Citizen science tools for predicting landscape-scale variability in drought resilience

Dirt. Drought. Dust bowl? Dunelands? When Europeans introduced plows to Oklahoma and livestock to New Mexico, they didn’t understand the importance of soil and climate variability. This lack of knowledge could have been avoided had they downloaded the Land-Potential Knowledge System (LandPKS) app while saddling up in St. Louis. We put it in the hands of an Okie and a NM rancher who likely knew Billy the Kid, and show how it might have helped them to predict, monitor and adapt to drought. We conclude with a brief overview of contemporary uses, and an invitation to contribute to future development.