Dr. Monte P. Sanford

Climate change in Nevada has impacted and will likely continue to impact Nevada Tribes and their natural resources, especially water. In the last century, Nevada has experienced an increase in average temperature, increased precipitation, a truncation of the snow season, and increased storms  overall. The temperature has increased by approximately 0.5 degrees Fahrenheit over the last 100 years, resulting in more heat waves and generally more aridity. Precipitation patterns are nearly opposite, however, with some areas of Nevada receiving upwards of 20% more precipitation compared to levels in 1900.

Precipitation along the Sierra Nevada are strongly influenced by El Niño events that tend to occur when equatorial sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean are warmer than normal. The 1998 El Niño event created some extreme weather, including severe flooding as winter storms pounded the Sierras with nearly three times the average amount of seasonal precipitation. El Niño events that affect the Sierras and other areas of Nevada are predicted to increase in frequency and duration due to global climate change.

Interestingly, however, warmer and more arid climatic conditions in combination with an average 16-day decrease in snow season in the last 60 years has limited water supplies in Nevada and has caused severe droughts in some areas of the state.

While Nevada’s temperature is predicted to increase on average, some seasonal and spatial differences are likely. Over the next 100 years, Nevada average temperatures in spring and autumn are predicted to increase by 3-4 degrees F, whereas summer and winter temperatures are predicted to climb by 5-6 degrees F on average. Regarding spatial differences in temperatures, eastern Nevada temperatures are predicted to increase more so than western Nevada. (Eastern Nevada Tribes such as Duckwater Shoshone, Ely Shoshone, Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, Te-moak; Western Nevada Tribes such as Washoe Tribe, Pyramid Lake Paiute, and Fallon Paiute-Shoshone.)

Predicted Temperature Change

Increased temperatures impact both evapotranspiration and precipitation. Because Nevada is expected to experience more arid summers, like many other advancing arid zones on the planet, greater rates of evapotranspiration will occur. Precipitation is predicted to be more erratic over the next 100 years with decreased precipitation in the summer months and increases in fall, spring, and winter months — wetter winters, but drier summers. Further, climate models predict increased winter rainfall, reductions in snow pack, earlier snowmelts, and increased early-season runoff.

These climatic changes are likely to affect both surface and groundwater supplies that are likely to impact Tribal resources. Decreased groundwater supplies are likely if fall/winter/spring runoff has less time to penetrate into the ground. Increased evapotranspiration is likely to decrease groundwater levels, depending on how phreatophytic vegetation responds to climate change and other potential impacts. Moreover, evaporation from surface water sources, especially ponds, lakes and reservoirs, will result from higher summertime temperatures.

Predicted Precipitation Change (%)

Tribal communities are heavily dependent upon local ecosystems in both economic and cultural ways. Local ecosystems provide water, fish, wildlife, plants, spiritual or sacred resources, and a large array of other natural resources necessary for their cultural survival. Climate change can alter ground and surface water available to Tribes, fish and wildlife habitat, and other essential ecosystem components.

A new report by the National Wildlife Federation called “Facing the Storm” provides an overview of how Native American Tribes especially are particularly vulnerable to climate change.

1. Drought – “Drought is perhaps the most pervasive climate-induced weather impact on on Indian Tribe”, the report says. Water is both critical for life and critical for some tribal economies and their continued sustainability. Particularly in the West, water demands for agricultural activities and especially large municipalities are at an all time high and they continue to grow. Often times, new water projects that aim to bring more water to growing municipalities has direct and indirect impacts on Tribal water resources and natural resources connected to that water.

2. Wildfire – Climate change has been increasing the frequency, intensity, and size of wildfires. Wildfires are now impacting large tracts of lands and impacting Tribal communities. Tribes must deal with the costs of wildfire-induced health problems, air and water quality problems, and damage to cultural and natural resources. Wildfire also directly affects large tracts of fish and wildlife habitat that may be key components of Tribal economies, livelihoods, or connects to Mother Earth.

3. Flooding – Climate change is also causing heavier rainfall events, earlier snowmelt, and changing patterns of winter precipitation. Floods in the United States have greatly impacted Tribal and other lands recently. Floods impact Tribal communities themselves, fish and wildlife habitat, and water quality. Restoring water quality during and after flood events can be a costly endeavor for Tribal governments and their people.

Because actions on non-Tribal lands/reservations impact Tribes and their lands, Tribes must be involved in the decision-making process on climate change matters. To date, Tribes have been largely excluded in climate change initiatives at both state and federal levels, including DOI Climate Change Adaptation Initiative, BIA Trust Natural Resource Program, and Coastal Zone Management Act to name a few.

Tribes can exercise numerous options to become more involved in climate change initiatives and adaptation planning:

1. Develop climate change initiatives. Some tribes have developed initiatives and partnerships with other tribal governments, scientific and legal communities, and various federal, state, and local governments to determine how best to adapt to climate change or offset carbon emissions.

2. Submit requests to federal and state agencies that are heading climate change initiatives. Request Tribal participation by having opportunities to comment on proposed climate change planning/adaptation/mitigation documents. Request Tribal participation at climate change initiative and planning meetings.

3. Draft climate change adaptation planning documents for Tribal lands and aboriginal lands that impact resources on tribal lands (e.g., adjacent mountains or basins that are source water supplies for the Tribe). Actions that affect climate change do occur beyond tribal reservation and/or aboriginal lands; thus, adaptation planning in and beyond reservation boundaries is essential. Request meetings with appropriate state and federal agencies to discuss the Tribal climate change plans.

4. Develop partnerships with experts, organizations or groups that have a climate change focus. Learn what resources the Tribe can use to their advantage.

5. Develop climate change agenda items at Tribal Council Meetings, InterTribal Council Meetings, or other Tribal events. Or provide opportunities for Tribal representatives to learn from other Tribes on climate change planning and adaptation. Other Tribal organizations, such as ONR (Our Natural Resources), are likely to provide a directed and united team in developing strategies and representing Tribes in front of state, federal, and international organizations.

6. For Tribes that are more prone to drought, Tribes that have not asserted water rights may be more susceptible to having water rights settled in quantities less than the Tribe is entitled to, simple due to less surface, ground, and recharge water.

Council on Environmental Quality Releases Draft Plan to Protect Water Quality and Availability from Climate Change Impacts

WASHINGTON, DC – Recognizing that a changing climate will affect the quality and availability of the Nation’s water resources, the Council on Environmental Quality released a draft Action Plan on June 2, 2011, to help Federal agencies assure adequate water supplies, safeguard water quality, and protect public health and property.  The draft Action Plan will be available for 45 days of public comment to allow the public to provide input and feedback before it is finalized.

The Draft National Action Plan for Managing Freshwater Resources in a Changing Climate recommends Federal agency actions to aid freshwater resource managers in managing and protecting the Nation’s water resources.  It also outlines ways in which Federal agencies can support state, local and tribal governments in their water resources planning by improving access to quality data and information and best practices. The draft Action Plan responds to a 2010 report from the Obama Administration’s interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force that identified freshwater resources planning as a priority.

“American communities rely on freshwater resources for drinking water, farming, energy production, and a host of activities that directly affect the health of our families and our economy.  The quality and availability of our water resources is vulnerable to significant impacts from a changing climate, demanding smart planning to safeguard these critical resources,” said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality. “By ensuring Federal agencies and state and local partners have the tools they need to assess and plan for risks to water resources and infrastructure, we are protecting our assets across the country so that they can continue to meet the needs of American communities.”

The U.S. Global Change Research Program has identified several major impacts of a changing climate on the Nation’s freshwater resources, including rising water temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and increasing intensity of rain and storm events. These changes are predicted to result in on-the-ground impacts on communities’ water supplies.  For example, rising sea levels are expected to degrade coastal groundwater resources and flood water treatment facilities, threatening the health, safety and economic viability of communities.

Government agencies and citizens should collaboratively manage freshwater resources in response to a changing climate in order to assure adequate water supplies, protect human life, health and property, and protect water quality and aquatic ecosystems.  To accomplish that goal, the draft Action Plan identifies specific actions Federal agencies should take, including:

• Establish a planning process to adapt water resources management to a changing climate that includes better coordinating Federal agencies and maintaining strong engagement with state, local and tribal governments, stakeholders and the public.
• Improve the quality of water resources and climate change information available to decision-makers.
• Expand the use of water efficiency practices and technologies.
• Develop a toolbox of the most effective freshwater conservation practices to help state and local officials and facility managers identify and adopt these practices.
• Develop a pilot climate change vulnerability index for a major category of water facilities, such as drinking water systems, to help facility managers prioritize their adaptation responses.
• Develop a “one stop” internet portal for up-to-date data and information on water resources and climate change.

The draft Action Plan also encourages state, tribal and local governments to continue their leadership in developing and implementing climate adaptation plans, and provides information and best practices to support their work.

About the Climate Change Adaptation Task Force
The interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force is co-chaired by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  As called for by President Obama in Executive Order 13514 on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy and Economic Performance, the Task Force released recommendations the President in October 2010 outlining actions the Federal Government should take to expand and strengthen the Nation’s capacity to better understand and manage climate-related risks.

To read the Draft National Action Plan for Managing Freshwater Resources in a Changing Climate and to submit comments, please visit:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives/adaptation

Water in the 21^st Century West:
A High Country News Reader

Char Miller (editor)
University of Oregon Press, Corvallis, Oregon
312 pp. paper. 2009
[ISBN: 978-0-87071-566-2]

Water resources are paramount to environmental quality and sustainability in the American West, as in many parts of the world. The business of developing water resources for agriculture and municipal use has resulted in significant economic gains for some, but significant losses for species, ecosystems, and some people. This gain and loss dichotomy has boomed in the American West and created substantial water conflicts. These conflicts, fueled by opposing views of land owners, water companies, environmental groups, governmental agencies, and political leaders, have only increased as the availability of clean water for multiple uses diminishes across the west.

Water in the 21^st Century West is a compilation of short chapters that individually tell a unique story about water issues and conflicts in the American West, but collectively tell of a much larger story on water issues that deserves serious conservation and political attention. From the Pacific Northwest to the Great Basin to southern California, authors of each chapter describe past and present gains and losses for economic development and ecosystems in non-technical writing. The stories are written with the same prose as you would find in High Country News, which makes this book highly readable for a diverse audience.

The book is parsed into seven sections, the first of which is an introduction, “Dry Spell,” by Char Miller. The introduction was well written and provided a careful summary of key components of the forthcoming chapters. Although Miller’s introduction was entirely sufficient as it pertained to the American West, some reference to how the American West’s water issues exemplify water issues in other parts of the world could have been added to strengthen the book’s applicability to global water problems. Nonetheless, the introduction clearly articulates the diverse set of water problems that we face in the western US.

The second section of the book, “Climate of Change,” is a logical first piece, insofar as the vast majority of water in the western US originates as snowfall and climate change can affect the quantity and timing of that precipitation. The first of three chapters moves quickly into describing a proactive effort by Aspen, Colorado, in preserving its famous quality of snow and duration of skiing each year, both of which have already been impacted by climate change. The next two chapters speak to the issue of how conservation groups and government agencies will need to confront climate change in order to protect species, ecosystems, and water resources. Although these chapters provided important insights into water issues in the western US, a mere 18 pages and three chapters to briefly touch on climate change and water resource impacts seemed entirely short-changed, especially given the urgency and magnitude of the issues. Thus, it almost seems that a separate section at the end of the book would address how future water resource policy and laws are likely to be influenced from climate change.

The third section, “Dammed Up,” was thoughtfully organized and captured the complexity of issues surrounding dam construction and removal, including politics, agricultural and urban development, and environmental concerns. The first chapter in this section, “Ed Dominany: An encounter with the West’s Undaunted Dam Builder,” was unique in that it was a transcribed conversation between the author, Ed Marston, and Ed Dominany. Moreover, it provided important contextual and historical atmosphere for the rapid development of dams by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and set the stage for subsequent chapters on dam-related water controversies.

The fourth section, “Tribal Power,” was an excellent compilation of stories about Indian control over water resources that ranged geographically from the Puget Sound to New Mexico and Arizona. The interplay of culture, science, law, and policy presented in each chapter created well-rounded stories that were always interesting. Particularly important for tribal nations are federally reserved water rights for Indian reservations, established by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1908 Winters v. United States, often referred to as the Winters decision or Winters Doctrine. This land mark case provided that Indian reservations have reserved water for future use in the amount necessary to fulfill the purposes of their reservation at the time reservations were established. Not surprisingly, the collection of stories in Tribal Power tend to relate to the Winters Doctrine, and the diverse set of stories from rivers, estuaries, and groundwater provide promising results of how tribal nations protect and restore ecosystems in the western states, while securing benefits to their people and culture.

The next three sections of the book, Underground Tension, Toxic Terrain, and Urban Pressures, cover some of the biggest water issues and conflicts in the American West. Surface waters have been greatly reduced and contaminated, leading to municipalities to pump groundwater supplies to feed economic growth and development. But pumping groundwater and exporting it to far-off destinations has its own set of problems. The authors of theses chapters conducted excellent reporting of current water issues, the politics that affect water use decisions, and the deals that are brokered to secure water resources for municipalities.

Overall, the diversity of stories in this book provided an excellent portrayal of the complexity and diversity of water issues that the American West has faced in the past, is facing at present, and will likely face in the near future. In most areas of the arid western states, municipalities are struggling to harness sufficient water resources to encourage economic growth and development, and such issues will only become more contentious in the coming years. That said, I would recommend this book to anyone working in a related field or anyone interested in learning about water issues in the American West, as the book is an excellent resource that covers the science, culture, politics, law, and socioeconomics of water resources and their use.

Reviewed by:

Dr. Monte P. Sanford

The Southern Nevada Water Authority’s Groundwater Development Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in Clark, Lincoln, and White Pine Counties is scheduled for release to the public in early summer 2011 by the Bureau of Land Management. This Groundwater Development Project proposes to pump and export nearly 200,000 acre-feet per year of groundwater from eastern Nevada to the Las Vegas area. This massive project would result in severe and irreparable impacts, including cultural, environmental, social, and economic impacts. The public, governmental and nongovernmental entities, and any other organizations/people have an opportunity to comment on this Draft EIS within 90 days of its release by the BLM. Contact me at monte.sanford@gmail.com for questions on providing comments on this Draft EIS.

Habitat restoration efforts are finally being implemented at the Monarch Grove Sanctuary, a task that has been on the horizon since this conservation easement was purchased in 1989. Following the success of the potted tree effort in 2010/2011 season in retaining a large number of monarch butterflies at the Monarch Grove Sanctuary, efforts are now under way to plant those potted trees in locations that may provide both short-term and long-term benefits to monarch overwintering habitat. Efforts by numerous citizens of Pacific Grove, city government officials, and scientists (including Drs. Monte Sanford, Francis Villablanca, Stuart Weiss, and Lincoln Brower) have all contributed to the planning of this restoration effort. A few very dedicated local citizens from Pacific Grove and a dedicated group from Cal Poly headed up the effort to plant trees in the Sanctuary.

Pacific Grove’s Mitigation Proposal

After the tree-trimming crisis at the Monarch Grove Sanctuary in Pacific Grove, a few people from PG moved quickly in order to mitigate that habitat degradation and to provide at least some overwintering habitat for monarchs in the following winter season. The proposed action was to place potted trees, including eucalyptus, oaks, and pines, that were of sufficient height in the sanctuary in those approximate locations where tree branches were trimmed and where monarch typically formed clusters. The potted trees would provide wind buffers and roosting sites that had thermal benefits.

Monarchs Cluster on Potted Trees

Despite a surprising amount of opposition to this proposal, a number of monarch enthusiasts and experts all worked collaboratively to get those potted trees in place for the next overwintering season. The job was accomplished with little time to spare.  Monarchs started arriving in the fall of 2010 and forming small clusters on those potted trees.  Few people would have expected that the monarchs would actually congregate on those potted trees, but that is exactly what the monarchs did.

Preliminary Lessons from Pacific Grove

Monarchs were clearly using the potted trees as a roosting/clustering substrate, thus deriving some benefit from the potted trees. That said, the potted tree experiment suggests that this might be a mitigation option in other overwintering habitats for monarchs when natural or anthropogenic disturbances degrade clustering sites. Citizens of Pacific Grove have made a unique discovery that should bring forth an interesting discussion on how such restoration and mitigation options might benefit monarch conservation. This issue has raised interest in Pacific Grove to determine how conservation actions and policies will spring-board from the success of the potted trees. Importantly, Pacific Grove stands to gain wide recognition for developing innovative, community-based approaches to monarch conservation if the PG-story can be delivered to national and international audiences in the right forum. And this is exactly the type output that should be produced from Butterfly Town, USA. After over a decade of silence from Butterfly Town, USA, Pacific Grove is once again rising to the occasion to protect their natural treasures and leave a legacy for monarch habitat conservation for the next generation to enjoy.

The Ecological Society of America posted their Position Statement  regarding ecosystem management under climate change forces.  Continued climate change is likely to impair critical ecosystem services, such as clean water, carbon sequestration, and commodity production.  Strategic ecosystem management can limit and adapt to those climate-induced changes. Read the detailed ESA’s statement at http://www.esa.org/pao/policyStatements/pdfDocuments/Ecosystem%20Management%20in%20a%20Changing%20Climate.pdf

Here is a good article from the Ecosystem Marketplace

http://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/pages/dynamic/article.page.php?page_id=7419&section=home&eod=1

California Sustainable Tourism Summit in Pacific Grove?

Pacific Grove (aka Butterfly Town) was home to the inaugural California Sustainable Tourism Summit in October 2009, nicely timed with the arrival of monarchs to their winter resort in coastal California. One of the goals of the Summit was to share information and generate ready-to-use ideas on sustainability to be translated into increased tourism dollars. This Summit seemed relatively important for Pacific Grove, like much of California, because they have been in precarious financial straits (even discussing bankruptcy). What is rather shocking is that despite that Pacific Grove draws major tourism in part because of their Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, recent destruction of monarch habitat at the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary likely contributed to the loss of monarchs overwintering there this year.

Clearly, a fraction of the tourism to Pacific Grove is because city officials and the community had the foresight to dub their city as a monarch butterfly overwintering sanctuary, even establishing several legal ordinances to protect the monarch and its habitat  (e.g., City Ordinance No. 352 makes it a misdemeanor to kill or threaten a butterfly, punishable by a $1000 fine). That sort of action drew tourism to Pacific Grove.

What is Needed

The City would be better off investing in ways that would optimize habitat conditions to increase the numbers of monarchs that overwinter in their Sanctuary.  Our understanding of the environmental factors that lead to that are still largely unknown. Even more so, we lack a solid understanding of the specific reasons why monarch numbers fluctuate from site to site and year to year. The better way forward is to form an interdisciplinary team of economists, scientists, tourism experts, NGOs, government entities, and others to 1) determine the relative influences of the environmental determinants, or habitat parameters, that drive monarch fluctuations over spatial and temporal scales, 2) determine conservation and management strategies that will increase numbers of overwintering monarchs, 3) determine how increases in monarchs will translate into tourism dollars, 4) determine ways to market the monarchs and the area as a whole to boost tourism, and 5) adopt an adaptive management framework that continually integrates new information to refine those strategies.