From the Director: June 1997

Drought policy continues to be a topic of much discussion in the United States. On June 12, the Western Drought Coordination Council (WDCC) met for the first time and adopted a work plan for 1997–98. The WDCC is committed to improving drought management in the western states through mitigation and preparedness. It is hoped that this Council, representing a partnership between federal, state, local, and tribal government, will serve as a model for other drought-prone regions of the United States. Four working groups (preparedness and mitigation; monitoring, assessment, and prediction; response; and communications) established by the Council will meet in late July to assign priority to action items identified by the Council as important to the WDCC’s mission. The administrative leadership for the WDCC is housed at the National Drought Mitigation Center