Vulnerability

Implications of Shifting Timing in Water Availability in Eastern Washington

By Aaron Whittemore, Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University The Columbia River Basin has grappled with limited water supplies for decades. This was most noticeable during 2015, when we experienced severe summertime drought across large areas of Washington State, which reduced the amount of water available to meet the region’s demands. […]

Side of irrigation canal with intake to the pump, dry above the level of the water

Extreme Adaptation: Navigating the Troubled Waters of the ‘New Normal’

By David I. Gustafson, Adjunct Research Faculty at Washington State University This article is part of a series, Climate Friendly Fruit & Veggies, highlighting work from the Fruit & Vegetable Supply Chains: Climate Adaptation & Mitigation Opportunities (F&V CAMO) project, a collaborative research study co-led by investigators at the University of Florida and the Agriculture & Food […]

People paddling in boats across a flooded street with rows of buildings on either side

Check it out: Spanish Language Reports on Climate Impacts in Washington

By Karen Hills, Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University The recent heatwave in the Pacific Northwest has many of us thinking about climate change and what life may look like as the region warms. The Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington (UW) recently announced the release of two publications […]

Two reports, places on a lawn background

What Can We Learn from the ‘Pacific Northwest Heat Dome’ of 2021?

By Nicole Bell, Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University It wasn’t just hot in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) during the last week of June. It was extraordinarily hot. Temperatures at Oregon State University’s North Willamette Research and Extension Center (NWREC) in Aurora, Oregon, reached a high of 113°F on June 28, […]

Close up of leaves and berries, with leaves curled and with large brown areas, and most berries tan colored, contrasting with one black berry

Agriculture is Feeling the Flames and the Smoke

By Jacob Powell, General Agricultural Extension Agent for Sherman and Wasco Counties, Oregon State University The primary focus of wildfire preparedness and prevention in the past has been in forests and the wildland urban interface. However, 75% of the area consumed by wildfires across the U.S. is in non-forested ecosystems, much of it covering rangelands […]

Ice, Ice…Maybe?

Q&A with Anders Carlson and Aaron Hartz of the Oregon Glaciers Institute By Paris Edwards Did you know that the Northwest is the most glacier-rich region in the lower 48? Glaciers throughout the region provide essential cool, late-summer water for irrigation, fish, and for our taps. Their fate under warming climate conditions, however, is shaky. Even […]

Two people in snow gear and skis in a snow field, with a snow covered mountain in the background

What Does Climate Change Mean for Flooding in the Columbia River Basin?

By Karen Hills Previous posts on AgClimate.net have focused on research related to anticipated climate change impacts on water availability and timing of available irrigation water in the Columbia River Basin, given the concern with having sufficient water to support the range of uses in the region. But is too little water the only concern? […]

Aerial view of farms along a river with flood waters in fields and around buildings

Check it out: Putting Oregon’s September Fires in Past—and Future—Context

By Sonia A. Hall Most of us probably agree that 2020 was an unprecedented year in many ways. Much of the western U.S. will remember 2020 for, among other things, the extensive fires that burned across many states. One of those states is Oregon, where climatic and weather conditions converged during Labor Day to enable […]

Roadside Fire Danger sign showing "Extreme" danger

A Review of Climate Change Research in the Columbia River Basin: Missing the Mark on Agriculture

By Paris Edwards Our understanding of regional climate change effects today will be used to inform management, policy, and the new scientific endeavors of tomorrow. With this in mind, a team of doctoral students from the Water Resources Department at the University of Idaho in Moscow carried out a systematic review of all peer-reviewed studies […]

Stream through an alpine meadow, with a snowcapped mountain in the background

Pathways to Progress in Tackling Stormwater Runoff in Near-Urban Agricultural Areas

By Kevin Hyde, Puget Sound Partnership Stormwater runoff, particularly from roadways, is one of the leading sources of water pollution in Puget Sound. Stormwater pollution impacts people and ecosystems in different ways. Many of the things Puget Sound residents hold dear, like swimming along rivers and beaches, harvesting and eating shellfish, and fishing for salmon, […]

Culvert draining into a pool of water with oily slick on the surface