Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) on Friday held a field hearing in Santa Fe, N.M., to examine the effects man-made warming might be having on wildfires and how the federal government can help minimize their damage.

"Wildfires have always been part of life in this region, but this year's fires have been exceptional in their intensity," he said. "The work of the nation's top scientists tells us that some of the conditions contributing to this year's fire season, including drought accompanied by above-average temperatures, are now more common because of human-induced climate change."

Bingaman's panel has dealt little with climate change in recent years, typically leaving the controversial issue to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. But he called the hearing as firefighters continue to battle blazes in Western states during a particularly active wildfire season.

Bingaman heard from Southwestern witnesses, including Walter Dasheno, governor of Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico's Rio Arriba County, who said that last year's Las Conchas fire would affect his pueblo for generations.

"I believe that climate change was a significant factor contributing to the disaster," he said.

The fire was so widespread, Dasheno said, in part because drought had left trees in the area very dry. The area has also experienced intensified flooding during the monsoon season.

"We are very concerned that continued rapid climate change will have a significant and highly adverse effect on our efforts to regenerate the forest and restore the canyon ecosystem," he said.

Frequent wildfires may have the effect of nudging local forests to a "tipping point" where trees stop regenerating after fire, he said. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has allocated funds to help improve water management in the area, but he urged additional federal support to help address forest management, flood control, and the health and welfare of his pueblo.

Bingaman also heard from Craig Allen, a research ecologist with the Colorado-based Fort Collins Science Center of the U.S. Geological Survey, who said that the Southwest is one of the best places to explore the "close relationship" between climate change and wild fires.

"There is a high level of scientific confidence that, as a result of drought impacts coupled with warmer temperatures, forests in the Southwest are at increasing risk of severe wildfire and tree mortality," he said.

Although Bingaman did not sponsor legislation in the last Congress to combat climate change, he has introduced legislation on the subject in the past, including a cap-and-trade bill with then-Republican Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) in 2007. The New Mexico senior senator will retire at the end of this year.

Last Wednesday, committee member Mark Udall (D-Colo.) presided over a field hearing at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, that focused on that state's recent wildfires, which killed six people, burned hundreds of thousands of acres and destroyed more than 600 homes (E&ENews PM, Aug. 15).

Also last week, the California-based think tank Pacific Institute released a report showing that climate change is likely to increase California's need for water at the same time it decreases its supply by contributing to loss of snowpack, earlier snowmelt and changes in precipitation patterns.

The Pacific Institute study noted that in 2005, 78 percent of the Golden State's water use was for agriculture. Climate change is expected to increase temperatures and change rates of precipitation, influencing the amount of water that will be needed to irrigate crops.

The study looked at factors ranging from population growth to conservation efforts, and found that in all instances climate change is likely to drive up water demand. And the more climate change, the more demand, the report found.