Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Rain Gauges to Range Conditions: Collaborative Development of a Drought Information System to Support Local Decision-Making

Daniel B. Ferguson Institute of the Environment, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

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Anna Masayesva Institute of the Environment, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

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Alison M. Meadow Institute of the Environment, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

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Michael A. Crimmins Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

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Print Publication:
01 Oct 2016
Collections:
Ways of Knowing: Traditional Knowledge as Key Insight for Addressing Environmental Change
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/WCAS-D-15-0060.1
Page(s):
345–359
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Abstract

Drought monitoring and drought planning are complex endeavors. Measures of precipitation or streamflow provide little context for understanding how social and environmental systems impacted by drought are responding. Here the authors report on collaborative work with the Hopi Tribe—a Native American community in the U.S. Southwest—to develop a drought information system that is responsive to local needs. A strategy is presented for developing a system that is based on an assessment of how drought is experienced by Hopi citizens and resource managers, that can incorporate local observations of drought impacts as well as conventional indicators, and that brings together local expertise with conventional science-based observations. The system described here is meant to harness as much available information as possible to inform tribal resource managers, political leaders, and citizens about drought conditions and to also engage these local drought stakeholders in observing, thinking about, and helping to guide planning for drought.

Denotes Open Access content.

Supplemental information related to this paper is available at the Journals Online website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/WCAS-D-15-0060.s1.

Corresponding author address: Daniel B. Ferguson, Institute of the Environment, The University of Arizona, P.O. Box 210137, Tucson, AZ 85721-0137. E-mail: dferg@email.arizona.edu

Abstract

Drought monitoring and drought planning are complex endeavors. Measures of precipitation or streamflow provide little context for understanding how social and environmental systems impacted by drought are responding. Here the authors report on collaborative work with the Hopi Tribe—a Native American community in the U.S. Southwest—to develop a drought information system that is responsive to local needs. A strategy is presented for developing a system that is based on an assessment of how drought is experienced by Hopi citizens and resource managers, that can incorporate local observations of drought impacts as well as conventional indicators, and that brings together local expertise with conventional science-based observations. The system described here is meant to harness as much available information as possible to inform tribal resource managers, political leaders, and citizens about drought conditions and to also engage these local drought stakeholders in observing, thinking about, and helping to guide planning for drought.

Denotes Open Access content.

Supplemental information related to this paper is available at the Journals Online website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/WCAS-D-15-0060.s1.

Corresponding author address: Daniel B. Ferguson, Institute of the Environment, The University of Arizona, P.O. Box 210137, Tucson, AZ 85721-0137. E-mail: dferg@email.arizona.edu

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