CO Resort Communities - Drought Impacts

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Introduction In the U.S., drought is a frequent climatic event. Examinations of the spatial patterns of droughts in the contiguous U.S. showed that drought tends to be most persistent in the central to the northern Great Plains and Rocky Mountains (Walsh et al. 1982; Karl 1983, Karl et al. 1987; Soule 1992). In Colorado, drought is a recurring phenomenon and a normal part of regional climate. With annual precipitation that averages only 17 inches statewide, the state's climate records show that Colorado has had a number of major drought episodes, several of those lasting from 6 to 12 years (McKee et al. 2000). Since 1.981, when The Colorado Drought Response Plan (Colorado Division of Disaster Emergency Services 198 1) was developed and implemented, Colorado had a long "wet" period, from 1982 to 1999, free from widespread multi -year droughts. Normal or above - normal precipitation during these two decades shifted public attention away from the drought phenomenon. This wet period coincided with overall population growth across the state, rapid development of mountain resorts in Colorado and a widespread expansion of population in resort communities (Todd et al. 2003). In 1990s alone, the population of Summit County, Colorado increased by 82.8 percent, thus increasing demands for water supplies. In 2000, the Colorado drought plan. was revised, placing more emphasis on drought mitigation. Revision of the Colorado drought plan occurred at the right time; starting in the autumn of 1999, below- average precipitation and above - average temperatures brought the beginning of what many media sources and public figures referred to as "the worst drought in. Colorado history ". When compared to other droughts of the 20th Century for the U.S., this recent drought was as extensive as any of the major droughts of the last 40 years, but not as large as the "dust bowl" droughts of the 1930s and 1950s. Persistent dryness in the Southwest region of the U.S., including Colorado, during 2002 resulted in the driest September - August in the 108 -year record (NCDC, 2003). In Colorado, this multi -year drought event affected. the entire state, resulting in significant water shortages. Although, precipitation deficits were not exceptional in all areas of the state (Pielke et al., 2004), evaporation losses, above- average temperatures and increasing water demands across the state, resulted in a drought event with exceptional impacts on economic, environmental and social sectors. A number of studies have been conducted to address societal vulnerability to drought in the context of agriculture (e.g., Wilhelmi and Wilhite, 2002) or water management (e.g., Knutson. and Hayes, 2002). Little has been done to look at the local level drought issues of communities depended on. tourism. In this study we focused on the implications of 2002 drought on. tourism in Colorado and on the mountain resort communities in particular. In Colorado, tourism brings approximately $8.5 billion into the state's economy. Skiing, the largest sector of the tourism industry, accounts for 19 percent ($1,368 million) of total tourism spending (State of Colorado, 2002). Reliance of many Colorado tourism and recreational activities on water availability (e.g., rafting and skiing), in addition to increasing population migration to mountain areas increases water demands and suggests a likely increased vulnerability of resort communities to drought. 2