Forest Management Connections in the Water Adaptation Techniques Atlas (WATA)

The Water Adaptation Techniques Atlas is a tool being built by the USDA Southwest and California Climate Hubs to document and share solutions to water scarcity. As climate change drives aridification across the Southwest, resource managers of all kinds need reliable information on actions that can help adapt to new conditions and the tradeoffs these choices entail. WATA presents adaptation options in succinct case studies located on an interactive map covering a wide range of practices, technologies, and policies. In this presentation I will provide an overview of WATA and highlight cases relevant to forestry and forest management. These include agroforestry practices with water conservation benefits, practices for slowing and spreading runoff in forest landscapes, and efforts to manage watershed ecosystems to maximize stream flows.