Drought Disaster Declarations

As a result of continuing drought conditions most Utah farmers have suffered agricultural crop losses exceeding 30 percent (the standard used to adjudge federal agricultural disaster assistance). Statewide agricultural losses are estimated to have exceeded $286 million as of April 30, 2003. Several Utah counties have requested assistance again in 2003, to deal with agricultural drought response issues. On May 20, 2003 Governor Michael O. Leavitt signed a statewide "Declaration of Agricultural Disaster" and activated the state emergency operations plan.

The state's "Declaration of Agricultural Disaster" is the first step in providing state and federal funding relief, and drought response programs for the impacted counties. Critically low snowpack and soil moisture levels will result in extremely low streamflows this spring, and record low reservoir storage levels throughout the state this summer. In turn, this will reduce available forage and feed for the livestock industry. The "Declaration of Agricultural Disaster" will facilitate the opening of Federal Reserve Lands for grazing, provide funding assistance to off-set the high cost of trucking in feed from other parts of the country, and the possible drilling of more emergency wells

Another important issue is the possibility of disastrous wildfires in the watersheds. These fires would not only have an effect in this year but for years to come in the changing of the hydrologic characteristic of the watersheds leading to decreased water supplies.