Come Rain or Shine

Flows in the Rio Chama, a tributary of the Rio Grande in northern New Mexico,have dwindled from drought and rising temperatures as well as diversion for agricultural irrigation. These diminished flows threaten groundwater resources and habitat for endangered plants and animals. Paul Tashjian, Director of Freshwater Conservation with Audubon Southwest, tells us about solutions that have been implemented to alleviate pressures on the Rio Chama and other waterways, bringing back flows for the natural habitat.Relevant Links:Five-Year Lease of Water Rights for Environmental Flows Along the Rio ChamaIf you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on X @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/ 

How is climate change affecting our coasts and ocean? What about aquaculture? Halley Froehlich, an expert in climate change impacts to coasts and oceans, with a strong focus on aquaculture, joins us to discuss this important topic as we wrap up our series highlighting Key Messages in the Southwest Chapter of the 5th National Climate Assessment.Relevant links:Read the 5th National Climate Assessment (NCA5)Webinars and podcasts on the NCA5NCA5 AtlasIf you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on X @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/ 

We continue our discussion of the Southwest Chapter of the 5th National Climate Assessment (NCA5). Each Chapter of NCA5 is organized around Key Messages. This month we interviewed the lead authors of four Key Messages in the Southwest Chapter, covering human health, water, agriculture, and wildfire. Each author shares what they would like people to know and what they found hopeful or encouraging within their Key Message topic.Relevant links:Read the 5th National Climate Assessment (NCA5)Webinars and podcasts on the NCA5NCA5 AtlasIf you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on X @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/

Drs. Emile Elias and Dave White discuss the Southwest chapter of the 5th National Climate Assessment (NCA5). They share what it was like to be lead authors of the Southwest chapter, what’s new in this assessment, how it’s being shared, some major findings, and other highlights. We wrap up this episode with what each of them found encouraging or hopeful from the assessment.Relevant links:Read the 5th National Climate Assessment (NCA5)Webinars and podcasts on the NCA5NCA5 Atlas“Startlement”, a poem by Poet Laureate Ada Limón for NCA5If you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on X @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/  

We speak with the directors of two non-profit organizations who are turning problems into solutions by getting nutritious food that would normally go to waste back into our food system and into the hands of those who can use it - reducing waste, methane emissions, and fighting food insecurity all at the same time.  Cover Image credit: USDA Photo by Lance CheungRelevant links: Association of Gleaning OrganizationsFalling FruitNational Gleaning ProjectBill Emerson Good Samaritan ActIf you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on Twitter @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/

Continuing with our agriculture theme, this month we are joined by Dr. Michael Kotutwa Johnson (Hopi Tribe of Arizona) who discusses Indigenous agricultural knowledge, traditional farming, Indigenous participation in conservation programs, climate change, and more. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.Relevant links:Johnson, M.K., Rowe, M. , Lien, A.M.& Hoffman-Lopez, L. 2021. Enhancing Integration of Indigenous Agricultural Knowledge into National Resource Conservation Service Cost-Share Initiatives. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. Online. https://www.jswconline.org/content/76/6/487 If you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on Twitter @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/  

Kernza® is a small perennial grain with multiple environmental benefits, including carbon sequestration. We are joined by Nicole Tautges (Michael Fields Agricultural Institute) and Hana Fancher (The Land Institute) to learn more about the benefits and uses of Kernza®, as well as some of the challenges associated with growing this grain, and possible future directions. Photo credit: USDARelevant links:Kernza® Coordinated Agriculture Project (CAP)Kernza® Grower GuideKernza® Community BakeIf you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on Twitter @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853):  https://southwestbeef.org/ 

“Old growth” is a term often associated with forests, however scientists are beginning to realize that this concept also applies to other types of ecosystems, including grasslands, which provide a host of important ecosystem services. We interviewed Dr. Katharine Suding, a researcher at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado Boulder, to learn more about old growth grasslands. Image credit: USDA Photo by Lance CheungRelevant links:Buisson, E., Archibald, S., Fidelis, A. and Suding, K.N., 2022. Ancient grasslands guide ambitious goals in grassland restoration. Science, 377(6606), pp.594-598. (also accessible here)Veldman, J.W., Buisson, E., Durigan, G., Fernandes, G.W., Le Stradic, S., Mahy, G., Negreiros, D., Overbeck, G.E., Veldman, R.G., Zaloumis, N.P. and Putz, F.E., 2015. Toward an old‐growth concept for grasslands, savannas, and woodlands. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 13(3), pp.154-162.Follow us on Twitter @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/   USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest Sustainable Southwest Beef Project  (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/  

What’s behind the increasing size and severity of California’s wildfires? And if the trajectory continues, what does that mean for people living there? How has this trend already impacted residents? Three co-authors of a recent synthesis on drivers of wildfire in the Golden State share their main findings with us, as well as speculating on some possibilities for future solutions to living alongside increasing fire hazard. Photo credit: USDARelated Links:Climate Change Is Escalating California’s WildfiresDrivers of California’s changing wildfires: a state-of-the-knowledge synthesisDrivers of California's Changing Wildfires: State Has Potential To Be A Model For Change - International Association of Wildland FireIf you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on Twitter @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/   USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/ 

The John T. Harrington Forestry Research Center in Mora, New Mexico, aims to advance the understanding of restoration activities on forested areas in New Mexico through multidisciplinary research, education, and partner collaborations. The Center also provides science-based solutions for private, tribal, state, and federal forest managers, who face the threat of catastrophic fires due to overgrown forests and the inability of post-fire forest communities and ecosystems to naturally regenerate after fires. Photo credit: Reanna BurnettRelated Links:John T. Harrington Forestry Research Center at MoraIf you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on Twitter @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/   USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/ 

Traditional burning, also known as cultural burning, is a form of under burning that has been used by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years to increase water runoff into streams, create habitats for plants and animals, recycle nutrients, and promote other ecosystem benefits. We interviewed  Diana Almendariz (Maidu/Wintún/Hupa/Yurok), cultural fire practitioner, and Nina Fontana (Ukrainian and Italian), post-doctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis, to learn more about "good fire".Related Links:Cache Creek Conservancy Tending and Gathering GardenIf you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on Twitter @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/   USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/  

We often talk about Climate Hope on this show, but what about Climate Anxiety? Perhaps even Climate Despair? These are very real emotions that many of us feel when thinking about this planet we call home. We sat down with Dr. Sarah Ray, author of the book A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety: How to Keep Your Cool on a Warming Planet. Dr. Ray shared with us some of her tips and advice on navigating the complex landscape of climate change related issues, and some things she recommends for moving past the anxiety and into a place of self-efficacy.Related Links:Sarah Ray’s website: https://sarahjaquetteray.com/If you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on Twitter @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/   USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/  

Water scarcity solutions, especially those solutions that allow for continued food production while reducing water use, are a critical component of coping with reduced water availability now and into the future. We interviewed Dr. Manoj Shukla about a current research project of his using microgravity drip irrigation technologies from Israel on an experimental farm in Southern New Mexico.Related Links:KRQE News Flash Video on YouTubeNew Mexico State University Newsroom ArticleIf you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on Twitter @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/   USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/ 

We have been hearing a lot about biochar recently. Biochar is the charred material leftover after partially burning organic material, which is then used to improve soil health, remediate polluted soils, sequester carbon, and even improve soil water holding capacity and soil moisture. This month we spoke with Dr. Debbie Page-Dumerose and Dr. Nate Anderson, both with the USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station, to learn more about biochar and its many uses. Episode image: USDA Forest Service photo by Deborah Page-Dumroese.Relevant links:Read this handy fire safety brochure before you try to make biochar!If you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on Twitter @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/ USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/

The impacts of climate change are threatening the resources in our national parks, including many of the cultural resources within them. This month we interviewed Lauren Meyer, Program Manager for the National Park Service Intermountain Historic Preservation Services Office, and Dr. Gregg Garfin, former director of the Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center consortium and climatologist at the University of Arizona, to learn more about a project they worked on to develop an online, interactive tool for assessing the vulnerability of cultural resources to natural hazards that climate change may intensify in the Intermountain region of the US. Image credit: USDA photo by Bob Nichols.Relevant links:Cultural Resources Environmental Vulnerability Assessment Toolbox (CREVAT)If you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on Twitter @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/ USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/ 

We always like to ask our guests on this show what gives them hope as they think about the future and our changing climate, particularly with regard to the systems they work in. For our first episode of 2023, we made a collage of some highlights from our guests’ responses to this question. As this new year begins, we hope you’re finding things to fuel your fire, and perhaps you might find some additional inspiration in the words of others! Episode image credit: USDA Photo by Lance CheungIf you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on Twitter @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishesHave a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/ USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/ 

Ecological sites are the basic component of a land-type classification system that describes ecological potential and ecosystem dynamics of land areas. We interviewed Dr. Joel Brown, current leader of the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s National Ecological Site Team, to learn more about ecological site descriptions, transitions and transformations, and some thoughts about rangeland ecology under a changing climate. Image Credit: USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.Relevant Links:Ecosystem Dynamics Interpretive Tool (EDIT)If you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on Twitter @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes.Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwestSustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/ 

Science education is critical in responding to future challenges, both in building awareness in our community and also building the skills to respond to some of our most pressing climate-related challenges, such as drought and water scarcity, wildfire, and food production under climate extremes. In this episode we speak with Dr. Stephanie Bestelmeyer, executive director of Asombro Institute for Science Education in Las Cruces, NM, and Dr. Kristy Ehlers, Director of School Partnerships for El Reno Public Schools and BlueSTEM AgriLearning Center in El Reno, Oklahoma, to learn about how they provide K-12 science education through programs that are grounded in agriculture, the natural world, and place-based learning. Image created using graphics by Kidaha and Venita Oberholster from Pixabay.Relevant Links:BlueSTEM Agrilearning CenterFree resources from Asombro Institute for Science EducationIf you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on Twitter @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes.Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwestSustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/

Last month we heard from two experts on drought and aridity; this month we’re covering the other end of the spectrum and focusing on precipitation intensity and heavy downpours in the Southwestern US. Two hydrologic modelers, Dr. Dave Goodrich and Dr. Eleonora Demaria, discuss their research on intense precipitation events, as well as some of the implications of observed trends, associated challenges, and perhaps surprising opportunities. Image credit: Hans, Pixabay.Publications mentioned during interview:Demaria, E.M., Hazenberg, P., Scott, R.L., Meles, M.B., Nichols, M. and Goodrich, D., 2019. Intensification of the North American Monsoon rainfall as observed from a long‐term high‐density gauge network. Geophysical Research Letters, 46(12), pp.6839-6847.Zhang, F., Biederman, J.A., Dannenberg, M.P., Yan, D., Reed, S.C. and Smith, W.K., 2021. Five decades of observed daily precipitation reveal longer and more variable drought events across much of the western United States. Geophysical Research Letters, 48(7), p.e2020GL092293.If you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on Twitter @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishesHave a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwestSustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/ 

Megadrought is a term we’ve been hearing a lot of lately, with, as we find out from one of our guests, somewhat varying definitions. The term megadrought is generally used to describe the length of a drought, and not its acute intensity. A related term, aridity, is the degree to which climate lacks effective, life-promoting moisture. Simply put, aridity is permanent, while drought is temporary. But when drought extends multiple decades, as we are currently experiencing, is it actually aridification? We interviewed two experts in drought and aridification, Dr. Connie Woodhouse and Dr. Mike Crimmins, to talk about these different terms, and discuss the changes they have been observing, and hearing about from managers and ranchers in the Southwest.Episode Image credit: U.S. Drought Monitor - West. National Drought Mitigation Center; U.S. Department of Agriculture; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2022). United States Drought Monitor. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?West. Accessed 2022-09-06.Links and publications mentioned during the interview:Woodhouse, C. A., & Overpeck, J. T. (1998). 2000 years of drought variability in the central United States. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 79(12), 2693-2714.Gangopadhyay, S., Woodhouse, C.A., McCabe, G.J., Routson, C.C. and Meko, D.M., 2022. Tree rings reveal unmatched 2nd century drought in the Colorado River Basin. Geophysical Research Letters, 49(11), p.e2022GL098781.Climate Assessment for the Southwest website.If you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on Twitter @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishesHave a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwestSustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/