BOARD00047 ‎(2)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 9/20/2006
• Description: IWM & D Section - Western Governors Association - The National Integrated Drought Information System - Creating a Drought Early Warning System for the 21st Century
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

Recommendations

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Through implementation of the recommendations below, we believe the goals
for a National Integrated Drought Information System will be achieved. If so, we
can slIccessfully establish a dynamic and accessible drought information system to
provide users with the decision-support tools nceded in preparing for and mitigating
the impacts of drought.
The recommendations outlined in this report will require the commitment
of essential personnel, funding and cooperation for N1DIS 10 be successfully
accomplished.

I. Establishing NIOIS: The succcssfullaunch of the NIOIS will require effective
leadership to oversee the development, coordination and implementation of its
various components and programs.

Recommendation la: N1DIS should be formally established

Recommendation I b: The National OCeanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) should be the lead federal agency for coordinating
implementation of NJDIS.

Recommendation 1 c: In anticipation of Congressional authorization of
NIDIS, NOAA should immediately establish a broad-based Implementation
Team to carry out those aspects of NIDIS that can be accomplished through
existing authorities and resources.

Recommendation Id: The drought infrastructure at the federal level should
not be centralized in Washington, D.C. States and regional groups should be
allowed to playa key role in the successful design and implementation of
NIDIS, and should have a designated and adequately supported, drought
contact. These contacts should be identilied and incorporated in the NIDIS
development process, and should be provided the resources necessary for
information exchange, research, and tool development that is regionally or
locally specific.

2. Data Needs and Inlegration Tools: In order to make informed decisions.
water users and resource managers need credible and readily accessible drought
information describing current and forecasted drought conditions and impacts.

Recommendation 2a: The NIDIS framework must integrate data from the
wide variety of existing networks, and determine related gaps, both spatially
and temporally. The networks should be stable, modernized and expanded to
provide the hydroclimatic data needed to assess drought risk, These data
need to be real-time, be of appropriately line focus to serve local areas, and
have sumcicnt long"tcrm continuity and quality assurance to meet NIDIS
requirements.

1. NOAA's multi-use National Mesonet, made up of a modernized
Cooperative Observer Network at its core, should be created and
integrated with other federal and nonfederal networks.

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