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<br />4 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Drought information and data are complex and not currently presented in an easily understood or <br />standardized format. The Commission also heard that drought-related data helpful to stakeholders <br />in preparing for drought are often difficult to find or interpret. This is especially true for <br />individuals, small businesses, and some communities and tribes who do not have ongoing <br />relationships with drought management agencies. Suggestions indicate the need for access to a <br />"gateway" for managing high-quality, standardized, and comprehensible current information and <br />historical data and getting it into the hands of those who need it-the providers of drought-related <br />training and technical assistance, local and state govemments, regional planners, tribes, the media, <br />decision-makers, and the general public. One suggested methods for dissemination of the <br />information and data was to utilize existing information-delivery networks such as the Department <br />of Agriculture's Cooperative Extension program to the extent possible. <br /> <br />As the Western Drought Coordination Council has noted, basic weather, water, aod climate <br />observations are the foundation of the monitoring and assessment activity that alerts the nation to <br />impending drought. The current federal interagency effort to indicate likely drought trends two <br />weeks ahead of time on the drought-monitoring map is a start. But we heard that more long-term <br />forecasts would improve services to stakeholders, including forecast maps of drought locations in <br />the medium range (ten days or two weeks) and one to two seasons in advance. The Climate <br />Prediction Center is producing an experimental two-season drought forecast map, which <br />schematically displays likely changes in drought over the next two seasons. Best use of this product <br />depends on a careful explanation of its limitations. <br /> <br />The third category of needs focuses on supporting and expanding drought-related research to <br />incorporate the needs of stakeholders and the general public. <br /> <br />Research is key to effective drought planning and impact-reduction, and emergency response and to <br />drought-related technical assistance and training. Important drought-related research areas include <br />drought planning and technical communications as well as sciences such as climatology, <br />hydrology, plants, and soils. <br /> <br />Our analysis indicates that research has proved essential in several arenas. As examples, dryland <br />crop and forage production, which is totally dependent on rainfall, has benefited from research that <br />identified germplasm and dominant genes in naturally occurring drought-tolerant plants. Options <br />for dryland farmers and ranchers to adjust their cropping systems in response to drought predictions <br />can be expanded if research is able to develop novel genes and gene systems that enhance drought- <br />resistant or drought-tolerant species. Research has identified characteristics of impacts resulting <br />from changes in weather patterns such as El Nino, La Nina, and the North Atlantic Oscillation. <br />Additional research will lay the foundation for developing strategies to cope with those changes. <br />Research has provided the basis for technology needed in long-range weather forecasting. More <br />research can help improve the accuracy of those forecasts. Research results in information needed <br />by individuals, communities, states, and regions to facilitate more efficient water use. Continued <br />research can supply the most up-to-date, accurate information possible for those strategies. <br />Research has been the impetus for improvements in irrigation efficiency. Continued research can <br />help determine how to improve storage of natural precipitation for both agricultural and non- <br />agricultural uses. <br /> <br />8 <br />