Next week, RCRC 1st Vice Chair Daron McDaniel of Merced County and RCRC staff will be attending the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) 2nd National Drought Forum (Forum) in Washington, D.C., scheduled July 30-31, 2019.
Supervisor McDaniel was invited to participate on a panel discussion titled “Drought Conditions: Past, Present, and Forecasted” to share one California county’s experiences during the last drought. In addition, he has been asked to speak to the accomplishments in the intervening seven years, and the role of intergovernmental coordination in drought response. The panel will share the progress made and opportunities that remain across sectors and levels of government.
The Forum’s goals include taking stock of lessons learned and progress towards U.S. drought readiness since the last Forum in 2012; strengthening the state-federal relationship to realize greater collaboration and promote cooperative partnerships with U.S. businesses to address drought across time scales and across levels of government and sectors; discussing new information and opportunities for coordination that help move the nation from a reactive to a proactive approach to drought risk management; and, producing a list of “action items” that could improve U.S. drought readiness and resilience.
Supervisor McDaniel and RCRC staff will also take the opportunity spend the day on Capitol Hill to advocate on RCRC’s water priorities.