The Drought Learning Network supports knowledge exchange on drought management in the U.S. Southwest.

The Drought Learning Network (DLN) brings together drought management leaders and resource managers to support knowledge sharing and improve collaboration around building resilience among communities impacted by drought in the U.S. Southwest, one of the hottest and driest regions of the world. The DLN was created by drought management leaders from the USDA Southwest Climate Hub, the National Drought Mitigation Center, and NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System to help capture lessons learned from previous droughts and assist resource managers in responding to future events.

The network now has more than 70 members representing diverse agencies. In the first year, the DLN hosted more than 22 virtual workshops and webinars, developed two surveys about climate data preferences of resource managers, and published case studies on conservation and drought preparedness efforts. In 2021, there are five teams working on priority challenges of the DLN, including Indigenous collaboration, drought in agriculture, drought impact reporting, and sharing management practices.