resolving Indian water rights, preparing for climate change, and conserving endangered species.
Author or Affiliated User: Mohd Khawlie
Resource Category: Planning
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TreeFlow
TreeFlow is an online resource for tree-ring reconstructions of stream flow and climate. By providing a longer window into the past, tree-ring reconstructions describe the natural variability of climate (precipitation, drought) more completely than gaged records. While projected changes in precipitation may be uncertain in some area, projections for temperature changes due to climate change are highly useful and relevant when added to the range of natural flow variability seen in the reconstructions.
Resource Category: Data and tools
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Organization
CIRMOUNT
The Consortium for Integrated Climate Research in Western Mountains (CIRMOUNT) is a collaborative and interdisciplinary research consortium dedicated to understanding climate variability and effects of climate on western North American mountain ecosystems and resources. Participation is open to all interested scientists and natural resource managers. CIRMOUNT seeks to improve knowledge of high-elevation climate systems and to integrate knowledge of mountain ecosystem response to climate change into natural-resource management and policy.
Organization
Bureau of Reclamation
Established in 1902, the Bureau of Reclamation is best known for the dams, power plants, reservoirs, and canals it constructed in the 17 western states, including Hoover Dam on the Colorado River and Grand Coulee on the Columbia River. The Bureau of Reclamation is the largest wholesaler of water in the country. They bring water to more than 31 million people, and provide one out of five Western farmers (140,000) with irrigation water for 10 million acres of farmland that produce 60% of the nation's vegetables and 25% of its fruits and nuts.
Organization
California-Nevada Applications Program (CNAP) - RISA
The California-Nevada Applications Program (CNAP) is a member of NOAA's Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) program. CAP works in conjunction with the California Climate Change Center (CCCC) to develop and provide better climate information and forecasts for decision makers in California and the surrounding region. By working directly with users, CNAP and CCCC are working to evaluate climate information needs and utility from the user perspective.
