Contacts:

• Ted Thomas, Information Officer, (916) 653-9712
• Jeanine Jones, Interstate Resources Manager, (916) 653-8126

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Director Lester Snow presented DWR's first-ever awards for Climate Science Services at today's Climate Change Water Adaptation Summit sponsored by DWR and by the Water Education Foundation. The purpose of the awards is to recognize ongoing assistance provided by members of the academic community who have been working closely with DWR on planning for climate variability and change.

"As water managers, we must take the initiative to clearly communicate our needs for applied science to the research community", said Snow. "I am pleased to acknowledge the exemplary assistance that these scientists have provided to us, and look forward to a productive long-term working relationship with them and with their institutions as we move forward to develop water management strategies for adapting to climate variability and change."

The award recipients are:

• Dr. Daniel Cayan, California Applications Program, Scripps Institution of Oceanography,University of California, San Diego, and U.S. Geological Survey
  
• Dr. Michael Dettinger, California Applications Program, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, and U.S. Geological Survey
  
• Dr. Gregg Garfin, Climate Assessment for the Southwest, University of Arizona
  
• Dr. Bradley Udall, Western Water Assessment, University of Colorado
  
• Dr. Connie Woodhouse, Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona
  

The contributions of these award recipients to DWR climate change and variability efforts have included providing advice, data, analyses, publications, and presentations. Their willingness to engage with resource managers and support information transfer from academia is helping DWR shape its plans for incorporating consideration of climate change throughout its programs.

The recipients have participated in or been funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) program, which is designed to support integrated research among the physical, natural, and social sciences to analyze how climate science can be used to improve resource management and public policy decisions. DWR recently executed an agreement with NOAA for working with the RISA program on coordination of climate research applicable to water management. The agreement is intended to foster an ongoing relationship with the research community to ensure that applied science is carried out to clarify uncertainties, improve impact quantification, provide forecasting tools, and transfer research to decision support.

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