Pacific Northwest Drought Early Warning System Strategic Plan

The PNW DEWS Strategic Plan outlines priority tasks and activities to build drought early warning capacity and resilience. Partners across the region assisted NIDIS, the Pacific Northwest Climate Impacts Research Consortium(link is external) (CIRC, a NOAA RISA team), and the National Drought Mitigation Center (link is external)(NDMC) with the development of this Plan. The Plan includes a list of current partners, outcomes, and key milestones. It is a “living document” to which additional actions and partners may be added.

In 2015, planning meetings were held in Boise, ID, and Vancouver, WA, as well as a listening-session at the 6th annual Northwest Climate Conference in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, to obtain input on priority needs and actions necessary to improve drought early warning and resiliency in the inland and coastal Pacific Northwest region. Participants included more than 90 federal, tribal, state, local, non-profit, and academic partners with a diverse a range of interests and expertise. Information obtained from these workshops in addition to the PNW DEWS Kickoff Meeting held in in February 2016 in Portland, Oregon informed this Plan.