Come Rain or Shine

Happy New Year! In this first episode of 2026, we spoke with Dr. Sarah Whipple, a Climate Adaptation Service Scientist and biologist with the Climate Adaptation Technical Services (CATS) initiative of the USGS National Climate Adaptation Science Center. Dr. Whipple, who has expertise in pollinator biology, inventory and monitoring, discussed the importance of pollinators and explained the impact of a shifting landscape and climate ...

Happy Holidays! In this episode we talked to Max Wade, the owner of Galloping Goat Grazing, and Michael "Scial" Scialdone, Bosque Project Manager with the Pueblo of Sandia Environment Department. Max and Scial explained how utilizing goats for targeted grazing allows problematic vegetation to be removed, and can help reduce the risk of devastating wildfires in our wildland/urban interfaces. 

Relevant links: Check out Gallo...

Dr. Charlie Clements leads the Great Basin Rangeland Research Unit of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service, where he conducts research on the restoration of ecologically threatened rangelands. He and his team aim to conserve and enhance sustainable agricultural production, natural resources and communities. He also explores science-based solutions to reduce the spread of harmful invasive ...

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, three fourths of the world's flowering plants and about 35 percent of the world's food crops depend on pollinators to reproduce. We interviewed Melanie Kirby and Davon Collins to learn more about the beekeping program at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM.

Relevant Links:

IAIA’s Beekeeping Journey

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This month we are celebrating major milestones and want to share those with you. The Climate Hub network just celebrated its 10 year anniversary. As part of that anniversary our partners recorded short stories about some of their favorite projects. We have compiled a selection of those for this episode to kick off the new year.

Relevant links:

USDA Climate Hubs: Stories from Our First 10 Years
USDA Climate Hubs: Celebra...

Dr. Elise Gornish discusses her research on restoration and weed management strategies to minimize the effects of changing climatic conditions - especially warming temperatures and decreasing precipitation. Her work focuses on designing realistic restoration strategies and solutions that are both financially and logistically feasible.

Relevant links:

The Gornish Lab

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This is the last episode in our reforestation pipeline series. The success of a reforestation effort largely depends on proper post-planting care and monitoring. We spoke with Dr. Camille Stevens-Rumann, who studies wildfire and post-fire recovery, to learn more about what needs to happen after a tree is planted in a reforestation effort.

Relevant links:

Marshall, L.A., Fornwalt, P.J., Stevens-Rumann, C.S., Rodman, K.C., Rhoades...

In this episode we continue our discussion of the reforestation pipeline. Last month, we discussed how reforestation efforts are critical after high severity wildfires, like the ones we have been witnessing across the Southwest. Now we sit down with two researchers who specialize in modeling to learn more about the science of choosing the right spot on the landscape for the best chances of planted seedling survival.

If you...

This bonus episode is a re-release of our July 2023 episode highlighting the John T. Harrington Forestry Research Center in Mora, New Mexico, which aims to advance the understanding of restoration activities on forested areas in New Mexico. The Center also provides science-based solutions for private, tribal, state, and federal forest managers, who face the threat of catastrophic fires and the inability of forest ecosystems to natu...

Dr. Joshua Sloan and Rachael Foe discuss the process of conifer seed selection and harvest for reforestation efforts in the Southwest, from selecting the parent trees and scouting for good cone crops to climbing the trees and collecting cones. Did you know some forest stands only produce a viable seed crop once every decade? Learn how you could help scout for cones through a new app from the New Mexico Reforestation Center.

Nature-based solutions - what are they exactly? Is there a standard definition? And even though the term is new to us, are the practices themselves actually something new? In this episode we speak with Dr. Laura Norman, a Research Physical Scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, to answer these questions and more.

Relevant links:

IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions
Opportunities to Accelerate Nature-Based Solu...

According to 2022 statistics published by the US EPA, enteric fermentation (a digestive pathway that produces gasses in the gut) by cattle accounted for around 3% of total US greenhouse gas emissions when converted to carbon dioxide equivalents. We spoke with Dr. Glenn Duff, from New Mexico State University to learn more about the research he and his team are conducting to measure gas fluxes and emissions from cattle in pursuit of ...

Agrivoltaics is the combination of agriculture and photovoltaics to create co-benefits across food, energy, and water systems. There is a lot of research being conducted around the benefits and best practices for implementation of agrivoltaics. We spoke with two experts, Dr. Greg Barron-Gafford from the University of Arizona, and Dr. Brandon Bestelmeyer, research leader at the Jornada Experimental Range, to learn more about this fa...

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 o...

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)
Webinar...

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.
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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...

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 Cheung

Relevant links:
Association of Gleaning Organizations

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 Kn...