HUMAN INFLUENCES ARE CHANGING AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPES AND TRANSFORMING ECOSYSTEMS THAT RURAL COMMUNITIES DEPEND ON ACROSS THE US. THE GREAT BASIN REGION OF NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA IS EXPERIENCING INCREASING FREQUENCY OF DESTRUCTIVE FIRE, INVASION BY NONNATIVE SPECIES, AND LOSS OF HABITAT FOR NATIVE PLANTS AND ANIMALS. RURAL COMMUNITIES WITH STRONG CULTURAL TIES TO RANCHING, TRADITIONAL FOODS, AND PUBLIC LAND USES ARE IMPACTED BY THESE CHANGES. BUT JUST HOW CONSEQUENTIAL ARE THESE CHANGES FOR COMMUNITIES THAT DEPEND ON NATURAL RESOURCES FOR THEIR ECONOMIC LIVELIHOODS, CULTURAL PRACTICES, AND SOCIAL IDENTITY? THIS STUDY INVESTIGATES: (1) NATIVE AMERICAN TRADITIONAL FOODS, (2) RANCHING ON PRIVATE AND PUBLIC LANDS, AND (3) LAND MANAGEMENT BY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. PARTICULAR ATTENTION IS GIVEN TO THE EMERGENCE OF NEW ECOLOGIES OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS THAT FUNCTION DIFFERENTLY THAN IN THE PAST AND THEIR IMPACTS ON RURAL COMMUNITIES. NOTABLY, A NOVEL MIXED-METHODS APPROACH IS EMPLOYED, COMBININGQUALITATIVE ETHNOGRAPHY (INTERVIEWS, SURVEYS, AND PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION) WITH CUTTING-EDGE COMPUTATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE (LARGE-SCALE AUTOMATED TEXT ANALYSIS, SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS). THIS GRANT SUPPORTS FIELDWORK, DATA ANALYSIS, AND COMPOSITION OF RESEARCH RESULTS, AND FACILITATING THE ACQUISITION OF SKILLS IN RURAL AND AGRICULTURAL SOCIAL SCIENCE. FINDINGS FROM THIS RESEARCH WILL INFORM POLICIES TO IMPROVE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, MITIGATE THE SOCIAL IMPACTS OF ECOSYSTEM AND AGRICULTURAL CHANGE, AND HELP AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITIES ADAPT TO A CHANGING NATURAL RESOURCE BASE IN RURAL AMERICA.