Northwest Climate Science Digest: Science and Learning Opportunities Combined
May 2015 Issue
The Northwest Climate Science 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.
Subscribe to the NW CSC’s e-mail update list to receive periodic updates on Northwest
climate-related information.
Note: In the interest of reducing clutter to your inbox we have combined science content
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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
Study Finds Global Warming as Threat to 1 in 6 Species
Elevation-Dependent Warming in Mountain Regions of the World
Soil Nutrients may Limit Ability of Plants to Slow Climate Change
Coastal/Marine Ecosystems/ Ocean Acidification/ Sea Level Rise
Seaweed in the Spotlight
Northern Rock Sole Larvae Appear Resilient to Some Effects of Ocean Acidification
Climate Change Impacts on Wave and Surge Processes in a Pacific Northwest Estuary
Aquatic Resource/ Stream Flow/ Hydrology in the Western U.S.
A GoogleMap Tool for InterAgency Coordination of Annual Stream Temperature
Monitoring Sites
Arid Ecosystems
Climate Change and Land Management Impact Rangeland Condition and Sage-Grouse
Habitat in SE Oregon
Land Use
BioEarth: Envisioning and Developing a New Regional Earth System Model to Inform
Natural and Agricultural Resource Management
Forests
Forest Canopies Buffer Against Climate Change
Fire
Where Wildfires and Climate Scientists Meet
Area Burned in the Western US is Unaffected by Recent Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreaks
A Year Round Fire Season?
Vegetation, Topography and Daily Weather Influenced Burn Severity in Idaho and Montana
Forests
Greater Risk of Wildfires in Washington because of Drought and Climate Change
Tribal and Indigenous Peoples Matters
Changes in Climate, Watershed Forcing Sauk-Suiattle Tribe to Move Farther Upland
Climate Change: Mankind Must Stop Destroying “Our Own Mystical Place”
Pressing Play to Learn how Climate Change can Impact Indigenous Cultures
Taking Action
Climate Change Adaptation in United States Federal Natural Resource Science and
Management Agencies
EPA & Federal Partners Announce Resilient Lands and Waters Initiative to Prepare Natural
Resources for Climate Change
EPA National Water Program Releases 2014 Highlights of Progress: Responses to Climate
Change
Climate and Weather Reports and Services
March and 1st Quarter of 2015 were Warmest in 136 Years
April Showers may Bring May Flowers, but Winter Snow is Water in the Bank
Special Reports/ Announcements
New NOAA Maps & Data Section Offers Easy-to-Understand Maps and Entry-Level
Information on Climate Data
Governor Inslee Expands Drought Emergency to include more of Washington
U.S.F.S Releases Interactive Education Module on Climate Change Effects
2015 NW CSC Climate Boot Camp
Montana State NorWeST Stream Temperature, Climate Scenarios, and Final Databases
Online
Biodiversity/ Species and Ecosystem Response
Study Finds Global Warming as Threat to 1 in 6 Species: Current predictions of
extinction risks from climate change vary widely depending on the specific assumptions and
geographic and taxonomic focus of each study. Mark Urban from the University of
Connecticut synthesized published studies in order to estimate a global mean extinction rate
and determine which factors contribute the greatest uncertainty to climate change–induced
extinction risks. Results suggest that extinction risks will accelerate with future global
temperatures, threatening up to one in six species under current policies. Extinction risks
were highest in South America, Australia, and New Zealand, and risks did not vary by
taxonomic group. Realistic assumptions about extinction debt and dispersal capacity
substantially increased extinction risks. We urgently need to adopt strategies that limit further
climate change if we are to avoid an acceleration of global extinctions.
Urban, M. 2015. Accelerating extinction risk from climate change. Science: 348(6234) pp. 571573. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa4984
Elevation-Dependent Warming in Mountain Regions of the World: There is growing
evidence that the rate of warming is amplified with elevation, such that high-mountain
environments experience more rapid changes in temperature than environments at lower
elevations. Elevation-dependent warming (EDW) can accelerate the rate of change in
mountain ecosystems, cryospheric systems, hydrological regimes and biodiversity. Authors
of the paper reviewed important mechanisms that contribute towards EDW: snow albedo
and surface-based feedbacks; water vapor changes and latent heat release; surface water
vapour and radiative flux changes; surface heat loss and temperature change; and aerosols.
All lead to enhanced warming with elevation (or at a critical elevation), and it is believed that
combinations of these mechanisms may account for contrasting regional patterns of EDW.
The authors discuss future needs to increase knowledge of mountain temperature trends and
their controlling mechanisms through improved observations, satellite-based remote sensing
and model simulations.
N. Pepin, R. S. Bradley, H. F. Diaz, M. Baraer, E. B. Caceres, N. Forsythe, H. Fowler, G.
Greenwood, M. Z. Hashmi, X. D. Liu, J. R. Miller, L. Ning, A. Ohmura, E. Palazzi, I.
Rangwala, W. Schöner, I. Severskiy, M. Shahgedanova, M. B. Wang, S. N. Williamson, D. Q.
Yang. Elevation-dependent warming in mountain regions of the world. Nature Climate
Change, 2015; 5 (5): 424 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2563
Soil Nutrients may Limit Ability of Plants to Slow Climate Change: Many scientists
assume that the growing level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will accelerate plant
growth. However, a new study co-written by University of Montana researchers suggests
much of this growth will be curtailed by limited soil nutrients. "If society stays on its current
trajectory of CO2 emissions and the growth rates of plants don't increase as much as many
models project, the result by the end of the century could be more extreme than we
predicted," said Cory Cleveland, a UM associate professor of biogeochemistry.
The study was published in the journal Nature Geoscience. Cleveland and former UM doctoral
student Bill Smith did the research, along with partners at the University of Colorado and
the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory: http://bit.ly/1IN2eHN
William R. Wieder, Cory C. Cleveland, W. Kolby Smith, Katherine Todd-Brown. Future
productivity and carbon storage limited by terrestrial nutrient availability. Nature Geoscience,
2015; DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2413
Coastal/Marine Ecosystems/ Ocean Acidification/ Sea Level Rise
Seaweed in the Spotlight: Ocean acidification is just one of the ways in which coastal
communities are already feeling the effects of a changing global ocean. The potentially
devastating ramifications have made it an urgent environmental and economic issue. A
collaborative project led by the Puget Sound Restoration Fund in conjunction with NOAA
and other partners, was just awarded $1.5 million by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation to
tackle the impacts of ocean acidification. The project looks to employ an unlikely hero:
seaweed: http://1.usa.gov/1yTyucs
Northern Rock Sole Larvae Appear Resilient to Some Effects of Ocean Acidification:
A study done by NOAA Fisheries in collaboration with NOAA’s Pacific Marine
Environmental Lab and Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center was
published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science testing how newly hatched northern rock sole
growth and development could respond to a more acidic ocean, an ocean with higher levels
of carbon dioxide (CO2), and lower pH. Reduced pH levels predicted for ocean acidification
did not hamper growth and development of young northern rock sole. However, the authors
caution that there are other potential impacts to northern rock sole that have yet to be
examined as ocean acidification may alter the abundance of the tiny crustaceans that small
rock sole feed upon. In addition, elevated CO2 levels have been shown to disrupt feeding
and migration behaviors in other fish species: http://1.usa.gov/1P7DUlS
Hurst, T. P., Laurel, B. J., Mathis, J. T., and Tobosa, L. R. Effects of elevated CO2 levels on
eggs and larvae of a North Pacific flatfish. ICES Journal of Marine Science, doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsv050.
Climate Change Impacts on Wave and Surge Processes in a Pacific Northwest
Estuary: Total water levels (TWLs) within estuaries are influenced by tides, wind, offshore
waves, and streamflow, all of which are uniquely affected by climate change. The magnitude
of TWL associated with various return periods is relevant to understanding how the
hydrodynamics of a bay or estuary may evolve under distinct climate scenarios. The coupled
Advanced Circulation (ADCIRC) and Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN) model was
used to simulate wave and water elevation conditions within Tillamook Bay, OR, USA for
two long-term scenarios; 1979–1998 and 2041–2060. The model output provided
multidecadal time series of TWLs for statistical analysis. Latitudinal and seasonal gradients
were found in TWLs associated with varying return periods for both the hindcast and
forecast. Changes in TWLs from hindcast to forecast included the sea level rise component
and were also modulated by changes in boundary conditions.
Cheng, T. K., D. F. Hill, J. Beamer, and G. García-Medina (2015), Climate change impacts
on wave and surge processes in a Pacific Northwest (USA) estuary, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans,
120, 182–200, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010268.
Aquatic Resource/ Stream Flow/ Hydrology in the Western U.S.
A GoogleMap Tool for InterAgency Coordination of Annual Stream Temperature
Monitoring Sites: It had been 2 years since the Rocky Mountain Research Station last
updated the online GoogleMap Tool for tracking stream sites across North America where
annual temperature monitoring was currently occurring. The objective of the tool is to
provide people from all agencies with a simple way to see where annual stream temperature
monitoring is happening so that data sharing is facilitated and redundancy is minimized as
new monitoring sites are established. You can see the map showing the updated set of sites
by visiting the link below. Clicking on the map icons provides contact information for the
local data stewards and information about the stream site. You can also display and filter
information pertaining to different site attributes and the information can be saved in
various formats like KMZ files for display in Google Earth:
http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/boise/AWAE/projects/stream_temp/maps.html
Arid Ecosystems
Climate Change and Land Management Impact Rangeland Condition and SageGrouse Habitat in SE Oregon: Megan Creutzburg and Emilie Henderson of Oregon State
University, and David Conklin of Common Futures LLC have a new publication in AIMS
Environmental Science for their Northwest Climate Science Center-funded project, “Climate
change and land management impact rangeland condition and sage-grouse habitat in
southeastern Oregon.” Creutzburg and her collaborators modeled projected shifts in
vegetation distributions and potential sage-grouse habitat across 23.5 million acres in
southeastern Oregon. The team evaluated four climate scenarios and three management
scenarios, including no management, current management, and a sage-grouse habitat
restoration scenario. This work provides resource managers with information about potential
impacts of climate change, disturbances, and management activities on rangeland species
such as the greater sage-grouse.
Megan K. Creutzburg, Emilie B. Henderson and David R. Conklin (2015) Climate change
and land management impact rangeland condition and sage-grouse habitat in southeastern
Oregon. AIMS Environmental Science 2(2): 203-236. http://bit.ly/1yQS9JF
Land Use
BioEarth: Envisioning and Developing a New Regional Earth System Model to
Inform Natural and Agricultural Resource Management: As managers of agricultural
and natural resources are confronted with uncertainties in global change impacts, the
complexities associated with the interconnected cycling of nitrogen, carbon, and water
present management challenges. An increasing awareness of the unintended consequences of
management decisions resulting from interconnectedness of these sub-systems, however,
necessitates coupled regional earth system models (EaSMs). Decision makers’ needs and
priorities can be integrated into the model design and development processes to enhance
decision-making relevance and “usability” of EaSMs. BioEarth is a research initiative
currently under development with a focus on the U.S. Pacific Northwest region that explores
the coupling of multiple stand-alone EaSMs to generate usable information for resource
decision-making. This paper describes the BioEarth initiative and highlights opportunities
and challenges associated with coupling multiple stand-alone models to generate usable
information for agricultural and natural resource decision-making.
Adam, J.C. et al. (2015) BioEarth: Envisioning and developing a new regional earth system
model to inform natural and agricultural resource management, Climatic Change, 129, 3-4,
555-571. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10584-014-1115-2.
Forests
Forest Canopies Buffer Against Climate Change: When temperatures rise and less water
falls, forests respond. Forest canopies can buffer juvenile trees from drought and heat by
providing shade for the younger trees below the leaf and needle cover. Adult trees have deep
roots and can handle hot and dry conditions better than juveniles of the same species.
However, current models of how forests will respond to climate change don't account for
this difference between adult and juvenile trees. Recent research by Solomon Dobrowski, a
University of Montana professor of forest landscape ecology, finds that climatic buffering
from forest canopies is important to consider when projecting the likelihood of regeneration
in future forests. or the research in the journal, Dobrowski and colleagues looked at where
juvenile trees are found relative to adults of the same species and how this might change
under future climates. They suspected a forest canopy might protect juvenile trees from
some of the limiting factors that kill juvenile trees like high wind speeds, solar radiation and
high temperatures. Projections into the future suggest juvenile trees fare better with a
protective forest canopy overhead. Remove the shade-providing tree canopy, however, and
juvenile trees may suffer. Eventually, a forest with no juveniles will decline:
http://bit.ly/1Ee43Jy
Solomon Z. Dobrowski, Alan K. Swanson, John T. Abatzoglou, Zachary A. Holden, Hugh
D. Safford, Mike K. Schwartz, Daniel G. Gavin. Forest structure and species traits mediate
projected recruitment declines in western US tree species. Global Ecology and
Biogeography, 2015; DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/geb.12302
Fire
Where Wildfires and Climate Scientists Meet: Arthur Sedlacek is an atmospheric chemist
trying to solve one of the biggest mysteries in global climate change: the role that wildfires
play when they spew millions of tons of soot skyward each year. In 2013, Sedlacek was part
of a team that flew into wildfire plumes in the Pacific Northwest and then Tennessee to
measure exactly what’s in the soot. As the threat of global warming becomes increasingly
pronounced, accurate measurements and correct predictive models are more essential than
ever. But there’s a problem: When researchers incorporate the effects of greenhouse gases
into their models, the outcome is an extremely hot Earth - too hot, explains Sedlacek. There
must be some missing factor that cools the earth ever so slightly, but scientists haven’t
figured out what it is. Sedlacek’s team thinks the likely culprit is aerosols. One of the biggest
and least understood sources of aerosols is wildfire, which generates 40% of the carbon soot
in the atmosphere. It’s a tricky problem because fires exert both warming and cooling effects
on the climate. Black smoke billowing up from a fire’s center has a warming effect because
dark aerosols absorb light, keeping that energy trapped in our atmosphere. But as winds
push aerosols away from the fire, the particles gather a reflective coating of organic matter,
which has a cooling effect: http://bit.ly/1GjUzmN
Area Burned in the Western US is Unaffected by Recent Mountain Pine Beetle
Outbreaks: Across western North America, abundant susceptible pine hosts and a suitable
climate during the early 21st century have promoted widespread mountain pine beetle
(MPB) outbreaks, leading to concern that dead fuels may increase wildfire risk. The
assumption that outbreaks raise fire risk is driving far-reaching policy decisions involving
expenditures of hundreds of millions of dollars. Contrary to the expectation that an MPB
outbreak increases fire risk, spatial overlay analysis shows no effect of outbreaks on
subsequent area burned during years of extreme burning across the West. These results
refute the assumption that increased bark beetle activity has increased area burned; therefore,
policy discussions should focus on societal adaptation to the effects of the underlying
drivers: warmer temperatures and increased drought.
Hart, S.J., Schoennagel, T., Veblen, T.T., Chapman, T.B. 2015. Area burned in the western
United States in unaffected by recent mountain pine beetle outbreaks. PNAS, 112(14): 43754380. http://bit.ly/1PjKKqn
A Year Round Fire Season? There was a time when fire season for Western states meant
only certain months out of the year. Not so long ago the U.S. Forest Service considered it
primarily a summer problem with a few regions breaking the trend in early spring and late
fall. But climate change, according to most wildland fire experts, has turned fire season into a
year-round issue. What used to slow down fire season was winter—a long and cold time of
year with lots of snow that killed off many invasive or destructive pests and filled rivers and
reservoirs with ample water to supply the needs of millions living in the West. Now winter is
shorter and has far less snow accumulation in many areas: http://1.usa.gov/1DOUiol
Vegetation, Topography and Daily Weather Influenced Burn Severity in Idaho and
Montana Forests: Burn severity as inferred from satellite-derived differenced Normalized
Burn Ratio (dNBR) is useful for evaluating fire impacts on ecosystems but the
environmental controls on burn severity across large forest fires are both poorly understood
and likely to be different than those influencing fire extent. We related dNBR to
environmental variables including vegetation, topography, fire danger indices, and daily
weather for daily areas burned on 42 large forest fires in central Idaho and western Montana.
We found that percent existing vegetation cover had the largest influence on burn severity,
while weather variables like fine fuel moisture, relative humidity, and wind speed were also
influential but somewhat less important. We posit that, in contrast to the strong influence of
climate and weather on fire extent, ‘‘bottom-up’’ factors such as topography and vegetation
have the most influence on burn severity. While climate and weather certainly interact with
the landscape to affect burn severity, pre-fire vegetation conditions due to prior disturbance
and management strongly affect vegetation response even when large areas burn quickly.
Donovan S. Birch, Penelope Morgan, Crystal A. Kolden, John T. Abatzoglou, Gregory K.
Dillon, Andrew T. Hudak, and Alistair M. S. Smith 2015. Vegetation, topography and daily
weather influenced burn severity in central Idaho and western Montana forests. Ecosphere
6(1):17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES14-00213.1
Greater Risk of Wildfires in Washington because of Drought and Climate Change:
Warmer and drier summer conditions mean increased wildfire risk is projected for 2015, and
climate change modeling indicates these conditions are likely to become the norm in the
decades ahead. Weather models from the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction
Center show another hot and dry summer is forecast for Washington this year. And, climate
scientists expect the area burned by fire each year to double in the Northwest by the 2040s.
This not only puts Washington’s forestland at risk but air quality as well:
http://bit.ly/1bVMatf
Tribal and Indigenous Peoples Matters
Changes in Climate, Watershed Forcing Sauk-Suiattle Tribe to Move Farther
Upland: More than a century of change on the Sauk River—glacial retreat, logging in the
watershed, and alterations downstream—is forcing the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe to move homes,
administrative offices, and a longhouse farther upland and away from the river. “The tribe
currently has no defenses to stop the river from migrating into residential housing and tribal
offices,” concludes a 64-page flood and erosion risk assessment by Natural Systems Design,
a Seattle-based environmental planning firm. “Because of the warming climate, [river
migration] is much more likely and poses an unacceptable level of risk to the Sauk-Suiattle
Tribe over the next several decades. Severe and irretrievable damages, and possible loss of
life, are an inevitable consequence of failing to move residents and facilities out of their
current location.” Jason Joseph, Sauk-Suiattle’s natural resources director, said the tribe has
purchased 40 acres it wants to have placed into trust and is working with the Washington
State Department of Natural Resources to gain access across a DNR easement. Then, the
tribe will locate funding for installation of infrastructure and for construction:
http://bit.ly/1dyAX2h
Climate Change: Mankind Must Stop Destroying ‘Our Own Mystical Place’: Plants
were blooming in the middle of winter near the Cascade Mountain Range; the Iditarod had
to be moved almost 300 miles from Willows to Fairbanks due to lack of snow for the
mushers; and California could run out of water in a year. These are drastic indications that
things are amiss, said American Indian leaders meeting in Portland, Oregon earlier this
month. To them it was obvious that climate change is already here and that collaboration is
necessary in order for tribes to survive and thrive. They gathered, spoke and strategized at
the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Tribal Leaders Summit on Climate Change on
March 10 and 11 in Portland, Oregon. Sponsored by the Institute for Tribal Government at
Portland State University and the Department of Interior-Northwest Climate Science
Center, the conference brought together Tribal, federal, regional and state agencies and
leaders to discuss the climate change crisis facing our world. Tribes from all over the
northwest, including Idaho, Montana and Alaska, were represented and shared their
concerns, and the theme that emerged was one of unity: http://bit.ly/1PbxAtB
Pressing Play to Learn how Climate Change can Impact Indigenous Cultures:
As scientists and activists look for new ways to explain and spur action on climate change,
games are becoming a new avenue, reaching new audiences as well as giving users a firsthand feel of the risks of climate change – and some of the solutions. "Games are super
unique in that they require reflexes and intellect, because it's a very active medium," said
Sean Vesce, creative director for E-Line Media in Seattle that launched "Kisima Ingitchuna"
with Cook Inlet Tribal Council in late 2014. "They can be fun and at the same time you can
be learning and not have it feel like a chore." The game was created in collaboration with
nearly 40 Alaska Native elders, storytellers and community members and was based on a tale
from the Inuit Inupiaq people about the adventures of a boy who goes to save his
community from a deadly blizzard: http://reut.rs/1DNMdxQ. For more information about
the game: http://neveralonegame.com/game/
Taking Action
Climate Change Adaptation in United States Federal Natural Resource Science and
Management Agencies: A new publication from Halofsky, Peterson, and Marcinkowski
discusses actions taken by federal agencies to address climate change. Federal agencies with
responsibility for natural resource management are mandated to consider climate change in
planning and projects, and to begin preparing for the effects of climate change. Federal
agencies are making significant progress in climate change adaptation, although lack of
financial resources has slowed implementation of climate-focused activities. Currently, most
agencies have broad-scale strategic plans that describe approaches and priorities for climate
change in general and for adaptation in particular. Mainstreaming of climate-smart practices
in agencies has been slow to develop, probably because it has not been required at local to
regional scales and because systems of accountability are rare. Progress can be accelerated
through increased cooperation between management-based and science-based agencies and
through collaboration with other organizations in the public and private sectors:
http://1.usa.gov/1zhL591
Halofsky, J.E., D.L. Peterson, and K.W. Marcinkowski. 2015. Climate change adaptation in
United States federal natural resource science and management agencies: a synthesis. U.S.
Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC. Available at
http://www.globalchange.gov/browse/reports/climate-change-adaptation-united-statesfederal-natural-resource-science-and.
EPA & Federal Partners Announce Resilient Lands and Waters Initiative to Prepare
Natural Resources for Climate Change: EPA, in collaboration with the U.S. Department
of the Interior and NOAA, has recognized four collaborative landscape partnerships across
the country where federal agencies will focus efforts with partners to conserve and restore
important lands and waters and make them more resilient to a changing climate. Building on
existing collaborations, the Resilient Lands and Waters partnerships located in southwest
Florida, Hawaii, Washington, and the Great Lakes region will help build resilience in regions
vulnerable to climate change and related challenges. They will also showcase the benefits of
landscape-scale management approaches and help enhance the carbon storage capacity of
these natural areas: http://1.usa.gov/1FShl40
EPA National Water Program Releases 2014 Highlights of Progress: Responses to
Climate Change: EPA's National Water Program has released a 2014 Highlights of
Progress Report that provides a summary of major accomplishments addressing climate
change and water by the EPA National Water Program and Regional water programs during
2014. In addition, major research projects addressing climate change and water that were
completed in 2014 by the EPA Office of Research and Development are also described. The
Report is organized around the six long-term programmatic areas identified in the "National
Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change," water infrastructure;
watersheds and wetlands; coastal and ocean waters; water quality; working with Tribes; and
cross-cutting support: http://1.usa.gov/1GrzOFP
Climate and Weather Reports and Services
March and 1st Quarter of 2015 were Warmest in 136 Years: According to NOAA
scientists, the globally averaged temperature over land and ocean surfaces for March 2015
was the highest for the month since record keeping began in 1880. The year-to-date
(January-March) globally averaged temperature was also record high. This monthly summary
from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information is part of the suite of
climate services NOAA provides to government, the business sector, academia and the
public to support informed decision-making:
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/2015/3
April Showers may Bring May Flowers, but Winter Snow is Water in the Bank: The
type of precipitation falling from the sky matters, especially for delicate mountain
ecosystems. It’s really all about snow – mountain ecosystems across the western United
States are helped the most by precipitation in the form of snowfall. When snow falls on
higher elevations it accumulates as snowpack and becomes a water “savings account” for
lower elevation landscapes across the country for later in the year. While the east coast of the
United States set records for snowfall this past winter, much of the western United States
has entered into spring with substantially less mountain snowpack than previous years. In
fact, the Cascade Mountains and the Sierra Nevada Mountains recorded the lowest
snowpack ever measured in history, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Through March 1 of this year, certain regions of Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada,
Oregon, and Washington have mountain snowpack at less than 25 percent of average from
1981-2010: http://on.doi.gov/1bjLKM4
Special Reports/Announcements
New NOAA Maps & Data Section Offers Easy-to-Understand Maps and Entry-Level
Information on Climate Data: People who are interested in climate have a new source of
maps and data on climate.gov. The recently updated Maps & Data section offers easy-tounderstand climate maps, a visual catalog of popular climate products, and instructional
pages that cover the fundamentals of measuring climate variables and processing and using
climate data: http://www.climate.gov/maps-data
Governor Inslee Expands Drought Emergency to include more of Washington:
Worsening drought and snowpack conditions in Washington prompted Gov. Inslee to
expand the state’s drought emergency today. Nearly half the state is now expected to
experience hardships from this year’s drought. With more snow lost than added over the
past month, runoff from snowmelt this summer is projected to be the lowest on record in 64
years. Snowmelt feeds rivers and streams, and in turn provides critical water supply for farms
and fish. “This is an ongoing emergency and we’re going to have some long, hard months
ahead of us,” said Gov. Inslee. “We’re moving quickly so that we’re prepared to provide
relief to farms and fish this summer.” http://1.usa.gov/1EsVMI9
U.S.F.S. Releases Interactive Education Module on Climate Change Effects:
The Climate Change Resource Center has released a new interactive online education
module on climate change effects: "Climate Change Effects on Forests and Grasslands:
What You Need to Know." It is the second in a series of three education modules. It gives a
brief overview of current and projected climate change effects on water resources,
vegetation, wildlife, and disturbances, specifically geared towards forest and grassland
ecosystems. The first module, "Climate Change Science and Modeling," provides an
introduction to the climate system, greenhouse gases, climate models, current climate change
impacts, and future projections: http://1.usa.gov/1DHSr1o
2015 NW CSC Climate Boot Camp: This year’s camp is hosted by the University of
Washington and will run from August 16th – 21st at Pack Forest Conference Center in
Eatonville, WA. The curriculum for this year’s camp will delve into Adaptation on the
Wildland-Urban Interface. The extended application deadline is May 13, 2015 and
applications will be reviewed on a competitive basis for a limited number of slots. For more
information visit the website or, contact Arwen Bird, CBC Coordinator (email:
birda@uw.edu, phone: 503.318.5104).
Montana State NorWeST Stream Temperature, Climate Scenarios & Final Databases
Online: The temperature database and climate scenarios for 72,465 stream km
encompassing western Montana are now available on the NorWeST website. The data to
develop the stream scenarios were collected by dozens of individuals and contributed by 15
state, Tribal, federal, university, and private resource organizations. 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, and research on thermal ecology.
http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/boise/AWAE/projects/NorWeST.html
UPCOMING EVENTS
Upcoming Webinars, Courses and Meetings
May 11 - Training, St. Louis, MO. Coastal Community Resilience Course
May 12-15 - Conference, St. Louis, MO. 2nd National Adaptation Forum
May 13, 11-12pm (Pacific) – Webinar, U.S. EPA: Free Preparedness Tools and Resources
Webinar
May 13, 1130-1230pm (Pacific) – Webinar - Climate, Weather, and Sagebrush Seed Sources Experimental Insights on Challenges and Opportunities
May 13-15 - Forum, Vancouver, BC. Renewable Cities Forum
May 14, 10-11am (Pacific) – Webinar - The International Union for Conservation of Nature
Green List and Marine Protected Areas
May 14, 1030am, Webinar - LIVE from the National Adaptation Forum
May 15, 1-5:30pm (Pacific) - Symposium, Torrey Pines, CA. Human-Climate Interactions and
Evolution: Past and Future
May 18-21 – Convention, Warm Springs, OR. The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Mid
Year Convention.
May 19-21 – Conference, Battle Creek, MI. National Tribal Forum on Air Quality
May 20, 1130-1230 (Pacific), Webinar - Webinar: Seed Zones and Climate Change
May 20-22 – Conference, Fort Collins, CO. NC CSC Open Science Conference: Integrating
research and management of change from mountains to plains
May 20-22 – Conference, Juneau, AK - 33rd Annual National Conference of the Native
American Fish and Wildlife Society
May 21, 10-11am – Webinar. Precipitation Patterns, Supply Planning and Demand Curves:
the Complexities of Assessing Water Supply Risks
May 27, 12pm (Pacific) Webinar - Building Social Resilience in Climate Vulnerable
Communities: A Webinar Series
May 28, 9-10am (Pacific), Webinar – Integrated Marine Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem
Research: A Decision Support Tool for Responding to Global Change by the IMBER
Human Dimensions Working Group
June 4, 10-11am (Pacific), Webinar - Water Hazards and Community Resilience
June 16-18 – Training, Bishop, CA. Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals Training
Climate Change Adaptation Planning
June 15-17 – Conference, New Orleans, LA. American Water Resources Association Specialty
Conference: Climate Change Adaptation
July 5-10 - Conference, Portland, OR. 9th International Association of Landscape
Ecology World Congress
Aug 16-21 – Eatonville, WA. Northwest Climate Science Center Climate Boot Camp 2015
Nov 8-12 – Conference, Portland, OR. CERF 23rd Biennial Conference
List Servers

BioClimate News & Events from NCCWSC & the CSCs

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

Climate CIRCulator (Oregon Climate Change Research Institute)

Climate Impacts Group (Univ. Washington)

Earth to Sky Newsletter (NASA/DOI Partnership): anita.l.davis@nasa.gov

EPA Climate Change and Water E-Newsletter

FRESC monthly e-newsletter: Contact fresc_outreach@usgs.gov

FWS CC Monthly E-Newsletter: Contact kate_freund@fws.gov

LCC list servers (see your LCC’s website) and the national LCC Network newsletter

Ocean Acidification Report

OneNOAA Science Webinars

NASA's Climate Change Newsletter climate-feedback@jpl.nasa.gov

North Pacific LCC Listserve – North Pacific Tidings - important news and
announcements; and NPLCC Climate Science Digest - new science/information
affecting natural and cultural resources.

NCTC Climate Change List server (upcoming webinars and courses): contact
christy_coghlan@fws.gov

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

PointBlue Weekly Ecology, Climate Change and Related e-Newsletter: Contact
ecohen@prbo.org

PNW Tribal Climate Change Network: Contact kathy@uoregon.edu

US Forest Service Fish & Wildlife Research Updates

USGS Climate Matters

White House Energy and Environment Updates