BC Agriculture & Food Climate Action Initiative

Cariboo – Livestock Surface Water & Forage Risk Assessment Tool Extension & Engagement [cb11]

Region
Status completed in 2019
Project Lead Cariboo Cattlemen’s Association
Funding Partners Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, BC Ministry of Agriculture
Other Partners BC FLNRORD Range Practices and Ecology Branch, BC FLNRORD Cariboo Chilcotin District Range Staff

This project tested and demonstrated the application of an assessment process to support climate-resilient livestock surface water management/water developments on Crown rangeland.

Shifts in climate conditions and hydrology are likely to significantly impact surface water sources in some areas of the Cariboo, which will in turn impact the availability of water for livestock.

The assessment process was developed in 2017 through a previous CAI project. It identifies how existing surface water resources will be impacted by climate change and combines that information with forage availability data.

This project supported uptake of the assessment process by raising awareness of its potential application through the following activities:

  • delivering a training workshop to demonstrate how to apply the surface water assessment and planning process
  • planning for three (proposed) water development demonstration projects, including plans for monitoring, evaluating and transferring knowledge

Additionally, the project completed climate and surface water mapping for 44 Cariboo range units to inform future surface water planning (individual maps can be found in the Project Results list below).

The final report includes a summary of the workshop and descriptions of the three proposed pilot projects.

Project Results