What are "May Gray" and "June Gloom"? How does the southwestern U.S. monsoon season impact low-level clouds on the California coastline? In this episode, we talked with Dr. Rachel Clemesha, a Project Scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California - San Diego, to help answer those questions. Dr. Clemesha's research focuses on the climate of coastal California and western North America. She examines climate extremes, marine layer clouds and fog, relationships b...
Jun 4
35 min
In this episode, we spoke with Roy Petrakis, a Geographer with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Western Geographic Science Center. Roy’s expertise includes using remote sensing and GIS to understand how landscapes in the southwest are changing over time, including shifts in wildfire behavior, vegetation dynamics, and water availability. His research addresses wildfire and fuel treatments, climate variability, watershed management, and more. He talked with us about the long-standing partnersh...
May 6
30 min
In this episode, we spoke with Dr. Camille Stevens-Rumann, interim director of the Colorado Forest Restoration Institute at Colorado State University and associate professor in the Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship. Dr. Stevens-Rumann’s research focuses broadly on disturbance ecology, including post-fire forest recovery. She examines how ecosystems respond to disturbances like wildfire, to help improve restoration and management strategies. She shares how fire regimes in the west...
Apr 6
29 min
A snow drought happening across the western U.S. is creating dramatic shifts. In this episode, we spoke with Dr. McKenzie Skiles, Director of the Snow Hydrology Resarch-to-Operations Laboratory (Snow HydRO Lab) and associate professor at the School of Environment, Society & Sustainability at the University of Utah. Dr. Skiles specializes in snow monitoring, modeling and remote sensing, and investigates the impacts of mineral dust and other light-absorbing particles on snow. She explained ...
Mar 5
38 min
In this episode we spoke with Dr. Flavie Audoin, an Assistant Professor in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona and Assistant Rangeland Management Specialist for the UA Cooperative Extension. Dr. Audoin’s research examines solutions for livestock producers who are seeking to raise animals and manage rangelands in a sustainable way. She talked with us about how targeted grazing can help minimize invasive plants and reduce wildfire risk, and shared th...
Feb 5
35 min
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 on species that are important for agriculture, food security a...
Jan 8
23 min
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 Galloping Goat Grazing and the services offered by Max Wade and his her...
Dec 4, 2025
45 min
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 species in the region, especially cheatgrass (also called brom...
Nov 5, 2025
31 min
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 If you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podc...
Feb 5, 2025
49 min
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: Celebrating 10 Years! If you’re enjoying this podcast, please consider rating u...
Jan 1, 2025
22 min
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