Garamendi Welcomes Davis Being Named a Key USDA "Climate Hub"

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA), a Member of the House Safe Climate Caucus and former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Interior Department, today congratulated UC Davis and Davis’ United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service for being named the Southwest region’s sub-hub for Risk Adaptation and Mitigation to Climate Change. The Davis team willpartner with the USDA Agricultural Research Service Rangeland Management Research Unit in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

These “Climate Hubs” will address increasing risks such as fires, invasive pests, devastating floods, and crippling droughts on a regional basis, aiming to translate science and research into information to farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners on ways to adapt and adjust their resource management.

The Davis sub hub will focus on specialty crops and Southwest forests.

“The extreme weather we’ve experienced in recent years, including a devastating ongoing drought, has made believers out of a lot of doubtful people about climate change,” said Congressman Garamendi. “The debate is over: human-influenced climate change is real and the conversation we need to have is what can be done to mitigate and reduce the harm. These ‘Climate Hubs’ are a practical and important part of our national strategy to address climate change. They’ll help farmers engage in best practices to adjust to extreme weather and a changing climate.”

Garamendi added, “I’m glad some of this important work will be done in Davis, and the USDA knows that my office is available as a willing partner in this important work.”

The Hubs will provide outreach and information to producers on ways to mitigate risks; public education about the risks climate change poses to agriculture, ranchlands and forests; regional climate risk and vulnerability assessments; and centers of climate forecast data and information. They will also link a broad network of partners participating in climate risk adaptation and mitigation, including universities; non-governmental organizations; federal agencies such as the Department of Interior and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Native Nations and organizations; state departments of environment and agriculture; research centers; farm groups and more.

For more information, visit https://www.usda.gov/climatechange. A fact sheet on the Hubs is available here. A fact sheet on the Southwest region is available here.