Summer 2018 - Issue 1
USDA California Climate Hub
News, Notes & Events
These monthly newsletters are a means to share useful and timely information with our stakeholders in the agricultural, range and forestry sectors to help manage climate risks and enhance adaptive capacity for the sustainability and productivity of their systems .
Drought Monitor as of July 17th for California
Much of the state is abnormally dry or experiencing moderate drought conditions with a smaller fraction in serve of extreme drought along the southern CA coast and inland areas. You can click directly on the map above of the button below to access the US Drought Monitor (USDM) portal. And for tutorials on understanding the USDM outputs click here for link to US drought mitigation centers website. These maps are updated each Thursday, so be sure to consult the website for the latest on drought conditions for your region.
8-10 day and One-month Temperature Outlooks
In the next 8-10 days CA is expected to see a 70% chance of above average temperatures.

The 30 day outlook for CA also predicts a hotter than normal for the majority of the state.
New Report

California Rangelands Vulnerability Assessment
The Climate Vulnerability Assessment of California Rangelands is now available on-line. This report is a synthesis of climate, biophysical, and social/cultural changes anticipated for California rangelands through mid-century. It also includes original geospatial analysis projecting change in climatic water deficit across vegetation types that are suitable for use as rangelands across California.

New Report
Green House Gas Emission Sources and Mitigation Opportunities in California Specialty Crops
A new report looking at opportunities of agricultural practices in California specialty crops to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and improve soil health and organic matter storage. This report reviews recent work on this topic, develop emission factors for nitrous oxide emissions from specialty crops, and present advancements in tool development for tracking on-farm greenhouse gas emissions.

A story map of the 2012-2016 California Mega Drought
The most of the state in some level of drought conditions which are expected to only intensify as we push further in the hottest summer months it can be helpful to recall hoe the historical 2011-2017 drought played out. The national integrated drought information system or NIDIS in partnership with NOAA;s modeling, analysis, predictions and projects program MAPP developed a story map that describes the evolution of the drought, the causes and future implications.
Welcome Climate Hub Intern Rachel Hager
Rachel Hager is a PhD student in ecology at Utah State University and a visiting intern with the USDA CA Climate Hub via the NSF-funded Climate Adaptation Science program at USU. The Climate Adaptation Science program connects graduate students with an internship to provide direct experience in actionable science. Rachel’s internship with the CA Climate Hub explores how to better connect reforestation objectives in the Sierra Nevada forests with ecosystem functions and functional traits to create more resilient forests for the coming years.
The Sierra Nevada forests face unprecedented challenges in the coming years including forest fires increasing in size and intensity, bark beetle impacts, and shifts in precipitation and temperature patterns. The goal of Rachel’s project is to provide reforestation practitioners with increased knowledge about targeted seed sourcing based on desired traits. To achieve this goal, Rachel and the CA Climate Hub created a simple survey for restoration practitioners to examine their critical reforestation objectives. These objectives will then be connected to the ecosystem functions the forests perform and consequently specific desired traits within economically and foundationally important species. Through this internship with the CA Climate Hub, Rachel hopes to better connect researchers and reforestation practitioners with actionable insights about resiliency in Sierra Nevada forests in the face of climate change.

Submit your Proposal for the National Adaptation Forum
Proposals are now being accepted for Symposia, Training Sessions, Working Groups, Oral Presentations, Posters, and the Tools Cafe. Submissions should reflect the best thinking in the adaptation field.
Job Opportunity - Climate and Fire Science
Cal Fire - FRAP is accepting applications for a Climate and Fire Science Behavior Specialist. The position will require integrating detailed climate data into fire behavior models as well as other tasks described in the duty statement. To apply the applicant must be on the hiring list that can be done via an on-line exam then submitting the State application form.
Stay in Touch
Let me know if you have news worthy items, outputs or products or associated resources that may be of interest to the USDA California Climate Hub community. You can email items to me, Steven Ostoja, USDA California Climate Hub Director by clicking here .