MORE VARIABLE AND EXTREME WEATHER PATTERNS, SUCH AS DROUGHTS RIVALING THAT OF THE DUSTBOWL, ARE APROMINENT FEATURE OF CLIMATE CHANGE PROJECTIONS AND POSE A FUNDAMENTAL CHALLENGE TO RAIN-FEDRANGELAND PRODUCTION SYSTEMS. RANCHERS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO MITIGATE THE UNCERTAINTY POSED BYINCREASING CLIMATIC VARIABILITY THROUGH PRO-ACTIVE DECISION MAKING THAT CAN HAVE PROFOUNDECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS, BUT THIS RELIES UPON KNOWLEDGE OF WHEN TO IMPLEMENT SUCH DECISIONS. AGROWING BODY OF RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT FORAGE PRODUCTION IS SENSITIVE TO WEATHER VARIATIONDURING RELATIVELY NARROW CLIMATIC WINDOWS DURING THE GROWING SEASON. HOWEVER, WE LACK ANUNDERSTANDING OF HOW THIS TIMING OF FORAGE SENSITIVITY TO WEATHER VARIES AT THE SPATIAL SCALES INWHICH DECISION MAKING OCCURS, FROM THE LANDSCAPE, COUNTY, AND STATE ALL THE WAY TO THE SCALE OFTHE ECOREGION. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF RANGELAND RESPONSESTO WEATHER VARIABILITY BY FOCUSING ON WHEN PRECIPITATION MOST AFFECTS FORAGE PRODUCTION AMONGDIFFERENT RANGES IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL, THIS PROJECT WILL1) INTEGRATE NOVEL, HIGHRESOLUTION, AND LONG-TERM REMOTE SENSING DATA PRODUCTS OF INTRA-ANNUAL FORAGE PRODUCTION WITHINTRA-ANNUAL CLIMATE DATA ON THE SAME SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL SCALES, 2) UNRAVEL GEOGRAPHIC PATTERNSAND VARIATION IN THE TIMING OF FORAGE SENSITIVITY TO PRECIPITATION, AND 3) APPLY SPATIOTEMPORALANALYSES TO REVEAL HOW THIS TIMING VARIES ACROSS CLIMATIC GRADIENTS WITHIN AND ACROSS DIFFERENTRANGELAND ECOREGION TYPES. BOLSTERED BY AN APPLICATION-FOCUSED RESEARCH ADVISORY BOARD, THISRESEARCH WILL OPTIMIZE EXISTING WEATHER-BASED RANGELAND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES BY PROVIDING ABROAD GEOGRAPHIC UNDERSTANDING OF CRITICAL DECISION DATES: THE DATES BY WHICH DROUGHT MITIGATIONSTRATEGIES SHOULD BE EXECUTED TO AVOID FURTHER, UNNECESSARY ECOLOGICAL DEGRADATION TO ENSURERANGELAND SUSTAINABILITY AND MAINTAIN PROFITABILITY.