This project was a collaboration with the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes to reduce the effects of drought and other climate variability on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. The project combined the expertise of researchers, scientists and other professionals at 15 university-, tribal-, regional- and federal-level organizations, including the National Drought Mitigation Center and the High Plains Regional Climate Center, both at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The 15 partners worked closely with the Office of the Tribal Water Engineer and the Wind River Water Resources and Control Board, who are the leadership and decision-making authority on water management on the reservation, to coproduce actionable science for drought preparedness. They conducted a tribaldriven social-ecological vulnerability assessment; co-produced drought and climate change-related information and decision-support tools; and engaged the community, including youth, on drought and climate science.
The project received the Climate Leadership Award at the National Adaptation Forum in 2017.