Cooperative Agreement R25AC00123

This Cooperative Agreement award from the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation, under the Snow Water Supply Forecasting program (CFDA 15.078), will fund a project to improve water supply forecasting by enhancing snow monitoring techniques. The $1,228,743.28 award to Oregon State University, which began on February 11, 2025, will support the acquisition of airborne LiDAR snow survey data in the McKenzie River Basin in Oregon and compare it to existing snow monitoring networks across 33 Western U.S. basins. The project aims to identify locations with unique snowpack dynamics not captured by current monitoring systems and evaluate how incorporating this additional snow data can enhance the accuracy of water supply forecasts. The findings will help determine the most effective ways to improve water supply forecasts through targeted snow monitoring, with a focus on three hydroclimatically distinct study regions in California, Colorado, and Oregon.