Update of the 2014 Drought on California Rangelands

Abstract

Drought is a recurring phenomenon characteristic of arid and semiarid landscapes that challenges efforts to make reliable uses of them. The Unit- ed States has experienced mounting costs from droughts over the last 30 years. The costs of the 2012 drought alone surpassed $50 billion.1 In California, as in other west- ern states, costs of the 2014 drought are already signi cant and growing rapidly. By late spring 2014, preliminary esti- mates of agricultural economic losses exceeded $2.2 billion, and more than 17,000 jobs had been lost.2 Though drought impacts many agricultural segments, our main interest here is how it has impacted rangelands in California, particularly rangelands in the Central Coast region.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rangelands_v36i5_larsen