Water Education Foundation to Honor State Climatologist at Colorado State University

Note to Reporters: A photo of Nolan Doesken is available with the news release at http://news.colostate.edu.

Nolan Doesken, state climatologist and founder of CoCoRaHS, the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network based at Colorado State University, today will receive the 2011 President’s Award from the Colorado Foundation for Water Education.

Doesken will receive the award in recognition of his advancement to greater understanding of Colorado’s climate and water resources.

Doesken founded the volunteer precipitation monitoring program, CoCoRaHS, as a small local project in Fort Collins soon after an extreme localized storm in 1997. The storm was not well detected by traditional weather observing networks and caused devastating flooding. For this effort, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration honored him as one of 10 “Environmental Heroes” in 2007.

NOAA’s Office of Education awarded CoCoRaHS an Environmental Literacy grant in December 2006 to make its first formal push to expand nationally. Since then, CoCoRaHS has grown to include nearly 15,000 volunteers nationwide.

CoCoRaHS taps volunteers of all ages to document the quantity, intensity, duration and patterns of precipitation by taking simple measurements in their own backyards. Volunteers only need a cylindrical rain gauge, some training and an interest in weather to participate in the program.

Doesken will receive the award during the Colorado Foundation for Water Education’s 2011 President’s Award reception from 6-9 p.m. Friday, April 8, at the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s Mesa Laboratory in Boulder. For more information, go to http://www.cfwe.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=64&Itemid=89.

The Colorado Foundation for Water Education is Colorado’s only non-profit, non-advocacy organization that provides water resource information and education. Their mission is to promote better understanding of Colorado’s water resources and issues by providing balanced and accurate information and education. For more information about the CFWE, go to www.cfwe.org.

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