Perceptions of Drought in the Ogallala Aquifer Region

Abstract

Farmers of the Ogallala Aquifer region of the Great Plains in the western United States were interviewed concerning their perceptions of drought, weather and climate changes, aquifer conditions, and the adaptive strategies used to cope with these. The results of these surveys parallel and refine the results reported by Saarinen in 1966: Farmers recall classic droughts and the most recent years as drought; intermediate years and droughts are lost from memory. A pattern of perception is suggested by these results wherein experience influences both definition and memory, which in turn affect expectations of the particular environmental event. People's perceptions, expectations, and adaptive responses to recurrent environmental stimulae, such as drought, are related to their direct experiences. When one's experience restricts his or her view of the potential variance in meteorological or other environmental events, however, that restriction may lead to inappropriate or insufficient response to environmental hazards.