The Department of Commerce and NOAA have awarded US$1.95m in Inflation Reduction Act funding to support tribal resilience to drought.
Improved drought forecasting
The funding supports four projects led by tribal nations that own lands within the American West, including the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington, the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation in Montana and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota.
The projects will address key needs of tribal nations and communities, such as improved drought monitoring, forecasting and resilience for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, to include the development of a comprehensive long-term drought monitoring and resilience plan.
“The Biden-Harris Administration recognizes that tribal communities face unique drought challenges that require customized approaches, tools and data,” said US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “As part of NOAA’s work to support tribal nations facing increasing droughts, we’re funding programs that integrate indigenous knowledge and culture, and medicinal and spiritual values.”
According to the latest figures from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, the US has sustained 400 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters since 1980, including 31 billion-dollar drought events. These new funds will support projects by tribal nations to help understand and mitigate drought impacts on the land, water supplies, traditional foods and cultural practices.
To effectively address tribal needs as mandated by the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) (NIDIS) Public Law, NIDIS and partners developed the NIDIS Tribal Drought Engagement Strategy: 2021-2025 in consultation with tribal partners. The new funding addresses needs identified in this strategy.
Funding extreme weather resilience
“NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System supports enhancing drought resilience with tribal partners in the West,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad. “We are pleased to provide funds to support drought planning and risk mitigation, helping tribal communities prepare for and manage the impacts of drought.”
Alongside this, the project will look into the identification and mitigation of current and future drought impacts on the water supply of the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe and the ecological functioning of the Snoqualmie River. They will also develop a drought contingency plan for the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation, including conservation of sweetgrass, a culturally important wetland plant that can help build resilience to drought. Finally, they will investigate the information and tools needed by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe to maintain a sustainable water supply on their reservation, including groundwater modeling and the feasibility of aquifer recharge.
According to NOAA, the projects are crucial to enable these tribal nations to build resilience to drought conditions and, where appropriate, the outcomes and lessons learned will be shared with tribal nations and communities across the West.
In related news, the Department of Commerce and NOAA recently announced US$15.3m in funding for NOAA and external collaborators to provide transparent climate projection products and equitable services for the public. This work will address increased demand by public and private sectors for reliable, long-term extreme weather climate information. Click here to read the full story.
