Changes on the Range: Exploring Climate Change with Range Managers

76 JOURNAL OF NATURAL RESOURCES & LIFE SCIENCES EDUCATION VOLUME 36 2007 A working knowledge of climatic patterns and processes is an important tool for range managers in the southwestern United States. High variability in temperature and precipitation patterns require that climatic conditions be considered when implementing best management practices. It is widely accepted that the earth’s climate is changing (Houghton et al., 2001). Climate model projections for the southwest United States predict a continuation of rising average temperatures and the potential for an increase in the frequency of extreme heat events (Diffenbaugh et al., 2005). Rangelands and cattle operations have a high exposure to impacts from climate because of high interannual precipitation variability and a tendency for the Southwest to experience multiyear drought (Eakin and Conley, 2002; Sheppard et al., 2002; Vasquez-Leon et al., 2002). Severe sustained multiyear drought since the mid-1990s has increased range managers’ awareness of their exposure to climate variations, and potentially enhanced exposure to long-term climate trends. Impacts have included successive failures of summer monsoon rainfall and exceedingly low winter precipitation and snowpack; these climate conditions have strong effects on the availability of forage and reliable water sources for cattle. As a result, range managers in Arizona and New Mexico are both sensitive to and attentive regarding climatic changes. Accordingly, the range management community in this region has a strong interest in integrating climate science research into management decision-making over short and long-term timescales. The prospect of continued trends and changes in climatic variability outside of historical ranges is of great concern to range managers. Organizations at the University of Arizona (UA), Cooperative Extension (CE), and the Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS), exist in part to extend climate science from university research into applications. In partnership, UACE and CLIMAS collaborated with the Arizona Changes on the Range: Exploring Climate Change with Range Managers