The first webinar of the 2025 Water Webinar series brought together a group of experts to explore the topics of the larger water cycle and the feedback loops between the living landscape, land stewardship and water availability, and the role of land stewards and water managers in restoring the water cycle as a tool against a changing climate.  

The panel discussion centered on how land management practices, forest and rangeland health, soil vitality, and biodiversity are intricately linked to the health of our hydrological systems. As the first event of the new six-part webinar series, this discussion illuminated the fact that restoring the water cycle is essential not just for managing water resources, but for stabilizing the climate, mitigating extreme weather events, and building resilience for communities across the West.  

The Role of Life in Restoring the Water Cycle 

Dr. David Ellison, an interdisciplinary scientist whose work broadly spans the science, politics and policy of forests, carbon, water and energy cycles, opened the conversation by highlighting a critical, often overlooked aspect of climate policies: the role of forests and vegetation in regulating water. While much of the focus in climate discussions is on carbon emissions, Ellison emphasized that healthy ecosystems are vital for the water cycle and, by extension, the climate. Across the globe, forests do much more than sequester carbon—they act as natural sponges, storing water, promoting groundwater recharge, and influencing precipitation patterns. Forests release moisture through a process known as evapotranspiration, which not only cools the land but also facilitates cloud formation and encourages rainfall, cooling the Earth and helping to moderate local and global temperatures. 

Dr. Ellison pointed to the alarming rate of deforestation, especially in temperate zones, as a key contributor to the disruptions in the small water cycle. The small water cycle, which is directly influenced by the transpiration of plants and the rainfall they generate, is being destabilized by human actions like deforestation and land degradation. These disruptions exacerbate drought conditions, reducing water availability and diminishing climate resilience. In a sense, the earth’s “cooling” system is being compromised by the very changes we’ve made to landscapes by minimizing porous surfaces so critical to these water cycles, both big and small.  

Rethinking Water Management: A New Paradigm 

Zuzka Mulkerin, Program Director at Voices of Water, followed with a deep dive into water management practices, focusing on the shift needed from the current paradigm, which emphasizes quick water drainage, to one that fosters water retention. She discussed how traditional infrastructure, designed to rapidly move water off the land, interferes with the natural flow of water, preventing it from replenishing soil, sustaining vegetation, and recharging groundwater. This approach, increasingly common across our landscapes, ultimately worsens conditions like droughts, floods, and soil degradation. 

Water retention, as opposed to rapid drainage, allows water to stay on the land, where it can nourish plants, enhance soil fertility, and support ecosystems. Mulkerin made an example of a recent trip to Colorado, where she observed the Town of Superior’s stormwater management, which prioritizes moving water off the land, exacerbate fire risks and contribute to the extreme wildfire activity seen in the area. But wildfire is only one outcome of an ever-degrading and arid Western landscape.  

The Impact of Dust on Snow and Water Availability 

Dr. McKenzie Skiles, an associate professor and director of the Snow HydRO Lab at the University of Utah, added an important layer to the conversation by addressing the growing challenge of shifting snowpack patterns in the Western U.S. Snowmelt has historically been a crucial source of surface water in the region, but changing climates, coupled with increased dust on snow, are disrupting the natural water cycle. Dust from disturbed landscapes—often from overgrazed lands or oil and gas development sites—darkens the snow’s surface, causing it to melt more quickly and disrupting the timing of runoff, leading to mismatched water availability during peak demand. 

Dr. Skiles emphasized that restoring healthy land management practices is key to reducing dust deposition. By minimizing soil disturbance in arid regions, stabilizing soils, and protecting vegetation, we can slow the snowmelt process, ensuring that water availability aligns more closely with seasonal needs. In essence, healthier soils and landscapes can mitigate the disruptions caused by dust, helping to restore the natural hydrological processes that are critical to the functioning of both the small and large water cycles. 

Biodiversity: The Heart of a Resilient Water Cycle 

Returning to the theme of healthy soils and the connection to the water cycle, Zuzka Mulkerin highlighted biodiversity as a fundamental component in restoring our hydrology. A diverse ecosystem helps maintain the intricate balance of water, soil, and carbon, she explained. For example, insects like dung beetles and freshwater mussels play crucial roles in soil health and water filtration, while beavers contribute directly to water infiltration by creating wetlands through structure-building. 

Biodiversity also acts as a critical buffer against extreme weather events. By maintaining diverse plant and animal populations, land stewards can ensure that ecosystems remain resilient, capable of supporting the water cycle even under the stress of climate change. These natural systems help cool the land, filter water, and promote rainfall, supporting a climate-regulating system that helps mitigate both droughts and floods. 

Practical Land Management Solutions: Restoring the “Sponge” 

The panel wrapped up with practical solutions for land management that can directly support the restoration of the water cycle. Agroforestry was noted as a management tool that could be beneficial to some landscapes, with the recognition that diverse needs and challenges exist for land managers and tradeoffs should always be considered. 

Other techniques to restore the water cycle include enhancing soil infiltration by minimizing soil disturbance, using cover crops, and increasing organic matter. These practices improve soil health, allowing it to act as a sponge that can absorb, retain, and slowly release water across the landscape. The importance of slowing and spreading water across the land through techniques like check dams and Zeedyk structures was also emphasized. These methods capture runoff, recharge aquifers, and prevent erosion, all while restoring the natural hydrological processes that are key to maintaining a balanced water cycle. 

A Path Forward: Rehydrating the West 

The webinar concluded with a call to action: restoring the water cycle is not only possible but essential for building resilience in the face of climate change. From promoting water retention over drainage to fostering biodiversity and improving soil health, the panelists reinforced the need for a paradigm shift in how we manage land and water. By focusing on rehydrating the landscape—creating spongy, resilient ecosystems—we can restore both the small and large water cycles, improve water availability, and mitigate the impacts of a drying climate. 

As the panelists emphasized, thoughtful land management is at the heart of this effort. Land stewards have a critical role to play in rehydrating the West, ensuring that ecosystems can withstand the pressures of droughts, floods, and extreme weather events. By embracing strategies that prioritize water retention, biodiversity, and soil health, we can restore the natural hydrological processes that are fundamental to climate resilience and a sustainable future for all.