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Quartz Valley Indian Reservation Tribal Youth Internship Project Completed
In 2014, NPLCC & Northwest Climate Science Center provided funding to the Quartz Valley Indian Reservation to hire five tribal youth for a ten week Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Climate Change Science internship.
During the ten week internship, college-age students from the Klamath Tribes, QVIR, Karuk Tribe, Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, and the Yurok Tribe were trained in both western science and traditional ecological knowledge. Students had the chance to work with mentors from tribes and federal agencies to study topics like fire; drought and forest related effects of climate on tribal traditional foods; aquatic habitat restoration approaches; stream temperature refugia critical to fisheries; and climate effects to species valuable to tribes
Learn more about the project and read the students' final reports here
Western Alaskan LCC Call for Pre-Proposals
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has just issued a "Notice of Funding Opportunity" (a request for proposals) on behalf of the Western Alaska Landscape Conservation Cooperative. Pre-proposals due November 2nd at 12:00pm. This solicitation is for short pre-proposals that can fall into three different categories for Terrestrial Systems theme:
- Category 1) Patterns of change, and their impacts, in the phenology and distribution of terrestrial subsistence resources, harvested species, or other species of management interest;
- Category 2) Identification and synthesis of information about ‘hotspots’ of change or of highly resilient ‘stable’ locations in western Alaska; and,
- Category 3) Changes in terrestrial habitat characteristics and their impact on important resources or services in western Alaska.
More info
Point No Point Treaty Council Seeking Climate Change Action Analyst
The Point No Point Treaty Council, an intertribal natural resources management agency serving two Western Washington Treaty Tribes, is seeking qualified applicants to fill the position of Climate Change Action Analyst at the Central Office located in Poulsbo, Washington.
More Info
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10/8 – 10am – Webinar, Inspire Ocean and Climate Literacy and Conservation through MPAs by Claire Fackler of NOAA
10/13-10/14 – Conference, Polson, MT. 2015 Native American Fish and Wildlife Society Pacific Region Conference
10/13 - 10am (Alaska) - Webinar, A One Health Approach to Climate Change
10/14 - 11am (Pacific) - Webinar, Identifying Resilient Terrestrial Landscapes in the Pacific Northwest
10/17-10/21 – Conference, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada – The Wildlife Society 22nd Annual Conference
10/19 – Workshop, Medford, OR. Adapting to Climate Change Workshop
10/19-10/21 - Conference, Vancouver BC. North American Invasive Species Management Association Annual Conference 2015
10/22 - Conference, Seattle, WA, 2015 AWRA Washington State Conference - Water Management Strategies in the Face of Climate Change
10/26 – Conference, Tacoma, WA Cascadia Prairie-Oak Partnership 2015 Conference
10/26-10/29 – Training, Santa Fe, NM. Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for Tribes
10/26-11/8 - Training, Online. Environmental Management and Planning for Tribal Professionals
10/27-10/28 – Training, Memphis, TN. Climate Adaptation for Conservation Training & Coaching Session
10/28-10/30 – Forum, Manning Park Resort, British Columbia – Wildlinks 2015
11/2-11/3 - Conference, Sacramento, CA. 2015 Southwest Climate Summit
11/3-11/5 – Conference, Cambridge, MA. 2015 Rising Seas Summit
11/4-11/5 – Conference, Coeur d'Alene, ID. Sixth Annual Pacific Northwest Climate Science Conference
11/8-11/12 – Conference, Portland, OR. CERF 23rd Biennial Conference
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Indian Country article on TEK Research:
Indian Country Newsletter published an article reporting on a new study being conducted at Oregon State University documenting ‘Indian time’ as an interaction between climate and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). To find out if Native people were changing traditional rituals and behaviors due to climate change, Samantha Chisholm Hatfield, a researcher at Oregon State, interviewed people from the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians in Oregon, the Quinault Indian Nation in Washington, the Duckwater Shoshone in Nevada and the Paiute in Utah.
Upcoming Pacific Northwest Tribal Climate Change Network Conference Call Date
- October 21, 2015
- November 18, 2015
- December 16, 2015
The PNW Tribal Change Network hosts monthly calls to foster communication between tribes, agencies, and other entities about climate change policies, programs, and research needs pertaining to tribes and climate change. To join the network e-mail list and receive call information, please contact Kathy Lynn. For more information on the network visit here.
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Study site locations from study analyzing coastal data for connections to climate cycles.
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El Nino and La Nina to Exacerbate Coastal Hazards along Pacific Coast: A new study analyzing coastal data from across the Pacific Ocean basin from 1979-2012 to determine if patterns in coastal change could be connected to climate cycles.
Artificial fertilizing of the ocean for offsetting global warming: A possible geoengineering method for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is artificial fertilization of the ocean. Artificial fertilization may result in an increase in emissions of dimethyl sulphide (DMS), which is the largest source of sulphate aerosols over remote ocean regions.
Community-level vulnerability to tsunamis in the Pacific Northwest: This study introduces a new framework for analyzing population vulnerability to tsunami hazards that incorporates a) geospatial approaches to identify the number and population characteristics of people in high-risk zones; b) models to show evacuation travel times to safe areas; c) cluster analysis to classify communities as similar levels of risk and vulnerability.
Adapting to Climate Change on the Oregon Coast: The Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE) has released a new report on adapting to climate change on the Oregon coast. The report, titled ‘A Citizen’s Guide to Climate Change on the Oregon Coast’, was published in March 2015 and aims to serve as introduction to information and the state of the science on climate change effects on the Oregon coast.
Effects of climate change on coastal upwelling ecosystems: A new edition of Current Climate Change Reports focuses on the ecological impacts of climate change, with a section on coastal upwelling ecosystems.
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Effects of climate change on montane wetlands: A new study published by UW researchers, among others, examines the effects of drought on wetlands in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Authors use a combination of observations of water levels in the wetlands and simulated soil moisture to relate soil moisture to wetland water levels to understand four types of wetlands (ephemeral, intermediate, perennial and permanent) in the Pacific Northwest.
Hydrologic Debates on Stationarity Due to Climate Change Impacts: Water professionals have been struggling with how to account for anthropogenic climate change (ACC) in current and future hydrologic design. Milly et al. (2008) asserted that “stationarity is deadâ€, meaning the idea that data is not changing over time (e.g. the mean, variance and autocorrelation of the data). This has also been asserted in ecology, natural resource management and many other fields due to the already-occurring impacts of climate change. However, infrastructure investments in ACC nor evidence of ACC occurring should be accepted as scientific evidence that stationarity is indeed dead, the authors argue.
Climate change darkening Seattle’s water forecast: This summer’s drought is changing the long-term outlook for Seattle’s water forecast. Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) models of future water utilities show that Seattle is looking at a reduced ‘firm yield’ of 30% on average through 2050. Alex Chen, SPU’s director of water planning, is exploring various ideas for maximizing performance, including an increase of water storage in the Cedar and Tolt reservoirs or reusage of precipitation falling on Seattle.
Low snow and warming temperatures eat away at Northwest glaciers: The Seattle Times reports on research into the state of glaciers in the Northwest. Mauri Pelto, a Nichols College glaciologist, has been studying Washington’s glaciers for over thirty years. Pelto recently completed an annual survey of glaciers in the North Cascades and stated that he and his research team found bare ice and gushing meltwater where glaciers typically would be covered in snow. He estimated that glaciers would lose 5 to 10% of volume before the summer was over, the single largest volume loss in the past 50 years.
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Biologist releasing a Chinook salmon in Butte Creek. Credit: Harry Morse, California Department of Fish and Game
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Climate Change Challenges Adaptive Potential of Pacific Salmon: In this study, the authors argue that while Pacific salmon has physiological and genetic capacities to increase thermal tolerance with rising temperatures, there is an upper thermal limit corresponding to an increase of 2.2 degrees Celsius. To test Chinook salmon response to climate change, they mated wild-caught adult salmon and reared offspring from each family in current and projected future (increase of 4 degrees Celsius) temperature conditions.
How Chinook Salmon Respond to Climate Change: In response to Munoz et al. (2015), Mantua et al. argue that the Munoz et al. study over-generalized their study conclusions regarding the response to Chinook salmon to climate change. Munoz et al. studied the adaptive potential of Chinook salmon to changes in temperature and found that they could develop population-specific modes of adaptation in cardiac performance over evolutionary time scales, but found little adaptive capacity in one key area, the arrhythmic temperature.
Effects of climate change on bringing previously isolated species into contact: Climate change is already resulting in large-scale changes in species distributions, and this is expected to worsen in the coming years. Consequently, it is thought that geographic overlap between previously isolated species might become a significant issue, leading to competition between species when species are already experiencing high levels of stress from altered environmental conditions.
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Understanding forestry and climate impacts on streamflow: In this study, the authors used historical data from the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest in Oregon to explore the relative impacts of El Nino Southern Oscillation climate variability and forest harvesting on streamflow. Historical data is taken from watershed experiments in which forest cover has been removed or altered in order to understand the impact of forestry operations on streamflow. By analyzing a 60-year record from the experimental forest, it was found that climatic variability is the dominant driver of streamflow (vis-Ã -vis changes in forest cover) due to the contrast between El Nino and La Nina years.
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Wildfire policies should more prescribed and natural burns: A new commentary published in the journal Science by a team of researchers from the University of Washington, UC-Berkeley, Northern Arizona University, The Wilderness Society and the Forest Service argues for the reform of forest fire management due to the fire conditions that now exist (due to changes in climate).
Projected changes in fire and vegetation in the Pacific Northwest for selected climate futures: The Integrated Scenarios project, a collaboration between the Northwest Climate Science Center, the University of Idaho, Conservation Biology Institute and the University of Washington, modeled future changes in hydrology, climate and vegetation over the western United States, from the Pacific coast to the Great Plains. Results from CMIP5 models were evaluated for performance in terms of simulating the climate of the Northwest, and those that performed the best were downscaled to finer grids and then used in regional hydrologic and vegetation models.
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New climate data resources for the Arctic have been added to the Climate Resilience Toolkit.
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Obama administration unveils new climate resilience tools: U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell has announced a new set of online climate data resources to assist Arctic communities with climate change planning, adaptation and management. The new data sets were introduced as part of an online Climate Resilience Toolkit and contain more than 250 datasets and over 40 maps and other resources.
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New handbook on sea level rise highlights science and models for non-scientists: The US Geological Survey has published a new handbook that details models that are used to study and predict sea-level rise and how it is projected to impact coasts. It is designed for land managers, coastal planners and policy makers and explains how sea level changes are occurring.
Developing an indicator-focused climate change assessment in Idaho: A new study describes an indicator-focused climate change assessment of Idaho that provides an interdisciplinary framework for understanding indicators of local to regional-level climate change and a proof-of-concept case example that incorporates both social and biophysical data and indicators.
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Landscape Conservation Cooperatives: Natural systems and landscapes are impacted by increasing land use pressures and widespread resource threats amplified by a rapidly changing climate. These changes are occurring at an unprecedented pace and scale. By leveraging resources and strategically targeting science to inform conservation decisions and actions, Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) are a network of partnerships working in unison to ensure the sustainability of America's land, water, wildlife, and cultural resources. To learn more about our neighboring LCCs please visit the Great Northern LCC, Great Basin LCC, Northwest Boreal LCC, Western Alaska LCC, Aleutian and Bering Sea Islands LCC, and Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative. For even further information on LCCs please visit the LCC Network page.
Climate Science Centers: The Climate Science Centers (CSCs) provide actionable scientific information, tools, and techniques that land, water, wildlife, and cultural resource managers and other interested parties can apply to anticipate, monitor, and adapt to climate change impacts. The NPLCC works closely with the Northwest CSC, Alaska CSC, and Southwest CSC.
Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC): The Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC) is a regional climate service centre at the University of Victoria that provides practical information on the physical impacts of climate variability and change in the Pacific and Yukon Region of Canada.
University of Washington's Climate Impacts Group: The Climate Impacts Group (CIG) is an internationally recognized interdisciplinary research group studying the impacts of natural climate variability and global climate change ("global warming").
Oregon Climate Change Research Institute: The Oregon Climate Change Research Institute (OCCRI), based at Oregon State University (OSU), is a network of over 150 researchers at OSU, the University of Oregon, Portland State University, Southern Oregon University, and affiliated federal and state labs.
University of Oregon's Tribal Climate Change Project: The Tribal Climate Change Project is a collaborative project between the University of Oregon Environmental Studies Program and the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station. The project focuses on understanding needs and opportunities for tribes in addressing climate change, examining the government-to-government relationship in a climate context and exploring the role of traditional knowledge in climate change studies, assessments and plans.
The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals: The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals provides training, assistance and educational resources to tribes on climate change issues.
PNW Tribal Climate Change Network: The PNW Tribal Climate Change Network fosters communication between tribes, agencies, and other entities about climate change policies, programs, and research needs pertaining to tribes and climate change.
National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy: The National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy will provide a unified approach—reflecting shared principles and science-based practices—for reducing the negative impacts of climate change on fish, wildlife, plants, habitats and associated ecological processes across geographic scales. Learn more
Climate Change, Wildlife, and Wildlands Toolkit: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in partnership with the National Park Service and with input from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, developed a kit for use when talking with the public about how climate change is affecting our nation's wildlife and public lands. Learn more .
FWS Climate Change Response: How do partnership efforts such as Landscape Conservation Cooperatives and the National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy fit into the Service's overall response to accelerating climate change? How is our agency reducing its carbon footprint? What is our agency doing now to reduce the impacts of climate change on fish, wildlife and plants? Learn more
FWS Climate Change Information Toolkit: A key part of the Service's climate change strategy is to inform FWS staff about the impacts of accelerating climate change and to engage partners and others in seeking collaborative solutions. Through shared knowledge and communication, we can work together to reduce the impacts of climate change on fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats. Here are some resources that can help.
Safeguarding Wildlife from Climate Change Web Conference Series: The FWS and National Wildlife Federation have developed a series of web conferences to increase communication and transfer of technical information between conservation professionals regarding the growing challenges of climate change. Learn more
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