Working Lands as Water Infrastructure: Using Water to Understand and Advocate for Regenerative Rangelands

This interactive 45-minute workshop explores why water may be the most practical and persuasive lens for understanding regenerative rangelands. As many western states shift from relying on snowpack to capturing larger, less predictable rain events, working lands deserve greater attention as part of water infrastructure. Rather than leading with carbon accounting or broad climate claims, TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation will show how water-centered metrics can help land stewards across the West evaluate land function, improve management, and communicate the public value of regenerative practices.

Drawing on TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation’s on-ranch experience and lessons from a broader collaborative of ranchers, researchers, and land managers, this session will examine how practitioners are tracking water through measures such as infiltration, runoff, soil moisture, evapotranspiration, streamflow, groundwater response, seasonal rainfall, and water quality. It will connect grazing, riparian restoration, compost, hedgerows, road design, and other regenerative practices to measurable hydrologic outcomes, while offering a practical framework for helping producers, agencies, conservation groups, funders, and the public understand healthy working lands as infrastructure that can slow water, store water, and strengthen both producer and watershed resilience.

Questions? Contact kevin@bookcliffconsulting.com.