Climate and Water Resource Forecasts for the 2005 Water Year

September 22, 2004
Portland, Oregon

The Climate Impacts Group Annual Fall Forecast Meetings

Every fall, the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington hosts workshops highlighting the seasonal climate forecast and water resource outlook for the Pacific Northwest (PNW) for the upcoming water year.

The information presented at these meetings provides public and private resource managers the opportunity to consider how projected seasonal streamflow levels may affect operational decisions in the Pacific Northwest.

The meetings also provide the opportunity to learn about new water resource forecasting techniques and tools.

The Climate Impacts Group's (CIG's) fall forecast meeting provides an opportunity to hear how forecasted climate conditions for the winter 2004-2005 may affect regional climate and streamflow conditions in the Columbia River Basin and western Washington and Oregon in 2005. The meeting also provides a forum for sharing the latest research on climate impacts and climate forecasting in the Pacific Northwest (PNW).

This year's "west side" meeting was held on September 22, 2004 in Portland, Oregon. A similar fall forecast meeting focusing on the Columbia and Snake River Basins and Idaho water supply management issues will be held on October 26, 2004 in Boise, Idaho. Information on the Idaho fall forecast meeting is available here.

Who Attended

The 2004 Portland fall forecast meeting attracted a diverse audience, including:

- federal, state, and local level water resource managers,
- public and private electric utility managers,
- consultants,
- public lands managers,
- agricultural specialists,
- non-profit organizations,
- tribal resource management staff, and
- researchers.

A final participant list is available here (pdf).

Click to enlarge

Presentations

Presentations from the meeting are available for review here.

Workshop on Climate Impacts on Salmon Recovery and Management

Participants were also invited to attend the CIG's workshop on climate impacts on salmon management and recovery in the Columbia River Basin. The meeting was held on September 21, 2004 at the Residence Inn in Portland. Major objectives of the climate/salmon meeting included:

• Sharing what is known (and not known) about climate impacts on PNW climate, hydrology, and salmonid species,
• Identifying how information on climate impacts is being (or can be brought) into salmon management activities and decision-making processes, and
• Identifying research needs that could support the use of climate information in salmon management and policy development.

Information on the climate/salmon workshop, including a final agenda and presentations, is available at the workshop web site.