Managing Risks to Farms, Range and Forests in a Drier, Hotter World

Despite the two storms hitting California this week, the state is in the midst of the worst drought since record keeping began in the 19th century. Other western states are parched as well. Across the West, thousands of farm acres lie fallow and ranchers are selling off herds of cattle due to the lack of water. Nationwide, consumers are bracing for price shocks at the supermarket. California alone produces about half of the high value, water intensive crops such as nuts, fruits and vegetables. Recent snow and rainfall in California, although welcome, didn’t put much of a dent in the depleted water table – an astonishing 26 percent of the state is experiencing a severe drought. In addition to the threats for western farms and ranches, tens of millions of acres of the nation’s forests are at increased risk due to climate change, which makes severe drought, heat waves, pest infestations and wildfires more likely. While the disastrous 2013 wildfire may be a distant memory to some, the 2014 season is just around the corner – are our states and localities ready?

On February 24, President Obama met with the governors of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Foremost in their conversation were two topics – drought and wildfires. Earlier this month, the President called for an end to the politicizing of western water issues, commenting that, “water has been seen as a zero-sum game … We can’t afford years of litigation and no real action … A changing climate means that weather-related disasters like droughts, wildfires, storms, floods are potentially going to be costlier and they’re going to be harsher.” Although there has been a recent flurry of drought relief packages, including a pledge of $183 million toward California drought relief under the Farm Bill’s Livestock Disaster Assistance Program, a controversial relief bill passed by the House (HR 3964) and another bill introduced in the Senate (California Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2014), these measures only offer temporary relief from the broader issue – decades of delayed infrastructure updates, stalled water conservation measures, more water users and a changing climate.

Hopefully, recent news may offer a departure from piecemeal, partisan responses to systematic challenges presented by a drier and warmer climate. On Monday, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced a five-year, $30 million Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture program to “develop management practices, technologies and tools for farmers, ranchers, forest owners and citizens to improve water resource quantity and quality.” The program has three goals: 1) ensure the water security needed to produce agricultural goods, 2) improve nutrient management and 3) reduce the impact of chemicals in the water supply.

Additionally, the President announced a fundamental change to the way wildfire fighting will be funded, treating them as disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes. In the 2015 budget proposal, to be released on March 4 by the White House, the two agencies that are responsible for wildfire fighting – the Departments of Interior (DOI) and Agriculture – will be able to access a special disaster account when costs exceed their annual budget. The idea was originally introduced as a bipartisan bill last December, by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Mike Crapo (R-ID), with a companion bill in the House. Senators Wyden and Crapo approved of the President’s move to push this issue through the budget, with Wyden commenting, “the largest wildfires are natural disasters, no different from tornadoes or earthquakes … forests have suffered from a failure to invest in fire prevention work that can create healthier stands and protect rural communities from catastrophic infernos. This plan finally puts federal policy on the right track.” In years past, funds have been reallocated mid-season from forest management programs to wildfire costs. Ironically, these forest management programs are our best existing tool to help forests be more resilient to climate change risks. Holistic, forward-thinking policies – not reactionary measures – are what are needed to prepare our lands for climate risks.