drought
Ranchers battle western wildfires
Fires in Washington State have ranchers worried about losing animals and resources, according to the Spokesman Review in Spokane.
Plant scientist works on drought-tolerant lettuce
At a USDA lab in Salinas, California, scientist Renee Eriksen is trying to create a drought-tolerant lettuce, says the Salinas Californian.
Climate change’s share of California drought: 8-27 percent
Researchers say global climate change added 8 to 27 percent of the severity of the ongoing drought in California, said the Los Angeles Times, citing a study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
Drought has less impact than feared on California agriculture
One of the most productive agricultural regions of the world, California has suffered less than expected from the drought that started four years ago, partly due to "the increased, but unsustainable, groundwater pumping," says a report by Pacific Institute, a think tank.
Relentless drought to cost California ag economy $1.8 billion
The fourth year of unrelenting drought in California will cost the state agricultural economy $1.8 billion - 20 percent more than in 2014 - although farmers and their irrigation districts "are showing more resilience to the drought than many had anticipated," says a report by the UC-Davis Center for Watershed Sciences.
Government sets strategy for re-seeding land burned by wildfires
The government announced its National Seed Strategy to restore federal lands damaged by wildfire, drought, severe storms and invasive species with "appropriate seeds to help grow plant life and pollinator habitat."
Worst drought since 1977 felt throughout Washington State
This year's drought in Washington State "is by far the worst since 1977" and covers nearly all of the state, says Capital Press.
Fruit and veggie prices steady despite California drought
Americans will see negligible increases in the supermarket prices of fresh fruits and vegetables this year despite continued drought in California, the No. 1 state for produce, says the Food Price Outlook.
In irony, more efficient irrigation means less water for others
Growers along the South Platte River in Colorado are becoming more efficient water users and the outcome is the opposite of what most people would expect, says public broadcaster KUNC.
Unusually strong El Nino may bring winter rain to California
One of the strongest El Nino weather patterns ever forecast is expected to peak in late fall or early winter but it's too early to say if it will ease the four-year-old drought in Californa.
Urban farmers save water by recycling it
Small-scale urban farmers in drought-stricken California are finding creative ways to keep plants alive without wasting water, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Larger hops plantings offset drought, but yields may suffer
Despite drought in the Pacific Northwest, hops growers expect to harvest 74.5 million pounds of the flowering, climbing plant used to provide the bitter taste of beer, says KIMA-TV in Yakima. That would be a 5-percent increase in production from last year.
Drought’s impact on trees lasts two to four years
A worldwide study found that trees need two to four years to recover from drought and resume normal growth rates, which means forests would not store as much carbon as climate models have assumed, says the University of Utah.
The sensitive center pivot and thrifty irrigation
In the face of drought in California and the Plains, growers are looking for ways to make the thriftiest use possible from the scarce water supply, says Ensia, describing research on how to nurture crops without wastage.
Drought deepens in Pacific Northwest, heat blamed in fish kill
Topsoil and subsoil moisture levels continue to decline in the Pacific Northwest, where streamflows have shriveled to record or near-record lows, says the weekly Drought Monitor.
As California drought bill goes to Senate, the pressure is on Feinstein
White House threatens veto of California water bill
Ahead of a House vote scheduled for today, the White House threatened to veto a water bill backed by California Republicans, saying it overrides state water law and the Endangered Species Act, "thereby resulting in conditions that could be detrimental to the Delta fish and other species."
In a geological blink of an eye, Ogallala aquifer is in peril
Dry wells are a common problem in drought-stricken California, but the state has reservoirs, rivers and snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada.
Water stress is growing risk for world’s crops, says think tank
One-quarter of the world’s crops, from bananas and plantains to rice, wheat, corn, and soybeans, are grown in areas where the water supply is highly stressed or highly variable, said the World Resources Institute on Wednesday. Rice, wheat, and corn, three of the most important crops, are particularly vulnerable, it said.