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. © 2017

We used social-science methods to study how social, economic, technical, and institutional factors have influenced medusahead control near Paradise, Utah, over the past 25 years. In general, control efforts have struggled. Each of the four factors can assume some responsibility for this outcome. Low and uncertain funding for both research and outreach, however, has been the major constraint overall. Research needs more funding to identify a reliable, cost-effective control program. Outreach then will have a message that landowners are eager to hear. Effective control methods can also promote improved weed law enforcement and the stability of state funding lines in support of weed management. Weed control, however, is also a shared responsibility. Landowners must be willing to make changes in grazing management that complement the application of new technology. “Silver bullet” technical solutions are unrealistic. Outreach needs more funding to support weed coordinators who can effectively work with the public. Today''s weed coordinator needs strong leadership, communication, and analytical skills. Recruiting and retaining such talent requires a commitment to higher levels of compensation than has been the norm. Despite the high socioeconomic diversity of landowners here, many have shared values on the importance of noxious weed control and the need for community collaboration. We also discovered that only 40 of 1,329 total landowners controlled 80% of all acreage, and 37 of these had never been engaged in formal weed-control efforts. This all represents untapped outreach opportunities, while the latter also illustrates the need for a targeted stakeholder analysis at the beginning of any weed-control project. Ultimately, research and outreach institutions must tackle funding gaps and build professional capacity to promote improved medusahead control. © 2017 The Society for Range Management

Biodiversity is an important ecosystem service provided by rangelands. However, the close link between biodiversity and rangelands often results in conflicts between human livelihood and biological conservation, as is occurring with the livestock-guanaco (Lama guanicoe) conflict in Patagonia, Chile. Understanding community attitudes and perspectives regarding conservation is critical for successful conservation. We conducted a study to assess rancher perspectives of traditional land-use practices and biological conservation to identify incentives for, and barriers to, guanaco conservation. Ranchers strongly valued biodiversity and demonstrated stronger support for the cultural value, rather than economic value, of guanacos. However, a negative perception was associated with guanacos, and guanaco overabundance was identified as the primary cause of the conflict. Use of a sustainable-harvest approach of guanaco products, which emphasizes the commercial value of guanacos, may not be an effective conservation tool for the species under current conditions. Moreover, identifying the cultural carrying capacity, ecological carrying capacity, and minimum viable population of guanacos will be important in guiding conflict resolution. © 2017 The Society for Range Management