Addressing Climate Change in Rural Colorado Landscapes

Introduction: Climate change across Colorado has affected natural resources such as water availability and timing of availability, snow pack, fire regimes, and soil moisture levels. These impacts result in increased vulnerability of rural livelihoods, as well as increased degradation of key natural resources.

The geographic setting of the Rocky Mountains affects precipitation and temperature gradients and defines different climate regimes in Colorado. Therefore, climate change effects across the state varies immensely. Some general trends are observed such as: increase in temperatures in all seasons, more frequent droughts, decline in snowpack levels, shift in snowmelt to 1 to 4 weeks earlier over the past 3 decades.

Climate Change Effects and Responses:

These climate change effects have resulted in differential impacts on key rural sectors such as ranching, farming, and outdoor recreation. Ranchers indicated that drought events have affected forage and water availability to support their livestock, as well as increased risk to grassland fire events. These impacts are causing ranchers to respond by reducing stocking levels, seek to increase production of hay reserves or land in reserve.

Farming in Colorado has been impacted by droughts, floods, and other extreme weather events. Dryland farmers are sensitive to drought, the irrigated farmers to heat waves during sensitive growing periods, and orchard growers are most vulnerable to changing springtime conditions affecting initiation of the growing season and late-season frost events. Some of the innovative responses to climate change in the state has been a development of a collaborative approach to manage groundwater resources, allowing for a voluntarily management of groundwater usage.

The recreation and tourism sectors in rural and mountain communities are extremely varied. However, changes in the snowpack and the frequency of fires are two main climate effects that impact the skiing, fishing and hunting, and rafting communities alike. Given the co-dependence of these activities, operators are developing ways to reduce risks, such as broadening the range of activities in a region or collaborating on river flow management to meet the needs of multiple communities.

Climate change science can be part of this collaboration and be part of a co-design process.