Ecological Drought: Accounting for the Non-Human Impacts of Water Shortage in the Upper Missouri Headwaters Basin, Montana, USA

Abstract

Water laws and drought plans are used to prioritize and allocate scarce water resources. Both have historically been human-centric, failing to account for non-human water needs. In this paper, we examine the development of instream flow legislation and the evolution of drought planning to highlight the growing concern for the non-human impacts of water scarcity. Utilizing a new framework for ecological drought, we analyzed five watershed-scale drought plans in southwestern Montana, USA to understand if, and how, the ecological impacts of drought are currently being assessed. We found that while these plans do account for some ecological impacts, it is primarily through the narrow lens of impacts to fish as measured by water temperature and streamflow. The latter is typically based on the same ecological principles used to determine instream flow requirements. We also found that other resource plans in the same watersheds (e.g., Watershed Restoration Plans, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Watershed Assessments or United States Forest Service (USFS) Forest Plans) identify a broader range of ecological drought risks. Given limited resources and the potential for mutual benefits and synergies, we suggest greater integration between various planning processes could result in a more holistic consideration of water needs and uses across the landscape.

Influence of multi-decadal land use, irrigation practices and climate on riparian corridors across the Upper Missouri River Headwaters Basin, Montana

“…6), a finding documented in other geographic regions as well (e.g., Fu and Burgher, 2015;Nguyen et al, 2015;Huntington et al, 2016). Drought events, and the resilience of river and riparian ecosystems to these events, are a significant concern for stakeholders in the Upper Missouri Headwaters Basin (Montana DNRC, 2015;McEvoy et al, 2018). Although evaluation of water rights and corresponding water withdrawals under drought conditions was beyond the scope of this study, our findings suggest that the conversion to center pivot irrigation could amplify the impacts of reduced precipitation on riparian areas.…”

Influence of multi-decadal land use, irrigation practices and climate on riparian corridors across the Upper Missouri River headwaters basin, Montana

“…5 and 6), a finding documented in other geographic regions as well (e.g., Fu and Burgher, 2015;Nguyen et al, 2015;Huntington et al, 2016). Drought events, and the resilience of river and riparian ecosystems to these events, are a significant concern for stakeholders in the Upper Missouri Headwaters Basin (Montana DNRC, 2015;McEvoy et al, 2018). Evaluation of water rights and corresponding water withdrawals under drought conditions was beyond the scope of this study; however, our findings suggest that the conversion to center-pivot irrigation could amplify the impacts of reduced precipitation on riparian areas.…”

The Legal Geographies of Water Claims: Seawater Desalination in Mining Regions in Chile

“…Recently, a less anthropogenic form of water governance is captured by reviewing court cases and the rights of nature 'rivers' to legal defense in court (rights recognized in many Constitutions e.g., Ecuador, Bolivia and Mexico City) [25]. Water requirements for non-humans (animal and plants) have also been proposed through a revision of watershed-scale drought plans, wherein ecological impacts were disclosed as primarily acknowledging impacts to fish [24]. Within this body of work, legal discourses have been highlighted by their particular power in the production of spaces: "The legal process demarcates the boundaries of water politics because the law determines who holds legitimate power to organize, distribute, and manage a region's physical water resources" [19] (p. 615).…”