Climate change is expected to exacerbate threats to surface water sources for livestock and wildlife in the Cariboo region, an area already experiencing reduced surface water availability during extended dry periods. Water shortages reduce access to rangeland, and could lead to overgrazing in some areas and reduced productivity overall.
These resources summarize activities and findings from projects to develop livestock surface water and forage risk assessment tools.
The 2017 report includes a methodology for assessing risk to surface water within range units, which is outlined step-by-step. The report tests the risk assessment process on a select set of range units.
The 2019 report provides in-depth cases studies of three specific range units, identifies the water resource challenges, proposes water development solutions and provides high-level cost estimates for proposed water developments.
The 2020 report summarizes the details of the livestock water developments that were installed.
A webinar series organized by ACARN provides training on how to use the risk assessment process and an overview of the pilot water developments.
The 3 factsheets provide key production and profit information to producers based on testing water development approaches at three different pilot sites.
The series of range unit maps can be used by range officers and producers in the Cariboo to inform future surface water planning. Each range unit has a set of seven maps, displaying:
- Reference evaporation greater than 2 hectares
- Water resource buffer
- Ortho overlay
- Primary range
- Lakes
- Reference evaporation greater than 5 hectares
- Range development
