Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) RISAs are comprised of physical, natural, engineering and social scientists who partner with stakeholders to determine how climate impacts key resources and how climate information could aid in decision-making.

a.gov RISAs as R&D intermediaries to stakeholders County Executives; Governors’ Offices; Extension Agents Example Users State & Local Water/Forestry/ Fisheries Managers Integrated climate- fisheries modeling Climate- forest fire- economic research Institutional analysis Urban & regional planning analysis climate- hydrology-water management modeling Climate- crop economic modeling Socioeconomic impacts, responses, & planning White Papers Small Meetings Newsletters User Conferences Seasonal Outlook Meetings Website Tools Surveys & Studies Vulnerability Analysis Collaborative Projects Drought Task Forces

RISA Web-based Climate-Agriculture Tool Funded by NOAA and USDA Based on years of research, work with extension personnel, and stakeholder evaluations Developed for southeast US Now being tested for application in southwest US

4 Run by the Southwest RISA (CLIMAS) and sponsored by NOAA, DOI, USDA, DHS, FEMA, National Association of State Foresters; Tools for proactive fire management; Bring together climatologists, predictive service units, and fire managers from across the nation; and Improve information available to fire management decision makers by incorporating the best science and collaboration between fire and climate experts. National Fire Assessment Workshops

Coastal Climate Extension Specialist Pilot Program NOAA’s RISA and Sea Grant programs co-sponsor a pilot: Coastal Climate Extension Specialist located in the Carolinas that: –explores the benefits of connecting RISA’s climate adaptation knowledge with Sea Grant’s coastal knowledge and extension network; –extends science-based information to coastal communities, resource managers and interest groups in North and South Carolina; –contributes to coastal climate research motivated by community needs; and –provides hands-on operational and technical support for coastal climate issues. 5

Cross-RISA Colorado River project: CAP, CIG, CLIMAS, WWA RISAs Provide a comparable range of credible projections of future Colorado River stream flow based on the best available climate information. Examine the responses of the hydrology models to GCM model output using a new downscaling technique which preserves precipitation changes from the GCM. Diagnose the role of high elevation feedback on future sensitivities, potential transitions to more arid landscapes, and investigations of which GCMs perform the best over the Colorado River. On November 14, 2008, the team held a stakeholder meeting at the Southern Nevada Water Authority attended by over 50 key stakeholders. The year-2 effort will be modified as necessary to include the concerns of these attendees. 6

Tree-ring reconstructions of streamflow and climate for the Rio Grande basin and adjacent basins Tree-ring reconstructions of annual streamflow Rio Grande Basin Saguache Creek (SAG)Saguache Creek Alamosa River (ALA)Alamosa River Rio Grande, Del Norte CO (RGD)Rio Grande, Del Norte Conejos River (CON)Conejos River Rio Grande, Otowi, NM (RGO) Otowi NRCS gage Otowi naturalized flow Canadian Basin Canadian River (CAN)Canadian River Rio Grande TreeFlow Reconstruction data access Web-based tools for analysis Applications to drought planning and water management Links to stakeholder workshops Ongoing collaborations with New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission and Taos Pueblo Support for field work from USGS RISA Program/U. Arizona/U. Colorado

NOAA’s Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) program