Communications

The timely dissemination of drought related data plays an important role in assuring the effectiveness of the New Mexico Drought Plan. A targeted effort has been made to develop an information dissemination system using E-mail and FAX communication systems. Existing agency newsletters have been combined with web sites of the Office of the State Engineer, NM Agricultural Statistics, New Mexico State Climatologist, and the US Geological Survey to communicate drought information to the public. Prepared radio and TV spots have also been developed to address the major drought affected customer groups. These efforts have been designed to assure the timely delivery of needed data to not only the state’s decision makers but also to the general public.

To accomplish this objective, the following communications guidelines have been established:

• 1. Initial release of any drought status or response information, excluding "Quarterly Drought Monitoring/Status Reports", will originate from the Office of the Governor, with technical oversight being provided by members of the NM Drought Task Force.

• 2. Drought press releases from the Office of the Governor will use the existing client list to target media outlets, congressional delegations and State of New Mexico Cabinet and Department heads.

• 3. Other agencies within the State of New Mexico are encouraged to redirect information obtained from the Office of the Governor to their respective client bases, however no information will be released to these clients until after the initial release by the Governor. These agency client lists should emphasize clients not already receiving information from the Office of the Governor and/or those needing drought related services available from the originating agency.