Present and Future Impact of Climate Change Threats on Clackamas Watershed

Present and Future Impact of Climate Change Threats on Clackamas Watershed
Background
Role of attitude in encouraging watershed stewardship (Nielsen-Pincus, 2017)
* Snowmelt during spring and precipitation form the major sources of water for the Clackamas River that benefits communities. However, Oregon has been identified as the fastest-warming County in the nation.
Ї More than 300,000 people living in Washington and Clackamas River Basin (CRB) depend on the river as their primary source of clean drinking water (Nielsen-Pincus, 2017).
Ї Other minor quality drinking ware include sanitary sewer management and stormwater. The Clackamas Watershed also provides for other human activities such as forestry, agriculture, and supporting terrestrial and aquatic life.
* While the Clackamas Watershed River (CWR) has supplied communities in this area with clean water, climate changes and meteorological factors such as precipitation, temperature, and snow will ultimately affect the quality and quantity of water the locals will benefit from the CWR (Clackamas River Water Providers, 2021).
* A legacy project bringing together stakeholders with interdisciplinary collaboration was suggested to address the impending dangers of climate change on the valuable resource in the communities (Portland State University, 2021).
Climate Impact Studies
What climate change means for Oregon Communities/Population (Deschutes Land Trust)
Key Points: Climate changes have resulted in drought conditions impacting Clackamas Watershed communities in significant ways, including health, threats in safety and food security, poor agricultural production, and rangeland health, and the multiplication of existing risks as seen in Wasco and Jefferson Counties in Oregon County.
* Abnormally dry (D0) to Exceptional Drought (D4) conditions impact the health of communities, especially in Central Oregon, who are exposed to smoke from constant wildfires caused by the changing climate (McEvoy et al., 2020).
* As larger wildfires spread quickly, they become food security and safety threat that threaten homes and communities bordering the wildland and urban places such as Camp Sherman, Bend, and Sisters (NOAA & NIDIS, n.d).
* Impact on agriculture is significant with increased precipitation, carbon dioxide, and temperature changes that affect rangeland health, hay production, cattle operations, and wildlife in many parts of Oregon, such as Deschutes County (the United States Drought Monitor, 2021). Large parts of Harney County witness extremely extended droughts resulting in:
Ї Delayed planting
Ї Reduced hay yields and pastures
Ї Low availability of water as marshes dry (Brown, 2021).
* Climate change in Clackamas Watershed communities in Deschutes and Harney Counties serves to multiply existing risks among communities already struggling with other vulnerabilities ranging from economic to human health issues.
Ї While Deschutes County tends to witness low levels of social vulnerabilities, areas such as the Wasco County and Jefferson County that lie toward the remaining Deschutes Basin have a higher soci...