Montana Drought
Advisory Committee Members as of 2005
| Lt. Gov. John Bolinger* |
Chairman / Office of the Governor |
| Jesse Aber |
Staff - DNRC Water Resources Division |
| Jack Stults* |
DNRC - Water Resources Division |
| Ron Zellar* |
Department of Agriculture |
| Dave Cole* |
Department of Commerce |
| Dave Maser* |
Disaster & Emergency Services (Mil. Affairs) |
| Andy Brummond* |
Fish, Wildlife & Parks - Fisheries Division |
| John Dilliard* |
Department of Environmental Quality |
| Jack Wiseman* |
Department of Livestock |
| Gina Loss |
National Weather Service (NOAA) |
| Roy Kaiser |
NRCS - Snow & Water Services (USDA) |
| Wayne Berkas |
U.S. Geological Survey (U.S. Interior) |
| Tim Felchle |
Bureau of Reclamation (U.S. Interior) |
| Peggy Stringer |
MT Agricultural Statistics |
| Ray Nelson |
Northern Rockies Fire Coordination Center |
| Jacob Davis |
DNRC State Water Projects |
| Terry Chute |
USDA Forest Service |
| Sibyl Govan |
NRIS (State Library) |
| Liz Ching |
U.S. Senator Max Baucus |
| Sharlene Snoddy |
U.S. Senator Conrad Burns |
| Seth Broesder |
U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg |
| Mike Murphy |
Montana Water Resources Association |
| Randy Johnson |
Farm Service Agency (USDA) |
| Stan Bradshaw |
Trout Unlimited |
| Larry Gruel |
PP&L |
| Bill Barr |
Rural Development (USDA) |
| Michelle Johnston |
U.S. Small Business Administration |
| Ken Evans |
Montana Association of Counties |
| Steve Merritt |
MT Association of Conservation Districts |
| Jay Bodner |
Montana Stockgrowers Association |
| Keith Schott |
Montana Grain Growers Association |
| Donald Potts, Ph.D. |
Montana Office of Climatology, UofM |
* Voting member Montana Drought Advisory Committee
Non-voting member Montana Drought Advisory Committee |
Functions and Duties
Section 2-15-3308 MCA (1991) established the Montana Drought
Advisory Committee (DAC) and delegated staff duties to the Department
of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC). Subsection (2) states:
“The drought advisory committee is chaired by a representative
of the governor and consists of representatives of the departments of
natural resources and conservation; agriculture; commerce; fish, wildlife,
and parks; military affairs; health and environmental sciences; and
livestock. The governor’s representative must be appointed by the
governor and the representative of each department must be appointed
by the head of that department. Additional non- voting members who represent
federal and local government agencies and public and private interests
may also be appointed by the governor.” Subsection (3) sets forth
the responsibilities of the committee. The committee shall:
(a) with the approval of the governor, develop and implement
a state drought plan;
(b) review and report drought monitoring information to the public;
(c) coordinate timely drought impact assessments;
(d) identify areas of the state with a high probability of drought and
target reporting and assistance efforts to those areas;
(e) upon request, assist in organizing local drought advisory committees
for the areas identified under subsection (3)(d);
(f) request state agency staff to provide technical assistance to local
drought advisory committees; and
(g) promote ideas and activities for groups and individuals to consider
that may reduce drought vulnerability.
The statute calls for meetings of the DAC in March and
October to assess drought conditions, identifies DNRC as the agency
responsible for providing staff support, and requires a status report
describing the potential for drought in the coming year to the governor
by April 15 of each year. Section 2-15-3308 MCA in full can be found
in Appendix F.
Committee Meeting Procedure
Statute requires that Drought Advisory Committee (DAC)
meetings are held, ... “at a minimum, on or around the 15th day
of the months of October and March of each year to assess moisture conditions
and, as appropriate, begin preparations for drought mitigation (Sec.
2-15-3308 MCA 1991 ).” A meeting in March provides the DAC with
an opportunity to review initial projections regarding spring and summer
surface water supplies for irrigated agriculture, instream uses, and
reservoir storage. Projections are possible by assessing mountain snowpack,
soil moisture, carryover reservoir storage, and weather forecasts. An
October meeting provides an opportunity to report season end conditions
and to summarize the state’s response over the preceding months.
Additional DAC meetings are held monthly, or as needed
to correspond with the release of federal and state agency status reports.
If conditions or circumstances warrant, the chairperson may call a special
meeting of the DAC to address specific issues. The chairperson may elect
not to hold meetings other than those required by statute, if water
supply and soil moisture conditions are near average or above. A water
supply meeting of the agencies that monitor conditions may be called
in lieu of a monthly meeting of the full committee.
The DAC holds meetings in March and April to report changes
in mountain snowpack and to provide an updated projection of summer
surface water supplies. March and April are important months for monitoring
and forecasting future water conditions. Forecasts of spring and summer
water supplies for mountainous river basins can change dramatically
between February and April. Normally, mountain snowpack has reached
its seasonal peak by mid-April in most of the state. The NRCS releases
a Montana Basin Outlook Report on April 1, projecting streamflow probabilities
for the 15 major river basins of the state based on snowpack.
An April DAC meeting can assist resource managers, water
resource-based businesses, agricultural producers, and others in making
informed decisions regarding water management activities for the coming
season. Initial plans for reservoir operations, irrigation scheduling,
and hydropower generation are formulated at this time. An April meeting
provides the public and technical committee members with an opportunity
to interpret water supply projections and management plans.
DNRC is responsible for providing the chairperson with
current information so informed decisions can be made, such scheduling
a DAC meeting. Meetings should be held if the drought indices indicate
moderate drought or if an “Alert” status exists for more than
one area of the state.
DAC meetings are held in Helena at a location that is
accessible to the members of the committee and the general public, including
the handicapped. The meeting room should be large enough to accommodate
the foreseeable attendance. Regular meetings require 2 to 3 hours for
reporting and discussion, but may vary in length.
A portion of each DAC meeting is used to report on drought
conditions. Each state or federal member of the DAC reports on its respective
area of responsibility and expertise. In the event an agency representative
cannot attend, the chair should be notified and arrangements made for
a substitute. If this is not possible, DNRC can deliver the report to
the DAC on behalf of that agency. Supporting documents should be forwarded
to DNRC for distribution at the meeting.
The meeting agenda is prepared by DNRC with approval of
the chairperson. DNRC ensures that there are enough copies of the agenda
for all attendees. Copies of all documents distributed at the meeting
shall be made available to anyone requesting them.
Committee Reporting Procedure
Each agency member should present a 10 to 15 minute report;
exclusive of questions and answers. The order of reporting by agencies
that report water supply and moisture conditions is as follows: Reporting
Agency Subject
1) NWS Temperature and precipitation, forecasts
2) NRCS Mountain snowpack, precipitation
3) USGS Streamflow
4) Reclamation Reservoir levels (federal)
5) DNRC Reservoir levels (state) Fire conditions
6) DNRC Fire conditions
7) MT Agricultural Statistics Service
Following water supply and moisture condition reports
state member agencies present assessment reports. Next, responses are
explored during a period set aside for general discussion. The chairperson
conducts the discussion period and entertains motions from voting members
that require a vote. Questions for agencies should be directed through
the chairperson. Recommendations concerning assessment or response actions
should be addressed by the full committee during this period.
Members of the general public may address the committee
during the discussion period, upon recognition by the chairperson. The
meeting is not adjourned until those guests wishing to address the committee
have had an opportunity to do so. When the chairperson is satisfied
that the committee’s business has been concluded, the meeting is
adjourned.
