Summer 2020 - Issue 1
USDA California Climate Hub
News & Notes
A Match Made At CAMP

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is working to build stronger relationships between NRCS employees and the producers they serve through the new Conservation Agriculture Mentoring Program, or CAMP. California NRCS is looking for producer volunteers who are passionate about conservation to partner with and mentor early career NRCS employees for a hands-on, "on-the-land" learning opportunity. For more information or to get involved, check out the flyer, and contact California CAMP Coordinator Emma Chow or your local NRCS District Conservationist!
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Dana Walsh, USFS Silviculturist at Eldorado National Forest

Dana Walsh is a Silviculturist at Eldorado National Forest working on projects ranging from vegetation management to promoting ecological resilience to climate-smart post-fire forest restoration.
Check out the video below from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy to hear Dana speak more about her work with the El Dorado National Forest and what her team is doing to restore forest cover and improve management with an eye towards the inevitable next wildfire.
California Climate Hub Quarterly Briefing

A few of last quarter's highlights:

  • Fact sheets were created synthesizing information on climate change and California agriculture, including two fact sheets focusing on specific agroclimatic metrics (chill accumulation and cold hardiness). These will be part of a compendium of briefs highlighting climate change, agriculture, and agricultural adaptation and mitigation opportunities in the state.
  • Together with USFS and UC Berkeley partners, a decision support toolkit was developed that can be used by decision makers when assessing best practices for climate-smart reforestation after forest die-off due to events like drought or fire. The Climate Wise Reforestation Toolkit allows user to ID areas to consider and prioritize for reforestation, assess the scale of recent tree mortality, and review best management practices for climate-smart reforestation.
  • The Hub partnered with researchers at the USFS to develop a new Climate Change Primer for Forest Managers in the Sierra Nevada, which provides a brief summary of the latest science to support forest managers in developing climate change adaptation strategies. The primer summarizes information on forest resilience in California forests, expected climate change effects, and provides an overview of current themes in resource management today.
In Every Issue...
Climate, Drought, and Fire Outlooks
For more information on the climate, drought, soil moisture, or fire outlooks, click on the images below.
Warmer than average temperatures expected to remain through July.
Normal precipitation conditions expected for July.
Northern California remains in drought. No drought in the south.
Drought is expected to linger through summer in NorCal.
Below normal soil moisture is expected for July in NorCal.
For more on the fire outlook for Northern California, click here .

For more on the fire outlook for Southern California, click here .
In the News
Events

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/

August 27th The Climate Science Alliance will hold their 2020 San Diego Climate Summit in a virtual format.
Get Involved!
We encourage you to be in touch if we can be of service or assistance. Contact Hub Director Steve Ostoja and check out the California Climate Hub website for more information.

Have something you'd like us to share with our newsletter recipients? Know of a colleague who should be a part of our Spotlight series? Please let us know! Contact Hub Postdoctoral Fellow Lauren Parker.
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.