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Title: Advancing preparedness and response to drought and wildfires through North American transboudary collaboration

Author
item MUTH, MEREDITH - National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
item ANDERSON, KERRY - Natural Resources Canada
item Brown, David
item BROWN, TIMOTHY - Desert Research Institute
item DELGADO, ED - Bureau Of Land Management
item GARFIN, GREGG - University Of Arizona
item HADWEN, TREVOR - Agriculture And Agri-Food Canada
item MURPHY, VICTOR - National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
item RAMIREZ, REYNALDO - Non ARS Employee
item PUGH, BRAD - National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
item GUTIERREZ, JESUS HECTOR - Non ARS Employee
item HEIM, RICHARD - National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
item RIPPEY, BRAD - Office Of The Chief Economist
item SVOBODA, MARK - University Of Nebraska

Submitted to: American Meteorological Society
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/4/2017
Publication Date: 3/31/2017
Citation: Muth, M., Anderson, K., Brown, D.P., Brown, T., Delgado, E., Garfin, G., Hadwen, T., Murphy, V., Ramirez, R.P., Pugh, B., Gutierrez, J.R., Heim, R., Rippey, B., Svoboda, M. 2017. Advancing preparedness and response to drought and wildfires through North American transboudary collaboration. American Meteorological Society. doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-16-0296.1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-16-0296.1

Interpretive Summary: This paper highlights the outcomes and recommendations of a multi-national workshop in June 2016 whose focus was the intersection of drought, wildfire, and climate services in North America. These findings, and the pilot projects that have been initiated in response, provide a framework for other transboundary and regional collaborations between federal, academic, and nongovernmental agencies and organizations.

Technical Abstract: The economic, environmental, and social impacts of climate extremes across North America are significant. Drought in particular is one of the costliest and most prevalent natural hazards, and the impacts from drought are not constrained by any nation's borders. Coordination and communication between the United States, Canada, and Mexico during recent North American droughts have been essential towards minimizing and controlling impacts such as reduced agricultural productivity, large wildfire outbreaks, and water shortages. The importance of tri-lateral partnerships in the delivery of drought early warning information, drought impact assessments, and drought forecasting is a focus areas for the North American Climate Services Partnership (NACSP), a platform utilized to facilitate transboundary collaboration on climate information and climate services. In 2016, the NACSP joined with the biennial North American Drought Monitor (NADM) Forum and annual North American Fire Forecasting Workshop to convene a joint meeting on drought, wildfire and climate services across North America. Nearly 50 participants from the U.S., Canada and Mexico came to together to discuss existing monitoring, assessment, and outlook tools and products, and to explore opportunities for enhanced collaboration and partnerships across regions and borders. Discussions resulted in specific recommendations on how to improve the development and delivery of North American and national products.