What Would You Like to See?

One of the purposes of this newsletter is to let you know what we’re up to at the National Drought Mitigation Center. But our main goal is to be of service to you, the nation’s drought-planners and decision-makers at all levels, by ensuring that relevant and timely information is flowing. If you have success stories you’d like to circulate or questions you’d like answered, please e-mail the editor at ksmith2@unl.edu.

About the NDMC

The National Drought Mitigation Center, established with sponsorship from agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has a national mandate to help reduce vulnerability to drought. We are based at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the School of Natural Resources.

Did You Know:

Parts of the United States, including western Nebraska and Wyoming, experienced their seventh consecutive year of drought in 2006.

Furthermore, 2006 was the warmest year on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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To subscribe to this electronic newsletter please send an e-mail indicating your interest to ksmith2@unl.edu.

Policy Update: NIDIS is Law. What Next?

Pilot projects to improve the nation’s drought-resistance will be identified in coming months, now that the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) bill has been signed into law.

The Western Governors’ Association is looking at revitalizing efforts to pass the National Drought Preparedness Act. Whereas NIDIS focuses on monitoring and prediction, the Drought Act would emphasize comprehensive planning and policy measures. Read more

TX, OK, Plains, Southwest Hardest Hit in 2006

Drought left its unmistakable imprint on the social and economic landscape in 2006. As is often the case with drought in the United States, its impacts were locally severe, but were muted in the larger economic picture, with higher commodity prices making up for production losses – at least for some agricultural producers. Texas, Oklahoma, the Plains and the Southwest bore the brunt of drought’s impacts. Read more

For a wealth of local detail on the effects of drought in 2006, please visit the Drought Impact Reporter. We're working on building our base of reports from non-media sources. You and other drought impact observers are most welcome to submit your observations to the Impact Reporter for any time period.

Climatologically Speaking, How Bad Was It?

At the height of the 2006 drought season, 49.95 percent of the contiguous United States was experiencing drought conditions, and 61.5 percent was experiencing abnormally dry or drought conditions. Read more

State Spotlight: Arizona

We heartily recommend Arizona’s 2006 Drought Preparedness Annual Report – available on the web at http://www.azwater.gov/dwr/drought/ -- as an excellent description of drought planning in action.

Drought Decision-Support Tools Evolving

Drought Center researchers and collaborators are making headway on the suite of web-based decision-support tools to help ag producers plan for drought. VegDRI has completed its first semi-operational season; Drought Monitor enhancements are underway; a better-looking and more useful version of the Drought Impact Reporter should be online later this year; and ranching experts are packaging their knowledge into a user-friendly one-stop web site, with information tailored for regional needs. Read more