The North American Drought Monitor (NADM) Forum occurs every two years and provides an opportunity for Drought Monitor authors, users, practitioners, and researchers to discuss ways to improve the science of drought monitoring in North America. This year's in-person meeting will be held in Victoria, British Columbia, on May 14–16, 2024. The forum is being held as a hybrid event with remote options and limited in-person availability.
Please direct any questions regarding registration for the NADM Forum to droughtwatch@agr.gc.ca.
Accommodation:
Room blocks are available at the following hotels:
- Best Western Plus Carlton Plaza – Link to room registration page.
- Standard Room rate of CAN$180/night
- Sandman Hotel – Contact the hotel directly at (250) 388-0788. Press “1” for Guest Services.
- Government employees use NADM block ID 358503, block code 2405NADMGOVEMP.
- Standard Queen: CAN$144/night
- Standard 2 double beds: CAN$144/night
- King Suite with Kitchenette: CAN$174/night
- Non-government use block ID: 358374, block code: 2405NADM.
- Standard Queen: CAN$165/night
- Standard 2 double beds: CAN$172/night
- King Suite with Kitchenette: CAN$188/night
Ground Transportation:
- View airport transportation information.
- BC Transit Bus:
- Cost: CAN$5.00 to downtown.
- Travel time: 1 hour and 10 minutes.
- Taxi:
- Cost: Estimated CAN$65 to CAN$85
- A service that the airport website advertises is “Yellow Cab of Victoria” – (250) 381-222 or 1-800-808-6881.
- Advance reservation of at least 1 hour is recommended.
- Uber/KABU:
- Car rentals:
- Cost: CAN$75–$150/day
- Victoria INTL Airport is served by five on-airport rental car companies with counters located in the arrivals area directly across from the Information Desk. Off-airport rental car operators do not have counters at the Victoria INTL Airport. Pick-up needs to be pre-arranged at the time of booking. The off-airport customer pick-up area is located across the crosswalk at the arrivals end of the terminal building.
- On-airport companies: AVIS, Budget, Hertz, Thrifty, National
- Off-airport companies: Alamo, Enterprise
- Note that the meeting is taking place at the Pacific Forest Centre, 506 Burnside Rd W, approximately a 10 minute drive from the hotels in the downtown region. If you are not renting a vehicle, be prepared to arrange transportation to and from the meeting each day. Ride sharing with your colleagues attending the meeting is encouraged.
Forum Agenda:
Day 1: Tuesday, May 14, 2024
| Time | Agenda Item | Presenter(s) |
|---|
8:00 a.m. | Registration | |
8:30 a.m. | Welcome, Introductions, and Opening Remarks | |
8:30 a.m. | Workshop overview, context, and goals | Trevor Hadwen, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, National Agroclimate Information Service |
8:50 a.m. | Welcome from Canadian partner agencies | Andrew Davidson, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Ken Kwok, Environment and Climate Change Canada Brad Stennes, Natural Resources Canada
|
9:15 a.m. | Key Note: Reflections on Drought, Climate Change, and Impacts on Hydrology, Cryosphere, and Water Resources Management in Canada (Remote presentation) | John Pomeroy, University of Saskatchewan, National Hydrology Research Centre |
10:00 a.m. | Refreshment Break | |
10:20 a.m. | Session 1: The Impacts and Implications of the 2023 Drought | Session Chair: Judy Kwan |
10:20 a.m. | The 2023 Drought – A Review of the Climate and Cause | Armel Castellan, Environment and Climate Change Canada |
10:45 a.m. | The 2023 Wildfire Season in Canada: A review of the historical fire season and the underlying drought that drove it | Matt MacDonald, British Columbia Wildfire Service, Ministry of Forests |
11:10 a.m. | The Impact of the 2023 Drought on Agriculture in Canada | Trevor Hadwen, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada |
11:35 a.m. | Discussion | |
12:00 p.m. | Lunch | |
1:00 p.m. | Session 2: NADM Updates | Session Chair: |
1:00 p.m. | Overview of the NADM: History, Concept, Goals, and Process | Brad Rippey, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Chief Economist |
1:25 p.m. | Canadian Drought Monitor Update | Trevor Hadwen, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Alyssa Klein, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada |
1:50 p.m. | 2024 United States Drought Monitor Update | Brian Fuchs, U.S. National Drought Mitigation Center |
2:15 p.m. | Mexican Drought Monitor Update | Reynold Pascual Ramirez, National Water Commission of Mexico |
2:40 p.m. | Refreshment Break | |
3:00 p.m. | Drought Monitoring Outside of North America (Remote presentation) | Mark Svoboda, U.S. National Drought Mitigation Center |
3:30 p.m. | Author Panel Discussion | NADM Authors (Canada, U.S., and Mexico) |
4:00 p.m. | Summary and Wrap-Up of Day 1 | |
4:15 p.m. | End of Day 1 | |
Day 2: Wednesday, May 15, 2024
| Time | Agenda Item | Presenter(s) |
|---|
8:20 a.m. | Welcome Back – Review and Introduction Day 2 | |
8:30 a.m. | Session 3: Drought In a Changing Climate | Session Chair: Britt Parker |
8:30 a.m. | Assessing Drought in a Changing Climate: Progress and Next Steps | Britt Parker, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Integrated Drought Information System |
9:00 a.m. | Assessing Drought in a Changing Climate Panel (Each speaker will provide a 10–12 minute statement followed by questions for the panel): Tracking Extremes for Water Management in a Changing Climate (Mike Anderson) Online Tools Help the Largest Land-Based Tribe in the U.S. with Temporal and Spatial Drought Evaluations (Crystal Tulley-Cordova) (Remote presentation) Future Drought Monitoring Challenges in the Northeast United States (Art DeGaetano)
| Zach Hoylman, Hydrologist and Montana Assistant State Climatologist Mike Anderson, California Department of Water Resources Crystal Tulley-Cordova, Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources Art DeGaetano, NOAA Northeast Regional Climate Center |
10:00 a.m. | Discussion – How does this information change how we look at monitoring drought? | |
10:20 a.m. | Refreshment Break | |
10:40 a.m. | Session 4: The Importance of Drought Impact Data | Session Chair: Alyssa Klein |
10:40 a.m. | Monitoring Drought Impacts | Kelly Smith, U.S. National Drought Mitigation Center |
11:05 a.m. | CoCoRaHS and Condition Reporting...What Does Your Landscape Look Like? | Henry Reges, CoCoRaHS – Colorado Cliamte Center |
11:30 a.m. | The USDA Agriculture in Drought Products | Brad Rippey, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Chief Economist |
11:55 a.m. | Discussion: | |
12:15 p.m. | Lunch | |
1:15 p.m. | Session 5: Drought Indices | Session Chair: Brian Fuchs |
1:15 p.m. | NDMC’s New Breed of Combined Drought Indicators (Remote presentation) | Mark Svoboda, U.S. National Drought Mitigation Center |
1:40 p.m. | Considering Effective Precipitation in Drought Monitoring (Remote presentation) | Trent Ford, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign |
2:05 p.m. | Canadian Drought Signal (CDS): A Weekly Drought Prediction Model | Tyler Black, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada |
2:30 p.m. | Refreshment Break | |
2:55 p.m. | The Floating Month Drought Index | Richard Heim, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Centers for Environmental Information |
3:20 p.m. | Drought Monitor Application in Mexico for an Efficient Use of Water (Remote presentation) | Dante Hernandez Padrón, National Water Commission of Mexico |
3:50 p.m. | Summary and Wrap-Up of Day 2 | |
4:15 p.m. | End of Day 2 | |
Day 3: Thursday, May 16, 2024
| Time | Agenda Item | Presenter(s) |
|---|
8:20 a.m. | Welcome Back – Review and Introduction Day 3 | |
8:30 a.m. | Session 6: First Nations and Tribal Communities | Session Chair: Roxanne Vingarzan |
8:30 a.m. | Building Drought Resilience in a Changing Climate with Upper Columbia and Missouri River Basin Tribes | Molly Woloszyn, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Integrated Drought Information System |
8:55 a.m. | Online Tools Help the Largest Land-Based Tribe in the U.S. with Temporal and Spatial Drought Evaluations (Remote presentation) | Crystal Tulley-Cordova, Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources |
9:20 a.m. | First Nations Insights on Drought (Remote presentation) | Robert Phillips, First Nations Summit of British Columbia |
9:45 a.m. | Discussion | |
10:00 a.m. | Refreshment Break | |
10:30 a.m. | Session 7: Wildfire and Drought | Session Chair: Brad Rippey |
10:30 a.m. | Some Things About Drought and Fire | Tim Brown, U.S. Western Regional Climate Center and the Desert Research Institute |
10:55 a.m. | Drought Trends and Related Risks to B.C. Forests (Remote presentation) | Vanessa Foord, British Columbia Ministry of Forests |
11:20 a.m. | The Forest Drought Response Index (ForDRI): A new drought monitoring tool to depict forest drought stress across the contiguous United States | Tsegaye Tadesse, U.S. National Drought Mitigation Center |
| 11:45 a.m. | Discussion | |
12:00 p.m. | Lunch | |
1:00 p.m. | Session 8: Drought in Diverse Environments | Session Chair: David Lee |
1:00 p.m. | A Toolbox of Drought Indices for Monitoring Drought Across the Diverse Climates of North America | Richard Heim, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Centers for Environmental Information |
1:25 p.m. | Snow Drought in the Western U.S. and Beyond | Dan McEvoy, Desert Research Institute |
1:50 p.m. | Monitoring Drought in the NWT | Brian Sieben, Government of Northwest Territories, Environment and Natural Resources |
2:15 p.m. | Discussion | |
2:30 p.m. | Summary, Next Steps and Closing Remarks | Trevor Hadwen, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, National Agroclimate Information Service |
3:00 p.m. | End of Day 3 | |
About Victoria:
If you are looking at extending your trip, Victoria and Vancouver Island are great places to explore. Attractions in the Victoria area include the Royal BC Museum, whale watching, Fisherman’s Wharf, the Butchart Gardens, the Victoria Butterfly Gardens , rainforest hikes, historical tours ,and much more. For more information on visiting Victoria, see their tourism page, vacation guide, and greater Victoria area map.
