Tackling drought in the Great Plains: Exploring the scalar challenges to the co-management of water resources

This poster presentation shares findings from a comparative study of governance, agricultural land-use, and water usage in a dual-state area encompassing Union County, NM, and Cimarron County, OK. While these Great Plains... [ view full abstract ]

This poster presentation shares findings from a comparative study of governance, agricultural land-use, and water usage in a dual-state area encompassing Union County, NM, and Cimarron County, OK. While these Great Plains citizens share a common cultural and ecological landscape, agricultural economy, and similar vulnerability to drought, governance and policy boundaries generate a unique set of challenges to regional drought adaptation and resiliency. Specifically, this poster asks, what are the scalar challenges to citizen-science as a vehicle for the co-management of water resources in the Great Plains? First, we will compare and contrast the everyday challenges faced by land-users in each county within the context of governance, social, and environmental factors. Disparities in state and federal laws about land-use influence individual perceptions about drought risk and recovery, as well as limit the possibilities for organized response. Next, theoretical applications of resiliency theory and political ecology guide the identification of the relational webs and the transboundary possibilities for community collaboration through citizen-science. We argue for a dynamic model for adaptive drought communication focused on: (a) dimensions of community adaptive capacity at multiple scales, (b) the role of scientific inputs in processes of public deliberation, and (c) participatory models for community co-management meetings and interactive drought mapping (i.e. citizen-science). The project highlights a citizen-science model for engagement which is both multi-scalar and embedded within participatory research processes. This poster presentation contributes to a broader discussion about how to address problem of scale and community-capacity in the face of competing governmental and policy boundaries.