Western Governors’ Association Annual Meeting Big Sky, Montana Sept. 16, 2003 Governors’ Board of Director’s Meeting VADM Conrad C. Lautenbacher Jr. (Ret.) Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere I.
Welcome I thank you all for the warm welcome I have received here in Montana. Governor Martz you have the privilege to govern an absolutely beautiful state. There have been many occasions I have had my breath taken away in Washington D.C., but never by such pleasant causes as the scenery and hospitality I have enjoyed here in Montana. I am also delighted to welcome our colleagues from Canada, the Canadian Premiers. NOAA has a long collaborative track record with Canada, on issues ranging from climate change to fisheries issues. Last week I had the privilege to meet with the New England Governors’ and Eastern Canadian Premiers. The week before that I met with the National Governors’ Association. I have noticed that while the focus of a particular state or region may differ from those of another region the thread that ties our states, our nations together, is; a desire for better ways of life for our citizens, vibrant economies, and flourishing ecosystems. NOAA is a driver in all of these areas. I am going to focus today on the work NOAA is doing in the West, especially in the areas of drought mitigation. II.
NOAA’s Involvement in the West Water is a valuable commodity and there doesn’t seem to be enough to go around. The WGA is very concerned about drought and rightfully so. The impact of drought is not trivial. The financial cost of drought and associated heat waves is on the order of $5.7 billion per year. Of natural hazards, heat is the greatest killer. In order
to better handle the effects of drought, Governor Martz’ requested
support from NOAA for a report on requirements for a U.S. drought
monitoring network and NOAA responded with a YES. The report would provide a head start on the drought monitoring activities in the National Drought Preparedness Act, which I will discuss in just a minute. I agreed drought was a high priority for NOAA and agreed to fund the report. We appointed a NOAA point of contact for this activity. The end result of the legislation would be a National Integrated Drought Information System NIDIS will advance drought monitoring and forecasting to facilitate improved governance and a proactive citizenry. It must be national in scope and tightly linked to all users’ requirements. Work
is progressing on the report. So far: NOAA observing system experts are cataloging observing systems that will be leveraged by NIDIS. NOAA, along with USDA, the National Drought Mitigation Center, the Regional Climate Centers, and the State Climatologists, has begun working on a gap analysis of observing networks. Summary
of National Drought Preparedness Act of 2003 The Bills establish the National Drought Council in the Department of Agriculture Council
would be composed of: The Sec of Agriculture would be the Federal Co-Chair. The Non-Federal members will elect a Co-Chair from their members every 2 years. Status
of Legislation: The House Bill (HR-2871) was sponsored by Reps Hastings of Florida and Rehberg of Montana - Referred to the Agriculture, Resources and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees. A press conference was held with members of the Senate and House. We are monitoring the status and working with the sponsoring members and committee staff to ensure they have the latest drought information. S-1454 - Senate version of HR-2871 and has the same title. Sponsored by Sens. Domenici and Baucus - Referred to the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee. With everything else going on in the Country and the World, it looks like an uphill battle to get passage. We are at the table and working on the Hill to make sure the states impacted have the latest information on the fires and drought in order to support their activities. Current
Drought Monitoring: We are making progress on improving our drought monitoring and forecasting abilities. The key to this is observations. The current Drought Monitor draws on existing ground and atmospheric sensors to provide an overview of conditions averaged across a broad array of time scales (weekly, monthly, semi-annual and annual) and impact indicators such as range and crop conditions, groundwater levels, streamflows, and wildfires. The result
has boiled the complex issues of drought and drought-related impact
assessment down to a single, simple, visually-intuitive summary of
conditions. This assessment has replaced the uncoordinated, disparate,
and often contradictory assortment of opinions and data that formerly
characterized responses to requests for drought information. The Drought Monitor utilizes the existing system of observations to provide information for broad-based applications. It can provide regional information but lacks the measurements needed for forecasting on the local, city or county level. It also lacks real-time capability. It can provide daily or weekly information but is incapable of providing researchers real-time information of impacts on an hourly or minute to minute basis. We need
the capability to measure a broad spectrum of physical parameters
such as soil moisture, temperature and evaporation. An extensive monitoring
network is essential to providing finer resolution, real-time observations
that examine the full range of physical conditions and impacts needed
to make critical social and economic decisions. The monitoring network
is the first step in improvement, as observations are the basis of
good forecasts. NOAA has recently taken some monumental steps in this
area. I am a strong believer in interagency and intergovernmental cooperation. Both of these efforts were the result of federal-agency coordination. The first effort was the Earth Observation Summit. IV.
The Earth Observation Summit The Earth
Observation Summit goals were to improve observations to gain a broader
understanding of Earth systems for numerous applications — economic,
social, scientific - including to address the challenges posed by
climate change. Over the last year, NOAA has also worked very hard with several other agencies to develop a national Strategic Plan for the Climate Change Science Program. This is an unprecedented effort to address the scientific uncertainties of climate change related to aerosols, sources and sinks of the carbon cycle, the climate observing system and climate models. An important element of the plan is to enhance Earth observations and data management systems to assist in filling critical data gaps. NWS
COOP NOAA’s NWS will be modernizing the Cooperative Observing Program. This program has about 11,000 volunteer observing sites across the Nation. Most of these sites will be modified to provide temperature and precipitation in real time. This data will be useful not only for climatic data but for real time forecasts and warnings and drought. These sites will make up the core of the National Cooperative MESONET. Data from these sites will also be very valuable for fire fighters. We in the East have had virtually no fires this year. You have suffered so many losses in lives and resources. We grieve with you, and NOAA has been with you. Fire
Fighting: It has been a long year for fire fighters and those that support them. The first NOAA NWS Incident Meteorologist (IMET) dispatch to a fire occurred on May 13, 2003 to the A Bar Fire near Sierra Vista, Arizona. So far this year there have been — 125 IMET dispatches. In an average year by this time we dispatch 83, so you can see we are very busy, but still a long way from the record of 182 dispatches in 2000. The heaviest IMET support this year has been provided to Montana, Idaho, New Mexico, and Arizona. The only states represented by the WGA we have not dispatched IMETS to are North Dakota, Kansas, and the Pacific Territories. Flooding: We and our partners developed the advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS). This is a new Web-based set of information-rich graphical and text forecasts. The graphics display the extent and uncertainty of floods or droughts, from hours to months, in advance. These graphical tools are useful to many economic and emergency managers. The new information tools will enable government agencies, private industries, and individuals to make more informed decisions about risk based policies and actions to moderate the dangers posed by floods and droughts. My hope is that in the course of our collaboration with WGA, we’ll offer you new insights into NOAA's role as your federal partner. You are already familiar with our activity in drought monitoring and prediction. Perhaps our discussions will lead to increased understanding between the western states and NOAA. We are proud of the work that we’ve already done at NOAA to address the economic and societal impacts of drought. But we offer you much more than a grant that will meet the requirements of the proposed National Drought Preparedness Act. We offer you our collective expertise. We offer you world-class scientists with a personal interest in your goals. Many challenges lie ahead of all of us. All of the answers can't be found within one agency, one state, or one office within an organization. By working in partnership to develop innovative programs, we can deliver better service, value and the best outcomes for our various communities. The stakes are high, but so are the potential rewards. V.
Closing
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