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stressed trees from drought contributed to the rapid spread of the bark beetle in the forests <br />in the southwestern part of the state. As an extension of the extended effects, the large <br />forested areas affected by the bark beetle made perfect standing fuel for wildfires. <br />Additional Contributing Factors <br />Drought alone was not responsible for stressing the economies of Colorado resort <br />communities. The overall decline in the U.S. economy, threat of terrorism and decline in <br />long distance travel, political instability in the world and general uncertainty associated <br />with armed conflicts also contributed to fewer tourists visiting resort Communities. The <br />increase in gas prices may have also played a role in some of the decline in tourist visits. <br />Some declines could be associated with national trends in tourism, such as decline in the <br />southwestern region's national parks visitation and national trends in skier visits. <br />Overall, impacts reported by the state and observed by local communities showed a <br />unique and complex nature of drought hazard in the resort communities, especially when <br />combined with other state, national, and global factors. <br />Lessons Learned <br />The interviews included a discussion about minimizing drought impacts in the future and <br />reducing vulnerability of mountain resort communities. Commonly, a disaster triggers <br />proactive thinking and planning for future hazards events. There were a number of <br />lessons learned during 2002 drought. These lessons, identified by interviewees, can be <br />grouped into three main categories: 1) water supply- demand conflict; 2) importance of <br />cooperation and local -state relationships; 3) need for balanced message in the media: <br />drought awareness with consideration for tourist's perception. <br />Precipitation in Colorado is highly variable in both time and space, which creates a <br />complex water management task. During multi -year drought, the water shortages across <br />the state often result in competing demands for already variable and scarce water <br />supplies. Recent drought in Colorado has highlighted the importance of water resources <br />to economic well -being in the resort communities and in the Western United. States in <br />general. When combined with rapidly growing mountain development and reliance on <br />water resources for recreational activities, this drought has brought issues of competing <br />resources to the forefront. The unique characteristic of this situation, in particular for <br />those resorts and communities isolated from urban centers, was the desire and necessity <br />of cooperation in order to get through difficult times of drought. In order to sustain local <br />economies, it was highlighted that cooperation was important between different sectors, <br />for example, between agriculture and tourism, between the resort itself and a resort <br />community and also between communities themselves. <br />Tourism is sensitive to public perception. Normally, in case of natural disaster, especially <br />when financial assistance is required, public announcements are made about geographic <br />locations suffering from impacts of these hazards. It was clearly stated by the <br />interviewees that drought awareness has to be made, but with consideration for tourists' <br />1 <br />