Synthesizing Management Outcomes and Information on Climate Change Impacts on Surface Water Flows in the Rio Grande Basin (Phase 1)
Stretching almost 1,900 miles from Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico, The Rio Grande supplies drinking water for more than 6 million people and irrigation for about 2 million acres of cropland. In addition to the ecosystem services it provides, the river supports habitat for many native species, such as trout, and the endangered silvery minnow and southwestern willow flycatcher. In 2010, a joint stakeholder committee, comprised of stakeholders in the South Central CASC and the USDA Southwest Climate Hub, focused on developing an improved understanding of changes in water availability and implications for natural resources and their management. Since then, the committee has identified the need for a forum to discuss research needs in the Rio Grande Basin related to impacts of a changing climate on hydrologic and environmental conditions.
This project is the first phase of a larger initiative to eventually host a research symposium (phase 2) on surface water flows in the Rio Grande Basin under changing climatic conditions. There is a need to organize and prepare materials and information in order to achieve objectives of the symposium, as well as a need to increase collaboration with partners to plan for a symposium that has concrete outcomes which meet the needs of stakeholders and researchers.
This project will summarize, organize, and disseminate information on lessons-learned of how partners are adapting to climate change and managing surface water to support environmental and cultural needs in the Rio Grande. Key topics include: legal and regulatory frameworks that affect surface water flows; Tribal water rights and emerging legal frameworks for benefiting cultural resources; and tools and other resources that managers can use to identify and implement surface water flows that support resources that people care about. The resulting product will be white papers on key topics, which will be disseminated via webinars and conference calls, and serve as the platform for achieving objectives of the symposium.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 615dcb2dd34e7b019243c058)
Stretching almost 1,900 miles from Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico, The Rio Grande supplies drinking water for more than 6 million people and irrigation for about 2 million acres of cropland. In addition to the ecosystem services it provides, the river supports habitat for many native species, such as trout, and the endangered silvery minnow and southwestern willow flycatcher. In 2010, a joint stakeholder committee, comprised of stakeholders in the South Central CASC and the USDA Southwest Climate Hub, focused on developing an improved understanding of changes in water availability and implications for natural resources and their management. Since then, the committee has identified the need for a forum to discuss research needs in the Rio Grande Basin related to impacts of a changing climate on hydrologic and environmental conditions.
This project is the first phase of a larger initiative to eventually host a research symposium (phase 2) on surface water flows in the Rio Grande Basin under changing climatic conditions. There is a need to organize and prepare materials and information in order to achieve objectives of the symposium, as well as a need to increase collaboration with partners to plan for a symposium that has concrete outcomes which meet the needs of stakeholders and researchers.
This project will summarize, organize, and disseminate information on lessons-learned of how partners are adapting to climate change and managing surface water to support environmental and cultural needs in the Rio Grande. Key topics include: legal and regulatory frameworks that affect surface water flows; Tribal water rights and emerging legal frameworks for benefiting cultural resources; and tools and other resources that managers can use to identify and implement surface water flows that support resources that people care about. The resulting product will be white papers on key topics, which will be disseminated via webinars and conference calls, and serve as the platform for achieving objectives of the symposium.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 615dcb2dd34e7b019243c058)