Spring 2020 - Issue 3
The USDA California Climate Hub within the Agricultural Research Service at the UC Davis John Muir Institute works with partners across federal and state agencies, universities, and industry to help enable climate-informed decision making and advance the adaptive capacity for California's working and managed agricultural, range, and forest lands. Through these newsletters we share news and information of relevance and interest to our stakeholders. We encourage you to get in touch with us if we can be of further service or assistance.
USDA California Climate Hub
News & Notes
Current Drought Conditions, Temperature Outlook, and Consequences of Heat Extremes for California Agriculture
Drought remains over Northern California, with extreme drought developing over the Klamath River basin, and severe drought extending along the North Coast and into the northern Sacramento Valley. Spring drought in Southern California abated during May, though with the recent heatwave and the onset of the dry season, drought may return to the southern part of the state in the coming weeks.
This may be our Spring Issue 3, but it certainly has felt more like summer. As the state comes out of its first heatwave of the season, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center forecasts warmer than average temperatures for the coming weeks in Southern California, while NorCal is expected to get a bit of reprieve with normal or cooler-than-normal temperatures. NorCal is also expecting precipitation in the coming days , which will deliver much needed rain and usher in cooler temperatures, though the accompanying dry lightning is a concern as the fire season begins in earnest. The National Interagency Fire Center is projecting above normal fire potential for Northern California for June, though the central and southern coastal regions may see below normal fire weather.
The late May heatwave was anomalously warm for the time of year and may be a harbinger of the temperatures that will be more frequent under climate change.

A recent paper provides a brief review on some of the consequences of increased heat extremes for California agriculture, with a special focus on high-value perennial crops. While climate change and more frequent extreme heat will challenge California's fruit and nut production, adaptive solutions exist and research is being conducted to further the adaptive capacity of California agriculture to a warmer future.
Drought Amelioration Outlook

The  California Nevada Climate Applications Program , a NOAA RISA team, is developing an experimental product to provide a sub-seasonal scale (about 30 days in future) Drought Amelioration Outlook (DAO) for the California-Nevada region. The team is conducting a survey to understand how California- and Nevada-based stakeholders are using climate and hydrologic forecasts . The survey will also help identify decision makers that can potentially benefit from sub-seasonal forecasts and in the future provide important feedback as the DAO product is being developed.
In the News
Improved breeding and nutrition has reduced the greenhouse gas footprint of California dairy cows by 50% over the last 50 years.

Burned is beautiful: Surveys show people have a largely positive experience hiking through post-burned forest.

Research suggests bird poop may not be a big deal after all as strawberry farmers see many benefits and no effect on food safety when conserving natural habitat surrounding farms.
In Case You Missed It

Patrick Doyle and Randy Striplin present an overview of science-based, forest risk assessment tools and applications for planning and decision support in the face of potential wildfire. The presenters discuss quantitative risk assessment methods, a suppression difficulty index, and tools that can be used for forest planning, project prioritization, and wildfire management.

The Snowpack Reports from ARS are used by water managers to make decisions around flood mitigation, reservoir operations, and power generation. Snowpack summary reports are available for the Kaweah, Kings, Lakes, Merced, San Joaquin, Tuolumne River basins from ARS Watershed Management .
REMINDER: Calling all Viticulture Professionals!


We are looking for viticulture professionals (growers, vineyard managers, farm advisors, technical service providers, and others) to participate in a survey on vineyard irrigation decisions during heatwaves. If you or someone you know fit this bill, click on the flyer image to the left for more information and please take the short survey linked below.
Upcoming Events

June 9th, 2pm Elizabeth Forrestel and colleagues will discuss a Climate Hub supported project on climate change and its effect on future planning in the vineyard. Zoom:  https://ucdavis.zoom.us/s/91740337428
Password: 867092

June 30, 8am Join speakers to discuss the connections between rain-on-snow events, atmospheric rivers, and floods at the 2020 California Extreme Precipitation Symposium. An agenda and registration information can be found online at https://cepsym.org/

July 27, 11am The California-Nevada DEWS presents their Drought & Climate Outlook Webinar.

August 3-6, 10am ET The Ecological Society of America has moved their Annual Meeting to a virtual format. More information, including agenda and registration, can be found at https://www.esa.org/saltlake/
Job Opportunities

The USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station in Albuquerque has announced an Outreach Notice for the future hire of a Program Manager of the Grassland, Shrubland and Desert Ecosystems Science Program (GSD). The incumbent is responsible for development and implementation of dryland ecosystems research and tool development by working with GSD scientists and staff and collaborating with federal and State agency managers, USDA Forest Service employees, universities and non-profit organizations, industry, and international colleagues. The position will be hired at the GS-15 level and is open to federal employees and the general public. For more information, see the Outreach Notice here .

The Climate Impacts Research Consortium (CIRC) is hiring a Project and Outreach Coordinator . CIRC seeks a broad applicant pool for an incumbent to be based at Oregon State University that will work with a multi-disciplinary research program focused on helping Pacific Northwest communities, organizations, and individuals adapt to changing climate and weather patterns. For more information or to apply, visit https://jobs.oregonstate.edu/postings/91266
Get Involved!
We encourage you to be in touch if we can be of service. Contact Hub Director Steve Ostoja or Hub Postdoctoral Fellow Lauren Parker , and check out our website for more information.