NEWS TIP SHEET
Drought
Ken Strzepek (pronounced "stress-peck"), professor of civil and environmental engineering, is a noted expert on the application of advanced computer techniques for water and environmental management, helping with public policy and decision-making, and can offer an economic analysis of water use. He has studied the agricultural, ecological and human impacts of water resources in a number of major river basins including the Colorado River and the Nile River in Egypt, and is a consultant and adviser to industry, water management organizations, consulting firms, United Nations agencies and U.S. and foreign governments. He can be reached at (303) 492-7111 or strzepek@colorado.edu.
Brad Udall, executive director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science's Western Water Assessment team, can comment on the impact of drought from environmental, climate, hydrological, social and legal standpoints. Udall's research team supplies information - usually in the form of climate forecasts and regional vulnerability assessments - to help water resources decision-makers, such as the Denver water department, develop ways to cope with drought conditions. He can be reached at (303) 735-3761 or bradley.udall@colorado.edu.
Tom Veblen, a professor of geography, studies forest ecosystems in Colorado. He can talk about the history of wildfires, climatic influences on wildfire occurrence and the ecological effects of fires in Colorado forests, including interactions with insect pests such as the spruce beetle. He can be reached at (303) 492-8528 or Thomas.Veblen@colorado.edu.
Klaus Wolter, climatologist and research associate with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, can provide a meteorological view of drought. For several years, Wolter has studied conditions in the southwestern United States and each month posts a detailed seasonal forecast for the region on the Web at .
He can be reached at (303) 497-6340 or kew@cdc.noaa.gov.
Wildfire
John Daily, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Joint Center for Combustion and Environmental Research, can offer insight into wildfire behavior - how fires start and end, how they spread, and the effects of weather and fuel types. He can be reached at (303) 492-7110 or john.daily@colorado.edu.
Tim Seastedt, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and a fellow at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, studies grassland ecosystems, biodiversity, invasive species and fire ecology. He can talk about the impact wildfires and droughts have on grasslands and prairies. He can be reached at (303) 492-0434 or timothy.seastedt@colorado.edu.