CO Resort Communities - Drought Impacts

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Unique Drought Hazard or Drought Background Compared to other natural hazards, droughts have several unique characteristics. First, drought is a slow -onset hazard, often described as a "creeping phenomenon ", making it difficult to determine when a drought begins and ends. Second, droughts do not have a universally accepted definition, causing confusion about whether a drought exists and its severity. Third, although drought is not as physically destructive as most natural disasters, it can affect vast areas and more people than any other hazard and cause a wide range of economic, environmental, and social impacts (Wilhite and Glantz 1987, Hewitt 1997, Wilhite 2000a), both direct and indirect. A drought can be a short -term event affecting a particular economic or social sector or it can be a multi -year event with a ripple effect on multiple resources and economic sectors. Drought is often viewed primarily as an atmospheric phenomenon. However, the importance of drought is its negative impacts on the society. Impacts of drought largely depend on societal vulnerability and level of preparedness at the time drought occurs. The 2002 drought event presented an opportunity to address unique problems that resort communities experience in face of drought, in particular, the complex interplay between environmental sustainability, economic vitality, and social perceptions. The 2002 drought also provided an. opportunity for communities, government officials and resort managers to assess their level of preparedness for extended periods of dryness. In early 2002, Colorado was in its fourth. consecutive year of below - normal precipitation. In January, snow pack levels were measured at 65 percent of normal. By April, the statewide snow pack totals had declined to 52 percent of normal. In addition to persistent dryness, above- normal temperatures accelerated evaporative losses and increased demand on available water supplies. For the first time since 1981, in April 2002, the Colorado Governor requested activation of the Colorado's Drought Mitigation and Response Plan (Sate of Colorado, 200 1) and convened all state drought impact task forces to recommend drought response measures. The Governor requested the Task Force to prepare a report of anticipated drought impacts and recommend legislative action to help offset the impacts of drought (State of Colorado, 2003). Sixty -three Colorado counties received federal drought disaster designation by the USDA. The statewide drought (Figure 1) affected agricultural production, municipal water supplies, and tourism industry. Every sector of the tourism industry in Colorado was negatively affected by the drought. The direct damage to the recreation and tourism industries had a ripple effect and affected indirect services such as restaurants, retail, groceries and other businesses that support economies of resort communities. In addition, dangerous wildfire conditions and smoke, national park and campgrounds closures, and extensive media .coverage of the Colorado wildfires had a significant impact on summer tourism. 3