The following Oregon State University faculty and staff have expertise related to drought and are willing to speak with journalists. Their specific expertise, and contact information, is listed below. For help with other OSU faculty experts, contact Sean Nealon, 541-737-0787, [email protected].

Larry O’Neill, 541-737-6396, [email protected]

O’Neill is the Oregon state climatologist with the Oregon State Climate Service and an associate professor in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences. He can discuss:

  • Seasonal outlooks and historical weather patterns.
  • Weather factors influencing drought conditions.
  • Links between climate change and severity and duration of drought cycles.
  • Current weather/fire conditions in Oregon.

Erica Fleishman, 805-291-6258, [email protected]

Fleishman is director of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute and a professor in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences. Her research focuses on ecological responses to variability and changes in climate and land use in the western United States. She can discuss:

  • Connections between climate change and frequency and severity of droughts.
  • Changes in precipitation, snowpack and snowpack melt.

Mark S. Raleigh, 541-737-3497, [email protected]

Snowmelt is the source of over 50% of streamflow across the western United States and over 70% of streamflow in mountainous regions. Raleigh, assistant professor in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, studies water availability in the seasonal snowpack of mountain watersheds using physical models, satellite and airborne remote sensing, and unique field measurements. He can discuss:

  • The role of seasonal snowpack in water supply.
  • How forests influence snow accumulation and melt.
  • Connections between snow properties and climate.

Todd Jarvis, 541-737-4032, [email protected]

Jarvis is the director of the Institute for Water & Watersheds at Oregon State, one of the 54 Water Resources Research Institutes under the U.S. Geological Survey that are distributed across the United States and U.S. territories. He is a hydrogeologist and mediator specializing in conflicts over groundwater resources and water wells. He can discuss:

  • Groundwater use and depletion in Oregon and the western U.S.

Amy Garrett, 541-713-5007, [email protected]

Garrett is with the OSU Extension Small Farms Program and leader of the Dry Farming Project. She engages growers in the maritime Pacific Northwest in participatory climate adaptation research for knowledge exchange between growers, plant breeders, researchers, educators and other ag professionals in the Dry Farming Collaborative.

  • Participatory climate adaptation research.
  • Strategies for growing with little to no irrigation.
  • Dry farming.

William Jaeger, 541-737-1419, [email protected]

Jaeger is a professor and Extension policy specialist in the Department of Applied Economics at Oregon State. He has studied water scarcity and water conflict issues in the Klamath Basin and the Columbia River Basin among others. He can discuss:

  • Water resource allocation and the costs and efficiency of alternatives when allocating water in the face of competing demands for farming, cities and in-stream environmental flows.

Hannah Gosnell, 541-737-1222, [email protected] 

Gosnell is a social scientist with expertise in the human dimensions of natural resource management, climate change, environmental governance and rural sustainability. She has conducted research in the Klamath Basin on various topics since 2006, including the following:

  • Emergence and evolution of collaborative conservation after the 2001 crisis, leading to the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement and Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement in 2010.
  • Implementation of the Endangered Species Act in the Klamath Basin.
  • Human dimensions of dam removal.
  • Conflicts surrounding Indian water rights in the Klamath Basin.

Aaron Wolf, 541-737-2722, [email protected]

Wolf is a professor of geography in Oregon State’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences. He is an internationally known expert in water resources and conflict management. Wolf, a trained mediator/facilitator, has consulted for governments and led mediations for water conflicts around the world. Wolf can address:

  • Klamath basin water issues within the context of water conflicts and conflict resolution.