Rangelands, Ranching, and Resilience
Ranching in the American West is undergoing significant change. Climate shifts and land use change are altering rangeland ecosystems. Economic volatility, rural demographic changes, and increasing demands on public lands are shifting the social and political landscape for ranching, as well. With funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and in partnership with the USDA Northern and Southwestern Climate Hubs, an interdisciplinary research team engaged with ranchers across nine western communities to understand the concept of social-ecological resilience from the viewpoint of ranchers and land managers. Research results highlight the transformational changes in Western ranching and the capacities of ranchers to adapt to these changes.
CLIMAS Lead: Dan Ferguson
Research Team: Michael Crimmins, Christina Greene, Mitch McClaran
Partners: USDA Southwest Climate Hub, USDA Northern Plains Climate Hub, University of Colorado, and Utah State University
Publications
Wilmer, H., Ferguson, D. B., Dinan, M., Thacker, E., Adler, P. B., Walsh, K. B., Bradford, J. B., Brunson, M., Derner, J. D., Elias, E., Felton, A., Gray, C. A., Greene, C., McClaran, M. P., Shriver, R. K., Stephenson, M., & Suding, K. N. (2024). Resilience Is Not Enough: Toward a More Meaningful Rangeland Adaptation Science. Rangeland Ecology & Management, 95, 56–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2024.04.003
Greene, C., Wilmer, H., Ferguson, D. B., Crimmins, M. A., & McClaran, M. P. (2022). Using scale and human agency to frame ranchers’ discussions about socio-ecological change and resilience. Journal of Rural Studies, 96, 217–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2022.11.001
Dinan, M., Adler, P. B., Bradford, J., Brunson, M., Elias, E., Felton, A., Greene, C., James, J., Suding, K., & Thacker, E. (2021). Making research relevant: Sharing climate change research with rangeland advisors to transform results into drought resilience. Rangelands, 43(5), 185–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rala.2021.08.004