The Geological Society of America in association with the Congressional
Hazards Caucus and the Hazards Caucus Alliance invites you to a public
briefing
Managing Drought and Water Scarcity in Vulnerable Environments - A Roadmap for Change in the United States
Wednesday, July 18 2007
Senate Briefing
Room 385 Russell
11:00 am to 12:00 pm
House Briefing
Room 2325 Rayburn
2:00 to 3:00 pm
Light refreshments will be served
Currently about 30% of the United States is experiencing
moderate to exceptional drought conditions with economic, social,
and environmental impacts expected to be in the billions of dollars.
The hardest hit areas are in the Southeast and the West.
Recent episodes of drought coupled with rapidly expanding
populations in the water-short western states and in the southeast,
have raised substantial concern about our current crisis-based approach
to drought management. A national drought conference, "Managing
Drought and Water Scarcity in Vulnerable Environments", was held
in September 2006. This conference has resulted in the preparation
of a document entitled "A Roadmap for Change in Drought Management".
This roadmap recommends the adoption of a new paradigm for proactive
drought management. This briefing will present the key recommendations
from the roadmap and the conference.
Agenda
Opening Remarks
The Honorable Ben Nelson (Nebraska), co-chair of the Congressional Hazards
Caucus (For the Senate briefing only)
Moderator
Dr. Gene Whitney, Assistant Director for Environment, White House
Office of Science and Technology Policy
Speakers
Setting the Stage for Improved Drought Management
in the United States
Dr. Jack Hess, Executive Director, Geological Society of America
Managing Drought in the United States:
A Roadmap for Science and Public Policy
Dr. Don Wilhite, Director, National Drought Mitigation Center, Nebraska
Managing Drought at the District Level
Mr. David Witter, Director Environmental Compliance and Water Policy,
El Dorado Water District, California
Participant Biographies
Dr. Gene Whitney is the Assistant Director for Environment at
the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). He initially
came to OSTP as the U.S. Geological Survey representative to the National
Science and Technology Council. Before coming to OSTP, Gene was Chief
Scientist of the USGS Energy Resources Team in Denver. He has served
as an advisor on oil and gas issues for USAID and the State Department,
working in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Algeria, China, and Russia. Gene holds
B.S. and M.S. in geology and received his Ph.D. in Geology from the
University of Illinois.
Dr. John "Jack" W. Hess is the Executive Director
of the Geological Society of America. Before joining GSA, he was the
Executive Director of the Division of Hydrologic Sciences and Vice President
for Academic Affairs at the Desert Research Institute in Nevada and
served as a Congressional Science Fellow in the office of Senator Harry
Reid (D-NV). Jack is an expert in karst and arid zone hydrology and
has worked in the United States, the Middle East, Africa, South America,
and England. He holds a bachelors and doctorate in Geology from The
Pennsylvania State University.
Dr. Donald Wilhite directs the National Drought Mitigation Center,
which he founded in1995. Dr. Wilhite is a professor in the School of
Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he has
been on the faculty since 1977. His research centers on drought management,
monitoring, and preparedness, the policy implications of climate variability
and climate change, and the effects of climate on society and societal
responses to extreme climate events, particularly drought. He has also
helped developing and developed countries to establish drought preparedness
plans. Wilhite received his master's degree in geography from Arizona
State University and his doctorate degree in climatology and water resources
from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln.
Mr. David Witter is a member of the senior executive team at
the El Dorado Irrigation District and currently serves as the Department
Head of Environmental Compliance and Water Policy. He has been at El
Dorado Irrigation District for over seventeen years serving in a number
of executive and senior management positions. In his position, he is
responsible for water rights, federal water contracts, water supply
development, drought preparedness planning, climate change response,
watershed management and intergovernmental relations. Prior to his tenure
at El Dorado Irrigation District, David served as City Manager for two
full service cities in California. He also holds a Masters Degree in
Public Administration.
Sponsors
Geological Society of America (GSA)
Congressional Hazards Caucus Alliance
Photographs
  
  
The Alliance invites your participation in the briefing and in future
Caucus events. For more information, contact Linda Rowan at 703-379-2480
ext. 228; rowan@agiweb.org.
Contributed Linda Rowan, AGI Government Affairs
Staff.
Posted: July 7, 2007
Please send any comments or questions about this web site to Linda
Rowan.
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