Mike Hayes (right), celebrates with Deb Bathke, Nebraska state climatologist and NDMC affiliated faculty, and Lindsay Johnson, NDMC climatologist, at Johnson’s Ph.D. graduation in May.NDMC Communications
Hayes receives SNR associate director appointment
Mike Hayes, National Drought Mitigation Center affiliated faculty, was appointed associate director for undergraduate education for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Natural Resources. In this capacity, he will be overseeing mentoring and teaching improvement within SNR, as well as assisting the Environmental Science undergraduate degree program, which includes a Climate Science option.
Hayes teaches three courses in SNR: an introductory Climate Literacy course, Regional Climatology and Climate and Society and received the Holling Family Award for Sustained Excellence in Teaching and Learning in 2025.
Hayes has been involved with the NDMC since 1995, when he was hired as a climate impacts specialist. He served as the NDMC director from 2007-2016. His research areas include drought risk management, disaster management, drought planning, impact and vulnerability assessments, climate variability and change, extreme events and adaptation strategies. Hayes is involved in a variety of research projects collaborating with the NDMC, UNL climate faculty and other researchers worldwide.
New paper shares insights from Drought Resilience +10 conference
Kelly Smith, NDMC drought impacts coordinator, co-authored “Ten key insights and gaps to inform drought risk research, policy and practice,” published in Nature Water in June. In this paper, researchers share 10 insights from drought research that have emerged in the past decade, as well as 10 critical research gaps to be addressed.
Droughts, which are deeply intertwined with socio-economic and ecological systems, are getting more severe and frequent under climate change and human pressures. This affects livelihoods, socio-economic sectors and the environment. Addressing these multifaceted impacts of droughts now and in the future will require actionable insights and a comprehensive research agenda.
The team of authors share the interdisciplinary expertise of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences Working Group on ‘Drought in the Anthropocene’ and participants of the Drought Resilience +10 conference in 2024. This meeting was a follow-up to the first High-Level Meeting on National Drought Policy in 2013.
Oregon releases state drought vulnerability assessment
The Oregon Water Resources Department released the Oregon Drought Vulnerability Assessment in June. One section of the report was co-authored by NDMC staff Paula Guastello, Smith, Cody Knutson, Hasnat Aslam, Brie Paladino and Curtis Riganti.
Droughts have been occurring more frequently in Oregon in recent years. In 2015, the state experienced a drought that was characterized as an indicator of future conditions. Higher temperatures drove increased drought conditions across the state, including significantly lower than normal snowpack with much earlier snowmelt.
Following this drought event, the state convened a drought taskforce to research and evaluate potential tools to prepare for drought emergencies. Following one of the taskforce recommendations, the legislature authorized funding to support development of a statewide drought vulnerability assessment. This was the first time Oregon undertook such an assessment.
The assessment addresses a range of strategies needed to address drought vulnerability. These recommendations also overlap with the state’s drought emergency response plan, integrated water resources strategy and natural hazard mitigation plan.
Wildfire Resilience Index supports resilience efforts in the Western U.S.
In May, the Wildfire Resilience Index launched to support wildfire resilience efforts in the Western U.S., British Columbia and Yukon Territory. During the development process, the team used a paper Smith co-wrote on water resources management.
The index combines ecological, social and infrastructural factors to assess resilience at multiple scales. The free tool provides open access data at the 90-meter resolution to support neighborhood decision-making. The data is available alongside a dashboard where users can explore scores and indicators for states, congressional districts, municipalities or census tracts.
Knutson co-hosts Tribal climate event
Knutson, NDMC planning coordinator, co-hosted a Tribal Climate Camp in Rapid City, South Dakota, in May. Attendees included 20 interns and mentors from Tribal colleges and universities in the Northern Plains.
This effort was part of the two-year Océti Šakówin Climate Resilience Project sponsored by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in collaboration with the Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance, North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center and South Dakota State University.