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Coping with historic drought in California rangelands: Developing a more effective institutional response

Joel R. Brown·Pelayo Alvarez·Kristin B. Byrd·Helena Deswood·Emile Elias·Sheri Spiegal
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Abstract

Drought response is widely varied depending on both the characteristics of the drought and the ability of individual ranchers to respond. Assistance from institutions during drought has not typically considered preemptive, during, and post-drought response as a strategic approach, which recognizes biophysical, sociological, and economic complexities of drought. A USDA Southwest Climate Hub-sponsored workshop brought together a range of representatives from public and private institutions with drought response responsibilities to examine how those institutions could better support drought decision-making. Institutions can greatly improve their support for individual land managers by doing more systematic collecting and organizing of drought-related information as a basis for programs, and by collaborating to enhance both institutional and individual learning.

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Joel R. Brown, Pelayo Alvarez, Kristin B. Byrd, Helena Deswood, Emile Elias, Sheri Spiegal. 2017. Coping with historic drought in California rangelands: Developing a more effective institutional response. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rala.2017.01.002

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