Northwest Climate Change Science Digest: Science and Learning Opportunities
Combined
February 2015 Issue
The Northwest Climate Change Digest is a monthly newsletter jointly produced by
the Northwest Climate Science Center and the North Pacific Landscape Conservation
Cooperative aimed at helping you stay informed about climate change science and upcoming
events and training opportunities relevant to your conservation work. Feel free to share this
information within your organization and networks, and please note the role the NW CSC
and NPLCC played in providing this service. Do you have a published article or upcoming
opportunity that you would like to share? Please send it our way to nwcsc@uw.edu. Many
thanks to those who have provided material for this edition, particularly the Pacific
Northwest Climate Impacts Research Consortium, the Climate Impacts Group and
the Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Change and Water News.
Note: In the interest of reducing clutter to your inbox we have combined science content
with events and learning opportunities. Please use our hyperlinks to minimize scrolling.
To subscribe or unsubscribe please e-mail nwcsc@uw.edu.
SCIENCE: Recent climate change-relevant publications, special reports and science
resources.
UPCOMING EVENTS: Upcoming climate change-relevant webinars, workshops,
conferences, list servers and other learning opportunities.
PREVIOUS ISSUES: An archive of previous Northwest Climate Change Digest issues
developed by Region 1 of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Biodiversity/ Species and Ecosystem Response
Using Citizen-Science Data to Identify Local Hotspots of Seabird Occurrence
Bioinvasions in a Changing World
Bird Carcasses Along Pacific Shore Baffle Biologists
Natural Resource Assessment of Mount Rainier National Park
The Many Dimensions of the Mt. Rainier Climate Crisis
Natural Resource Assessment of North Cascades National Park Service Complex
Wildlife Groups ask FWS to Classify Gray Wolves as Threatened
Grouse Rider Won’t Affect Conservation Plans
Arid Ecosystems
BLM Embarks on Major Juniper Removal in Idaho to Save Sage Grouse
Coastal/Marine Ecosystems/ Ocean Acidification/ Sea Level Rise
Reanalysis of Twentieth-Century Sea Level Rise
NOAA Releases Climate Science Strategy for Fisheries
NOAA Turning the High Beams on Ocean Acidification
Sea Change - 2015-2025 Decadal Survey of Ocean Sciences
Aquatic Resource/ Stream Flow/ Hydrology in the Western U.S.
Columbia River Basin Impacts Assessment – Quarterly Update
Storm Surge Inundation & Scenario-Based Projected Changes Map
Largest Trust Water Donation in State History
Low Mountain Snowpack Raises Water-Supply Fears in Washington
More than $280,000 for Salmon Projects
Washington Stream Thermal-Scape is Complete
Nursery Functions of U.S. West Coast Estuaries
Forests
Forest Resilience Varies under Climate-Management Scenarios in Oregon
Fire
Forest-Thinning could Help Prevent Destructive Fires
Strategy to Protect and Restore Sagebrush Lands Threatened by Fire
Tribal and Indigenous Peoples Matters
Squaxin Island Tribe Tracks Warm Water Impact on Salmon
Squaxin Island Tribe, Partners, Winning Battle with Invasive Weeds
Taking Action
Designing Institutions to Support Local-Level Climate Change Adaptation
The Difficult Art of Communicating Climate Change to Farmers
Washington and Oregon Could Vastly Expand Renewable Power Production
Climate and Weather Reports and Services
2014 Hottest Year on Record
Effects of Climate Oscillations on Wind Resource Variability
Extreme Weather Events are Expected to Double
Special Reports/ Announcements
Global Risks Report 2015
NOAA National Sea Grant Resilience Toolkit Released
Impasse over Climate Change Moves ‘Doomsday Clock’ Closer to Midnight
Biodiversity/ Species and Ecosystem Response
Using Citizen-Science Data to Identify Local Hotspots of Seabird Occurrence:
Seabirds have been used as indicators of ecosystem processes such as climate change and
human activity in near-shore ecosystems around the world. A recent study published in PeerJ
tracked the occurrence of 18 seabird species at 62 sites around Puget Sound. Despite historic
declines of seabirds in the region, results from this study are optimistic, suggesting increases
in probabilities of occurrence for 14 of the 18 species studied (including cormorants, loons,
rhinoceros auklets, and harlequin ducks). Additionally, the study documented local hotspots
for certain species, which may indicate important habitat or prey the seabirds depend on.
Ward EJ, Marshall KN, Ross T, Sedgley A, Hass T, Pearson SF, Joyce G, Hamel NJ, Hodum
PJ, Faucett R. 2015. Using citizen-science data to identify local hotspots of seabird
occurrence. PeerJ. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.704
Bioinvasions in a Changing World: This report, released by the Aquatic Nuisance Species
Task Force (ANSTF) and the National Invasive Species Council (NISC), is intended for a
broad audience of individuals interested in invasive species, climate change, and natural
resource management. The report provides a brief overview of the connections between
invasive species and climate change before evaluating how communities approach
conservation and natural resource management. The report addresses a broader framework
of invasive species management and climate change adaptation as tools to enhance and
protect ecosystems and natural resources in the face of these drivers of change. The review
of tools and methods will be of interest to managers working at specific sites and to
individuals making strategic decisions at larger geographic scales:
http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/docs/toolkit/bioinvasions_in_a_changing_world.pdf
Bird Carcasses Along Pacific Shore Baffle Biologists: Thousands of carcasses of
Cassin’s auklets have been washing ashore over the last few months from northern
California to Washington. The University of Washington’s Coastal Observation and Seabird
Survey Team has discovered more than 1,200 carcasses since the beginning of fall. The
majority of the birds have starved to death, ruling out the possibility of death from an oil
spill or a toxic reaction to food. One proposed explanation is that the birds are starving as a
result of an extremely successful breeding season last year. Almost every breeding pair laid
an egg, and as the young migrate south for the winter they may not all be consuming
sufficient food levels necessary for survival: http://www.latimes.com/science/la-na-deadbirds-20150103-story.html
Natural Resource Assessment of Mount Rainier National Park: Researchers from the
USGS and other organizations have completed a Natural Resource Condition Assessment
(NRCA) for Mount Rainier National Park (MORA). The report is an evaluation of current
conditions for a subset of the park’s natural resources and resource indicators in relation to
reference conditions and values. Additionally, the report describes influences and trends in
resource conditions, highlights emerging issues, and identifies critical information
requirements and data gaps. The report highlights 14 key indicators: air quality, water quality,
climate change, landscape, wildlife, glaciers, riverine landforms, terrestrial vegetation,
soundscapes, and night skies. This report will assist park managers in their near- and long-
term efforts to describe the park’s resource conditions and desired management targets:
http://fresc.nc-proxy-wr.usgs.gov.nsatc.net/news/Highlight.aspx?HighlightID=2920.
Hoffman, Jr., R., Woodward, A., Haggerty, P., Jenkins, K.J., Griffin, P.C., Adams, M.J.,
Hagar, J., Cummings, T., Duriscoe, D., Kopper, K., Riedel, J., Samora, B., Marin, L., Mauger,
G.S., Bumbaco, K., Littell, J.S. 2014. Mount Rainier National Park - Natural Resource
Condition Assessment. Natural Resource Report: National Park Service
NPS/MORA/NRR--2014/894, p. 380.
The Many Dimensions of the Mt. Rainier Climate Crisis: Global warming is melting
Mount Rainier’s glaciers at six times the historic rate. The meltwater runoff has lead to
floods, rock falls, old-growth forest death, and is threatening historic national park buildings.
As global warming intensifies, we need to decide: “Do we spend the money required to
repair park roads every year? Do we move endangered plants and animals to places they can
survive? What in the park is most worth saving? And how hard does it make sense to try?”
http://www.thenewstribune.com/static/pages/rainier/
Natural Resource Assessment of North Cascades National Park Service Complex:
Researchers from the USGS and other organizations have completed a Natural Resource
Condition Assessment (NRCA) for the North Cascades National Park Service Complex
(NOCA). The report is an evaluation of current conditions for a subset of NOCA natural
resources and resource indicators in relation to reference conditions and values. Additionally,
the report describes influences and trends in resource conditions, highlights emerging issues,
and identifies critical information requirements and data gaps. The report highlights 14 key
indicators: air quality, stream and lake water quality, vegetation, wildlife (including
amphibians, landbirds, fish, and mammals), glaciers, soundscapes, and night skies. The data
collected for the report spans decades and will assist park managers in their near- and longterm efforts to describe the park’s resource conditions and desired management targets:
http://fresc.usgs.gov/products/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductNumber=56926
Hoffman, Jr., R., Woodward, A., Haggerty, P., Jenkins, K.J., Griffin, P.C., Adams, M.J.,
Hagar, J., Cummings, T., Duriscoe, D., Kopper, K., Riedel, J., Marin, L., Mauger, G.S.,
Bumbaco, K., Littell, J.S., 2015, North Cascades National Park Service Complex- Natural
Resource condition Assessment: National Park Service NPS/NOCA/NRR—2015/901, p.
390.
Wildlife Groups ask FWS to Classify Gray Wolves as Threatened: Impending regulatory
and legislative measures to remove federal protections from most gray wolves prompted
animal protection and conservation groups to call on the Fish and Wildlife Service to instead
reclassify nearly all gray wolves in the U.S. as threatened – a lower level of protection than
many wolf populations have. Currently, gray wolves are listed under the Endangered Species
Act (ESA) as endangered throughout most of the species’ range in the continental U.S.
However, wolf populations in Montana, Idaho, eastern Oregon, and Washington are
exceptions to that rule, where populations are not listed as threatened. "The reclassification
of gray wolves to threatened status is warranted at this time because of the differing
conservation status among wolf populations in different portions of the species' range," the
32-page request argued:
http://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2015/01/27/stories/1060012383
Grouse Rider Won’t Affect Conservation Plans: Interior Secretary Sally Jewell told
governors of western states that congressional legislation which could delay implementation
of an Endangered Species Act listing decision on the greater sage grouse will not impact
efforts to protect the bird. She went on to say that the legislation should not deter states
from pushing forward with programs to protect and restore grouse habitat. In letters written
to Colorado and Wyoming governors Jewell stated, “the rider does not supersede the courtmandated Sept. 30 deadline for Fish and Wildlife to decide whether to propose listing the
bird for ESA protection.”
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/01/28/stories/1060012450
Arid Ecosystems
BLM Embarks on Major Juniper Removal in Idaho to Save Sage Grouse: The BLM
has announced plans to cut, chop, and burn native juniper trees across 1.5 millions acres of
southwest Idaho in hopes of combatting a major threat to the greater sage grouse. The
juniper trees provide habitat for sage grouse predators such as hawks, ravens, and crows, and
these predators frequently overtake bunch grasses and sagebrush necessary for sage grouse
survival. Treatment of the juniper trees is projected to take place over several years and will
focus on trees located within 6 miles of the ~70 occupied sage grouse breeding grounds.
Most treatments of the trees will involve mulching the trees on site or lopping and scattering
them: http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/01/20/stories/1060011938
Coastal/Marine Ecosystems/ Ocean Acidification/ Sea Level Rise
Reanalysis of Twentieth-Century Sea Level Rise: Estimating and accounting for
twentieth-century global mean sea-level rise (SLR) is necessary for characterizing current and
future human-induced SLR. Previous studies of tide gauge records concluded that global
mean sea-level (GMSL) rose at a rate of 1.6-1.9 mm/year over the twentieth-century. To
account for this rate, scientists have added measurements of melt water from land ice, ocean
thermal expansion, and changes in land water storage and their total has consistently fallen
short. In a paper published by Nature, Harvard and Rutgers scientists attempt to resolve the
discrepancy by revisiting estimates of twentieth-century GMSL rise using probabilistic
techniques. Researchers conclude that the GMSL rate from 1901-1990 was actually 1.2 ± 0.2
mm/year (compared to the previously established rate of 1.6-1.9 mm/year). While this
research does help close the gap between model estimated SLR and actual measurements of
SLR over the twentieth-century, the research also confirms the recent acceleration of the rate
of SLR from 1993-2010.
Hay, C.C., Morrow, E., Kopp, R.E., Mitrovica, J.X. 2015. Probabilistic reanalysis of
twentieth-century sea-level rise. Nature, 517, 481-484.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature14093
NOAA Releases Climate Science Strategy for Fisheries: The National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), housed by NOAA, has released a five-year climate science strategy (still in
draft form) highlighting challenges faced by fishery managers amid warming oceans, rising
sea levels, and ocean acidification. The draft strategy outlines seven steps that will be carried
out over the next five years. The steps range from “robust strategies” for managing fisheries
under a changing climate to identifying “future states” of marine ecosystems. This strategy
comes out one month after the NMFS, in collaboration with Rutgers University, released
OceanAdapt, a website allowing fishermen and policymakers to track shifting fish
populations: http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/01/23/stories/1060012193
NOAA Turning the High Beams on Ocean Acidification: NOAA is providing a grant
of $1.4 million over three years to help shellfish growers and scientific experts work together
to expand ocean acidification (OA) monitoring in waters that are particularly important to
Pacific coast communities, such as in oyster hatcheries and coastal waters where young
oysters are grown. Part of this grant will be used to increase the number of shellfish growers
and hatchery owners that have the capability to detect ocean changes. This will be achieved
by training individuals how to monitor OA and encouraging them to work together in
communities of practice, developing more accurate and affordable sensors to measure these
changes, and making the data from these sensors readily accessible:
http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/news/features/ocean_acidification/index.cfm
Sea Change - 2015-2025 Decadal Survey of Ocean Sciences: Ocean science connects a
community of scientists in many disciplines - physics, chemistry, biology, geology and
geophysics. Comprehensive understanding of the global ocean is fundamental to forecasting
and managing risks from severe storms, adapting to the impacts of climate change, and
managing ocean resources. In the United States, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is
the primary funder of the basic research, which underlies advances in our understanding of
the ocean. This report addresses the strategic investments necessary at NSF to ensure a
robust ocean scientific enterprise over the next decade:
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/21655/sea-change-2015-2025-decadal-survey-of-oceansciences?utm_source=Sustainability+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=8ef08c8051STS_January_2015_Newsletter1_27_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c1fb37455e
-8ef08c8051-120833457
Aquatic Resource/ Stream Flow/ Hydrology in the Western U.S.
Columbia River Basin Impacts Assessment – Quarterly Update: The Columbia River
Basin Impacts Assessment is an activity of the West Wide Climate Risk Assessments
(WWCRA), which is part of the Bureau of Reclamation’s (Reclamation) WaterSMART Basin
Study Program (WaterSMART Program) established under the SECURE Water Act (2009).
More information on the background of this legislation can be found in the first Quarterly
Update. Since the last Quarterly Update, Reclamation has been creating future climate
change flows at specific locations throughout the Columbia River Basin. In addition, staff
have been preparing the upper Snake River reservoir model to conduct operational modeling
on the Snake River above Brownlee Reservoir:
http://www.usbr.gov/pn/climate/crbia/update.html - ag
Storm Surge Inundation & Scenario-Based Projected Changes Map: Developed by the
EPA, the storm surge inundation map is an interactive map illustrating the current worstcase storm surge and inundation scenarios on the American Gulf and Atlantic coasts. The
map incorporates data layers from FEMA’s 100 and 500 year flood maps, NOAA’s Sea,
Lake and Overland Surge from Hurricanes (SLOSH), and the National Hurricane Center's
coastal county hurricane strike maps. The second map, EPA’s scenario-based projected
changes map, is an online map that provides access to localized scenarios of projected
changes in annual total precipitation, precipitation intensity, annual average temperature,
100-year storm events, and sea-level rise from EPA’s Climate Resilience Evaluation and
Awareness Tool.
Storm Surge Inundation Map:
http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/climate/stormsurge.cfm
Scenario-Based Projected Changes Map:
http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/climate/scenario.cfm
Largest Trust Water Donation in State History: The Cascade Water Alliance has agreed
not to divert a total of 684,571 acre-feet of water from the White river that it was entitled to
take. The agreement, which supports the state Department of Ecology’s Trust Water Rights
Program, is part of a larger agreement dating back to 2010. The permanent donation, as well
as a temporary donation of 154,751 acre-feet, completes an agreement made five years ago
between the state and the alliance. The trust water donation helps maintain water flow levels
in the region, a key indicator for fish habitat quality. Water flows for struggling fish in the
White River will be protected for decades because of the permanent donation:
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2015/01/19/3592007_operators-of-lake-tapps-makelargest.html?rh=1
Low Mountain Snowpack Raises Water-Supply Fears in Washington: Washington’s
snowpack is approximately half its average, which could prove problematic later in the year
when the state relies on snowmelt for water supply. On January 1st, the Olympics and
Central Puget Sound Cascades snow pack levels were only 27% and 34% of average
respectively. The low snow pack levels may seem surprising because of recent of heavy rain.
However, high temperatures in the region are what prevented the precipitation from adding
significantly to the snowpack. Snowmelt is a main contributor to the Cedar River Watershed,
which provides approximately 70% of the drinking water to 1.4 million Seattle-area
residents:
http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2025398259_weathersnowpackxml.html?utm_sour
ce=Eclips&utm_campaign=a5fb3af842E_clips_Jan_7_20151_7_2015&utm_medium=email
&utm_term=0_c909fc207a-a5fb3af842-388501765
More than $280,000 for Salmon Projects: State funding has been approved for work
making the Nisqually River and Ohop Creek more hospitable to salmon. The Pierce
Conservation District and the Nisqually Land Trust, leaders on the projects, are among
organizations in 29 counties across Washington that will share $18 million in grants awarded
to restore and conserve salmon habitat in the region. Some of the grant money will be used
to remove Japanese knotweed in the Nisqually River basin. Reducing knotweed presence in
the river basin will provide more places for Chinook salmon, a threatened species, to spawn,
feed, rest, and hide from predators: http://www.dispatchnews.com/2014/12/31/280000plus-for-salmon-projects/?utm_source=E-clips&utm_campaign=3ef29b6bb0E_clips_Jan_2_20151_2_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c909fc207a3ef29b6bb0-388501765
Washington Stream Thermal-Scape is Complete: The NorWeST webpage hosts stream
temperature data and geospatial map outputs from a regional temperature model for the
Northwest U.S. The temperature database was compiled from hundreds of biologists and
hydrologists working for dozens of resource agencies and contains more than 45,000,000
hourly temperature recordings at more than 15,000 unique stream sites. The NorWeST
project is funded by the Great Northern and North Pacific Landscape Conservation
Cooperatives and the project goals are to develop a comprehensive regional database and
high-resolution stream climate scenarios to facilitate climate vulnerability assessments,
interagency coordination of temperature monitoring, & research on thermal ecology:
http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/boise/AWAE/projects/NorWeST.html
Nursery Functions of U.S. West Coast Estuaries: This report synthesizes existing
scientific literature, expert opinion, and geospatial data on the presence of juveniles and
potential nursery role of West Coast estuaries (in Washington, Oregon, and California) for
fifteen ecologically, economically, and culturally important species. This report also evaluated
many threats to estuarine habitats (including climate change) and the nursery role they
provide to these focal species. 19 threats were analyzed, and habitat loss was the most
prevalent threat among the 15 focal species.
Hughes, B.B., M.D., Levey, Brown, J.A., Fountain, M.C., Carlisle, A.B., Litvin, S.Y., Greene,
C.M., Heady, W.N., Gleason, M.G. 2015. Nursery functions of U.S. west coast estuaries: the
state of knowledge for juveniles of focal invertebrates and fish species.
http://www.pacificfishhabitat.org/media/pmepsokreport/tnc_ca_fishnurseries_lowres.pdf
Forests
Forest Resilience Varies under Climate-Management Scenarios in Oregon:
Determining appropriate actions to create or maintain landscapes resilient to climate change
is challenging because of inherent uncertainty associated with potential effects of climate
change and their interactions with land management. Using a set of climate driven models
researchers analyzed the effects of management and natural disturbance on vegetation
composition and structure in central Oregon under various future climate and management
scenarios. Two management scenarios were considered: (1) a fire suppression scenario, and
(2) an active management scenario. Results of the study suggest that future forest conditions
in central Oregon will be different than they are to day, regardless of management scenarios.
However, active management may increase forest resilience under a changing climate. It is
important to note that a one-size-fits-all strategy may not be effective and adaptation
strategies will need to be tailored to specific vegetation types and disturbance regimes.
Halofsky, J.S., Halofsky, J.E., Burcsu, T., Hemstrom, M.A. 2014. Dry forest resilience varies
under simulated climate-management scenarios in a central Oregon, USA landscape.
Ecological Application, 24, 1908-1925. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/13-1653.1
Fire
Forest-Thinning could Help Prevent Destructive Fires: Washington DNR officials
believe thinning and restoring more forests on public and private lands throughout the state
could help prevent another wildfire season like 2014, the most destructive in state history.
The DNR has requested a five-fold increase on the amount spent of forest hazard reduction
over the next two years (a $20 million request). In 2012 the DNR made a similar $20 million
request for forest health projects and received $4 million for thinning forests throughout the
state. However, some lawmakers believe there will be stronger support for preventative
measures this year following last year’s devastating fire season:
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2015/01/04/3569741_forest-thinning-could-helpprevent.html?rh=1&utm_source=Northwest+Fire+Science+Consortium&utm_campaign=
2653ba76a8Weekly_digest_10_1_copy_02_9_28_2012&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0
_e4796b1409-2653ba76a8-10450
Strategy to Protect and Restore Sagebrush Lands Threatened by Fire: Secretary of the
Interior, Sally Jewell, issued a Secretarial Order earlier this month calling for a
comprehensive science-centered strategy to address the more frequent and intense wildfires
that are damaging vital sagebrush landscapes and productive rangelands, particularly in the
Great Basin region of Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, and California. The strategy will be
implemented during the 2015 fire season and aims to reduce the size, severity, and cost of
rangeland fires, address the spread of cheatgrass, and position wildland fire management
resources for more effective rangeland fire response. This Secretarial Order will help frame
the third portion of the greater sage-grouse conservation strategy by encouraging further
federal, state, Tribal, and local protection for those vulnerable sagebrush lands in the Great
Basin states: http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/secretary-jewell-launchescomprehensive-strategy-to-protect-and-restore-sagebrush-lands-threatened-by-rangelandfire.cfm?utm_source=Northwest+Fire+Science+Consortium&utm_campaign=2653ba76a8Weekly_digest_10_1_copy_02
Tribal and Indigenous Peoples Matters
Squaxin Island Tribe Tracks Warm Water Impact on Salmon:
The Squaxin Island Tribe is collecting year-round temperature data for dozens of streams in
the South Puget Sound. Water temperature plays a critical role in salmon survival and
reproductive ability. Without sufficient cold water adult salmon returning to spawn may
perish before reproducing. Using instream temperature monitors, or thermographs, the
Tribe has been monitoring temperatures in local streams for years. The year-round data
collection enables the Tribe to observe trends over time. These data are being linked to the
U.S. Forest Service’s regional database tracking the impact of climate change on stream
temperatures, enabling the Tribe to observe how these streams will be affected by climate
change in the future: http://nwifc.org/2015/01/squaxin-island-tribe-tracks-warm-waterimpact-salmon/
Squaxin Island Tribe, Partners, Winning Battle with Invasive Weeds: After three years
of work, the Squaxin Island Tribe and the Mason Conservation District, have controlled the
spread of salmon-killing knotweed in the Skookum Creek watershed. Invasive weeds
outcompete native plant species that typically provide better habitat for fish and wildlife
species in the region. Mason Conservation District staff sprayed knotweed plants or, at the
request of property owners, swabbed leaves of the plants by hand. This treatment method
resulted in the decline of total acreage of knotweed, and a reduction in knotweed density in
the region. “The first step to controlling the spread of invasive plants was to understand
how far and how fast they’ve spread,” said Sarah Zaniewski, habitat biologist for the Tribe.
The Tribe used GPS technology to track the progress of the knotweed removal:
http://nwifc.org/2015/02/squaxin-island-tribe-partners-winning-battle-invasive-weeds/
Taking Action
Designing Institutions to Support Local-Level Climate Change Adaptation: Climate
change necessitates adaptation at all levels of social organization. However, the adaptation
literature emphasizes that because the impacts of climate change are locally specific,
adaptation is unavoidably local. In this paper, the authors derive principles for a design of
institutions that encourage and support effective local-level adaptation and use a case study
to explore how these principles could be practically implemented. Using principles derived
from reviews of the literature on local-level adaptation, usable science, and boundary
organizations, the authors synthesized ten design principles of their own. The case study
illustrates how The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, of the U.S. Cooperative
Extension System (CES), implements these principles in its organizational structure and in
the daily practice of Extension professionals. From the case study it was concluded that the
CES is uniquely positioned to serve an important role in a national adaptation strategy for
the United States in supporting local-level adaptation in urban and rural communities across
the country.
Julie Brugger and Michael Crimmins. 2015. Designing Institutions to Support Local-Level
Climate Change Adaptation: Insights from a Case Study of the U.S. Cooperative Extension
System. Wea. Climate Soc., 7, 18–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/WCAS-D-13-00036.1
The Difficult Art of Communicating Climate Change to Farmers: Researchers at Iowa
State recently published a study that evaluated relationships between Iowa farmers’ trust in
environmental or agricultural interest groups as sources of climate information, climate
change beliefs, perceived climate risks to agriculture, and support for adaptation and
mitigation responses. Results suggest that while most farmers believe that climate change is
occurring, only a minority of those farmers attribute it to human activity. Most farmers were
supportive of adaptation responses, but only a few endorsed green house gas reduction,
suggesting that outreach efforts should focus on interventions that have adaptive and
mitigative properties (e.g., reduced tillage, improved fertilizer management):
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060012312
Washington and Oregon Could Vastly Expand Renewable Power Production: In just
15 years solar, wind, hydropower, biomass, geothermal and waste-to-energy electricity
production could account for 98% of Oregon’s and Washington’s electricity needs. The
Wind Energy Foundation’s Renewable America project states that developing these
renewables would create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the area. The 98% figure is
derived from data the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Renewable Electricity
Futures study, and is more ambitious than current statewide and federal goals, partly because
they do not include some hydropower production. Oregon aims to reach 25% renewables by
2025 and Washington wants 15% renewable electricity production by 2020:
http://earthfix.info/news/article/washington-and-oregon-have-opportunity-to-vastlyexpand-renewable-power-production-report-says/
Climate and Weather Reports and Services
2014 Hottest Year on Record: Preliminary analysis from a global network of measurements
by NASA and NOAA suggest that 2014 is the warmest year since record-keeping began in
1880 – and possibly the warmest in two millennia. 2014 was 0.04 degrees Celsius warmer
than the previous record-holder 2010, and 0.69 degrees Celsius warmer than the twentiethcentury average. These results reinforce that the planet is warming and that average global
temperatures are currently exceeding those seen historically:
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/16/2014-hottest-year-on-recordscientists-noaa-nasa
Effects of Climate Oscillations on Wind Resource Variability: Researchers recently
published a paper in Geophysical Research Letters evaluating natural climate variations in
U.S. wind resource. Using cyclostationary empirical orthogonal functions (CSEOFs)
researchers assessed the variability of the wind resource on annual and interannual time
scales at all locations across the U.S. This study evaluated impacts on wind resource
variability from the modulated annual cycle (MAC) and the El Nino-Southern Oscillation
(ENSO), and revealed variation in the wind speed of up to 30% at individual sites. The
results presented in this study have important implication for predictions of wind plan power
output and siting.
Hamlington, B.D., Hamplington, P.E., Collins, S.G., Alexander, S.R., Kim, K.-Y. 2015.
Effects of climate oscillations on wind resource variability in the United States. Geophysical
Research Letters, 42, 1-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2014GL062370
Extreme Weather Events are Expected to Double: The El Niño/Southern Oscillation is
the planet’s strongest source of interannual climate variability, alternating irregularly between
El Niño and La Niña. The 1998–1999 extreme La Niña event that followed the 1997–1998
extreme El Niño event switched extreme El Niño-induced severe droughts to devastating
floods in western Pacific countries, and vice versa in the southwestern United States. During
La Niña events temperatures drop in the central Pacific Ocean. Research led by Wenju Cai
suggests that La Niña events will become twice as frequent, occurring once every 13 years
instead of once every 23 years. 75% of this increase will occur in years following extreme El
Niño events, leading to more frequent swings between opposite climatic extremes.
Wenju Cai, Guojian Wang, Agus Santoso, Michael J. McPhaden, Lixin Wu, Fei-Fei Jin, Axel
Timmermann, Mat Collins, Gabriel Vecchi, Matthieu Lengaigne, Matthew H. England,
Dietmar Dommenget, Ken Takahashi, Eric Guilyardi. 2015. Increased frequency of extreme
La Niña events under greenhouse warming. Nature Climate Change.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2492
Special Reports/ Announcements
Global Risks Report 2015: The 2015 edition of the Global Risks report completes a decade
of highlighting the most significant long-term risks worldwide, drawing on the knowledge
and perspectives of over 800 experts and global decision-makers. In addition to highlighting
risks to mankind’s stability, the 2015 edition emphasizes potential causes as well as solutions
to global risks. 28 global risks are parsed out into the report’s five traditional categories
(economic, environmental, societal, geopolitical, and technological) and 13 trends are
considered and evaluated as drivers of risk: http://www.weforum.org/reports/global-risksreport-2015.
NOAA National Sea Grant Resilience Toolkit Released: Sea Grant has recently
launched the National Resilience Toolkit, a combination of tools and resources developed
over the past several years by the Sea Grant Network to assist local communities in
becoming more resilient to climate change. As coastal populations grow, it becomes
necessary for communities to become more resilient to several natural hazards, including
water quality challenges, severe weather, and overall effects of climate change. Sea Grant
programs are spread out across diverse communities and specialize in developing tools that
are tailored to local needs. This toolkit allows users to learn about tools from across the
entire network, giving them the opportunity to adapt tools for their own local needs. Each
entry includes a description of the tools, a link for more information, and a point of contact.
The toolkit combines more than 100 tools and will be updated as more tools are created:
http://seagrant.noaa.gov/WhatWeDo/ResilienceToolkit.aspx
Impasse over Climate Change Moves ‘Doomsday Clock’ Closer to Midnight: The
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board moved the Doomsday Clock
for the first time in three years. Citing unchecked climate change, the group moved the clock
forward by two minutes, leaving us at three minutes to midnight. The group warned that the
possibility of global catastrophe is very high unless quick action is taking on climate change
and the modernization of nuclear weapons across the globe. Despite the stark warming,
scientists say there is still time to turn the planet around, if citizens call on their leaders to
take immediate action:
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/01/23/stories/1060012136
UPCOMING EVENTS
Upcoming Webinars, Courses and Meetings
Feb 9 - Symposium, Portland, OR. Urban Ecology & Conservation Symposium
Feb 9 – 10:00am-11:00am (Pacific), Webinar. Vulnerability of spring Chinook and bull
trout to broad-scale disturbance processes: wildfire and climate change
Feb 10, 11:00am-12:30pm (Pacific), Webinar. OneNOAA Science Seminar - WeatherClimate Linkages: Analysis, Modeling, and Prediction Efforts
Feb 10, 3:30pm-5:00pm , Seminar, University of Washington. Perspectives in
Communicating Climate Science: Storytelling
Feb 11, 8:00am-4:30pm, Conference, Olympia, WA. Washington State Forest Practices
Adaptive Management Program 2015 Science Conference
Feb 11, 10:00am (Pacific), Webinar. Temperature Modeling Applications in the PNW
Feb 11, 12:00pm (Pacific), Webinar. Critical Fire Weather Patterns - Western United States
Feb 12 – Workshop, Weed, CA. NPLCC-funded workshop: Using Beaver to Restore Streams
Feb 12 – 11:00am-12:00pm (Pacific), Webinar. Climate Change in America's National Parks
- Climate Change at the World Parks Congress
Feb 12-16 – Conference, San Jose, CA. American Association for the Advancement of Science
Annual Meeting
Feb 17-19 - Conference, Boise State University, ID. Great Basin Consortium Conference
Feb 23, 10:00am-11:15 (Pacific) – Webinar. Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
(CRITFC) Climate Impacts and Adaptation Projects
Feb 23-25 – Conference, Washington, D.C. Association of Climate Change Officers Climate
Leadership Conference
Feb 25 10:00-11:15 (Pacific) – Webinar. Climate Change Funding and Technical Resources
for Tribes
Feb 26 10:00-11:00 (Pacific) – Webinar. Resilience and Regeneration after Wildfire in Dry
Mixed-Conifer Forests of the US Northern Rockies
Mar 8-11 – Conference, Pacific Grove, CA. The Pacific Climate Workshop (PACLIM) 2015
Mar 8-13 - Conference, Omaha, NE. The North American Wildlife & Natural Resources
Conference
Mar 10-11 – Convention, Portland, OR. Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Tribal Leaders
Summit on Climate Change
Apr 21-25 – Conference, Chicago, IL. Association of American Geographers' Annual Meeting
May 12-15 - Conference, St. Louis, MO. 2nd National Adaptation Forum
List Servers
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BioClimate News & Events from NCCWSC & the CSCs
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ClimateNews-- is a snapshot from British Columbia’s Ministry of Forests, Lands and
Natural Resource Operations, provides new and emerging climate change adaptation and
mitigation activities in the natural resource sector. Contact:
katharine.mccallion@gov.bc.ca
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Climate CIRCulator (Oregon Climate Change Research Institute)
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Climate Impacts Group (Univ. Washington)
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Earth to Sky Newsletter (NASA/DOI Partnership): anita.l.davis@nasa.gov
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EPA Climate Change and Water E-Newsletter
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FRESC monthly e-newsletter: Contact fresc_outreach@usgs.gov
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FWS CC Monthly E-Newsletter: Contact kate_freund@fws.gov
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LCC list servers (see your LCC’s website) and the national LCC Network newsletter
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Ocean Acidification Report
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OneNOAA Science Webinars
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NASA's Climate Change Newsletter climate-feedback@jpl.nasa.gov
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North Pacific LCC Listserve – North Pacific Tidings - important news and
announcements; and NPLCC Climate Science Digest - new science/information
affecting natural and cultural resources.
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NCTC Climate Change List server (upcoming webinars and courses): contact
christy_coghlan@fws.gov
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Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) (British Columbia) Climate News Scan- a
weekly summary of the major climate-change related science, technology, and policy
advances of direct relevance to the BC provincial and the Canadian federal governments
and more generally to businesses and civil society
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PointBlue Weekly Ecology, Climate Change and Related e-Newsletter: Contact
ecohen@prbo.org
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PNW Tribal Climate Change Network: Contact kathy@uoregon.edu
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US Forest Service Fish & Wildlife Research Updates
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USGS Climate Matters
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White House Energy and Environment Updates