Hindsight is 20/20: Reexamining ecological studies with new climate context

It’s impossible to see the future, but it is quite easy to consider the past. Can we increase the utility of some original rangeland studies with new climate context? Instead of letting old studies quietly fade into history- I advocate for a critical eye upon the writings of yester-year by uncovering the how/what/when of climate during older studies: How variable? What extremes? When in relation to data collection? We know climatic extremes and variability are key ecological drivers in the Southwest- it’s time to look in the rear-view mirror to see how much they have been at the wheel.