Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management

Weather and climate information for Southwest wildfire management

CLIMAS Lead
Project Dates
Status
Ongoing
Non-CLIMAS Collaborators

 

 

Research has established that the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) pattern in the equatorial Pacific has relatively predictable seasonal influences on the weather and climate of the US Southwest, making climate information valuable for environmental and economic decision-making. Fire management agencies are an ideal target audience for climate information. Significant work has gone into creating wildfire-specific climate outlooks and information products. Research has identified networks of actors successful at disseminating this information. This study addresses two questions: how is climate information being used to inform wildland fire management decisions and what is the economic value of such information? Focus groups and an online survey of Southwest wildfire experts address the first question and form the basis of an economic analysis of the value of fire management information. This research seeks to reveal what opportunities exist to improve existing products and develop new ones.

Impact Case Study - Fire Information: Tools and Weather/Climate Information Used by Wildland Fire Managers in the Southwest United States

Project Partners:  U.S. Forest Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, New Mexico Forestry Division

 

The Lower San Pedro Conservation Collaborative: Stakeholder Engagement on Climate and Environmental Vulnerability

CLIMAS Lead
Project Dates
Status
Completed
CLIMAS Collaborators

 

Drought risks and vulnerability varies within regional stakeholder networks. This project aimed to better characterize the complexity of drought vulnerability in the Lower San Pedro watershed. CLIMAS investigators engaged with a mix of stakeholders with shared interest in better understanding how drought and climate vulnerability might shape future climate risks. The project takes a local-to-regional perspective on drought and climate vulnerability and asks how that could inform a drought early warning system.

 

Project Partners
U.S. Bureau of Land Management
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
U.S. Forest Service
Saguaro National Park
Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management
Arizona Game and Fish Department
Arizona State Land Department
Cochise County
Graham County
Pima County
Pinal County
San Carlos Apache Tribe
Aravaipa Property Owners Association
Cascabel Conservation Association
Lower San Pedro Watershed Alliance
Sierra Club
Sky Island Alliance
The Nature Conservancy
Archeology Southwest
ASARCO
Salt River Project
National Audubon Society
U.S. Forest Service - Coronado National Forest
U.S. Forest Service - Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Service
 
Additional Funders
National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS)