THE USDA AIMS TO INCREASE THE PERCENTAGE OF LAND WITH CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN PLACE TO SUSTAIN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. HOWEVER, PROJECTED CLIMATE CHANGE IS CURRENTLY THREATENING OUR NATION'S RANGELANDS, AND DISCOVERING AND ADOPTING BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR THIS CHANGING CLIMATE IS CRITICAL. HERE, WE PROPOSE TO (1) EXPERIMENTALLY EXAMINE THE INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF DROUGHT INTENSITY AND GRAZING MANAGEMENT TO DETERMINE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING RANGELAND RESILIENCY IN THE FACE OF A CHANGING CLIMATE, AND (2) FACILITATE IMPLEMENTATION OF BEST-MANAGEMENT PRACTICES THROUGH A VARIETY OF EXTENSION ACTIVITIES INCLUDING PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND INFORMATION DISSEMINATION.TRADITIONALLY, EXPERIMENTAL MANIPULATIONS HAVE FOCUSED ON EITHER ENVIRONMENTAL MANIPULATIONS OR MANAGEMENT MANIPULATIONS. HERE WE PROPOSE TO EXPERIMENTALLY TEST DROUGHT-MANAGEMENT INTERACTIONS IN NORTHERN MIXED-GRASS RANGELAND, WHICH REPRESENTS THE LARGEST ECOREGION IN THE UNITED STATES. OUR PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL EXAMINE THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING RANGELAND RESPONSES TO DROUGHT AND MANAGEMENT, INCLUDING PLANT AND SOIL COMPONENTS. THE INTERACTIVE DROUGHT-MANAGEMENT AND GRADIENT APPROACH OF OUR EXPERIMENT WILL HELP IDENTIFY BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR A VARIETY OF FUTURE CLIMATE SCENARIOS.STRATEGIES TO DEAL WITH PREDICTED MULTI-YEAR EXTREME DROUGHTS ARE LIMITED BY A LACK OF EXPERIMENTAL AND OBSERVATIONAL INFORMATION. WE WILL INTEGRATE STAKEHOLDERS IN PROJECT DEVELOPMENT TO ENSURE MANAGEMENT TREATMENTS AND FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS ARE RELEVANT AND ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE. FURTHER, BEST PRACTICES IDENTIFIED BY THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL BE WIDELY DISSEMINATED THROUGH STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOPS, PRESENTATIONS, A WEBINAR SERIES, AND WEB-BASED TOOLS. OUR BROAD EXTENSION APPROACH, FROM PROJECT INCEPTION TO INFORMATION DISSEMINATION, WILL PROMOTE LASTING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN RESEARCHERS AND LAND MANAGERS AND WIDE DISTRIBUTION OF PROJECT-GAINED KNOWLEDGE.