Drought is an ever-present issue for Western Governors, who must continually monitor conditions and be ready to respond.

Recent reports confirm that reality: Utah is experiencing snow accumulations far below normal with little precipitation on the horizon; much of Wyoming is classified as being in “extreme drought”; northern Nevada and the eastern Sierra in California are entering what could be a second drought year, with snowpack at 78% percent of median; Colorado's drought situation is 'dire' as snowfall lags; and a deepening drought in New Mexico has ski areas hoping for a storm to help open more slopes. 

That’s why WGA has long advocated for tools to help Western Governors navigate times like now. The work started decades ago, when WGA support paved the way for Congress in 1998 to enact the National Drought Policy Act and in 2006 the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) Act. WGA has continued to help governors better anticipate and manage the impact of drought through, among other things, the Western Governors Drought Forum and ongoing support for NIDIS.

And the team at NIDIS has continued to improve the information and resources it provides to help Governors and states proactively manage drought-related risks. Just this week NIDIS launched a redesigned U.S. Drought Portal with new interactive content and graphics that describe current drought conditions and forecasts by city, county, state, zip code, as well as at watershed to global scales. And it has added drought impact data for economic sectors such as agriculture, energy, as well as recreation and tourism.

“Whether you are looking for current drought conditions in your county or needing to make water management decisions during a drought, the new U.S. Drought Portal is designed to be a one-stop shop for data, decision-support products, resources, and information on drought,” said Veva Deheza, Executive Director of NIDIS. (Visit the new website)

MMIP Report: The Taskforce on Missing and Murdered Indigenous People launched by Gov. Mark Gordon just reported that Indigenous people make up 21% of homicides in Wyoming, even though only 3% of the state population is Indigenous. And those numbers could be underestimates. "A lot of times, it's not necessarily checked with people from the community (or) a family member," Wyoming Survey and Analysis Research Scientist Emily Grant told Wyoming Public Media. "So it's likely that they could be miscategorized as Latino, White. And then if it's the wrong race on there, it doesn't show up." The report also shares recommendations such as: documenting tribal affiliation in official records and coroner reports, creating an Indigenous advocacy response team to help families navigate the investigative process, and raising community awareness about the issue. Learn more, read the report.

Moving Out: A recent Gallup survey further confirms reports about Americans leaving urban environments during the pandemic for less crowded surroundings. Gallup learned that 17% of Americans would now prefer to reside in a town and 31% would prefer to live in a rural area, up from a 2018 survey that found 12% would like to live in a town and 27% would like to live in a rural area. Where are they moving? According to U.S. Census data, Idaho and Arizona are the fastest growing states in the country (Read More)

State of the State: It’s that time of year when Governors take stock of the past year and share their vision for the year to come in State of the State addresses. So far, the Governors of North Dakota, Idaho, Arizona, Kansas and South Dakota have delivered addresses. Read, watch the addresses. Plus: Three new Western Governors were recently inaugurated in American Samoa, Montana and Utah. Learn more about them.

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