Northwest Climate Science Digest: Science and Learning Opportunities Combined
July 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
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
Conserving Biodiversity: Practical Guidance about Climate Change Adaptation Approaches
in Support of Land-use Planning
Wildlife density data better predicts conservation success
Knowledge co-production and boundary work to promote implementation of conservation
plans
Meager snows spell trouble ahead for salmon
Feds release plan for recovering Northwest fish species
Coastal/Marine Ecosystems/ Ocean Acidification/ Sea Level Rise
Climate mediates hypoxic stress on fish diversity and nursery function at the land–sea
interface
Ocean 'blob' of warm water bringing poor food for B.C. wild salmon
Largest Ever Toxic Algae Bloom Contaminate Coasts from California to Alaska
Climate-linked Mechanisms Drive Spatial and Temporal Variation in Eelgrass Growth and
Assemblage Structure in the Pacific Northwest
Analysis of Otoliths Suggest that Growth Slows With Sea Level Rise for a Deep-water
Predatory Fish
Aquatic Resource/ Stream Flow/ Hydrology in the Western U.S.
Incorporating climate change projections into riparian restoration planning and design
Seeing the landscape for the trees: Metrics to guide riparian shade management in river
catchments
Stream Temperature Patterns over 35 Years in a Managed Forest of Western Washington
The Beaver Restoration Guidebook- Working with Beaver to Restore Streams, Wetlands,
and Floodplains
Predicting Climate Change Impacts on Aquatic Ecosystems across the Pacific Northwest
Arid Ecosystems
Land Use
Can Better Grazing Help Dairy Farmers Cope With Drought and Climate Change?
Forests
Mismanaged Forests are a Source of Nitrogen Pollution
Changing climate prompts boreal forest shift
Fire
Climate and Fires Tightly Linked Over the Past Century in the Northern Rocky Mountains
Tribal and Indigenous Peoples Matters
Squaxin Tribe setting summer streamflow targets in the Deschutes River
What Tribal hatcheries are doing to save salmon from the drought
Indigenous knowledge can be key to fighting climate change
Taking Action
Climate Change Adaptation in United States Federal Natural Resource Science and
Management Agencies: A Synthesis
Washington state board aims to remove stream barriers for fish
2016-17 Puget Sound Action Agenda Strategy Work Available for Public Comment
Oregon’s House Bill 3470, the Climate Stability and Justice Act
Shopping for Water: How the market can mitigate water shortages in the West
Inaction on climate change would cost billions, major EPA study finds
Climate and Weather Reports and Services
NASA Releases Detailed Global Climate Change Projections
NOAA says ‘hiatus’ disappears once data corrected
Attribution of climate extreme events
Despite Drought in California and the Northwest, May 2015 was the Wettest Month Ever
for the Lower 48 States
Elevation-dependent warming in mountain regions of the world
Special Reports/ Announcements
Pope Francis Calls for Climate Action
Press Statement on Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience by John Kerry Secretary of
State
Federal Advisory Committee Issues Recommendations for Addressing Climate Change to
NCCWSC & CSCs
Biodiversity/ Species and Ecosystem Response
Conserving Biodiversity: Practical Guidance about Climate Change Adaptation
Approaches in Support of Land-use Planning: This paper presents a framework that
synthesizes six promising adaptation approaches for conserving biodiversity. The authors
provide guidance on implementing these adaptation approaches and include case studies that
highlight how biodiversity conservation can be used in planning. It concludes with general
guidance on choosing appropriate climate adaptation approaches to amend for conservation
planning.
Lawler, J.J., Beier, P., Groves, G., Knight, G., Boyce Jr, D.A., Bulluck, J., Johnston, K.M.,
Klein, M.L., Muller, K., Pierce, D.J., Singleton, W.R., Strittholt, J.R., Theobald, D.M.,
Tombulak, S.C., and Trainor, A. (2015) Conserving Biodiversity: Practical Guidance about
Climate Change Adaptation Approaches in Support of Land-use Planning. Natural Areas
Journal 35(1)
http://consbio.org/products/publications/conserving-biodiversity-practical-guidanceabout-climate-change-adaptation-approaches-support-land-useplanning?utm_source=CBI+Master+List&utm_campaign=9625798c0a2014_Holiday_Letter12_22_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1548d4a8b99625798c0a266504045&ct=t%282014_Holiday_Letter12_22_2014%29&mc_cid=9625798c0a&mc_eid
=3ee821d3dc
Wildlife density data better predicts conservation success: A recent study published in
the journal Conservation Biology makes a case for using more robust data sets in order to
better protect birds, plants, and animals. The concept is fairly simple, but relies on scientists
sharing data across studies. Presence/ absence data is now the type of data most commonly
used in conservation planning, but including data on species richness could improve the
ability of scientists and managers to prioritize efforts. The authors of this study encouraged
partners to make their bird observation data accessible through the Avian Knowledge
Network leading to the addition of over 900,000 new bird observations from 23 different
studies. They then combined the information with bird data in the California Avian Data
Center and developed species distribution and density models covering coastal Northern
California, Oregon and Washington for 26 species of land birds representing four different
habitat types. They used both the presence/absence and density models to map conservation
priorities and compared the estimated population size of each species protected using both
approaches. The prioritizations based on count data protected more individuals of each
species than the prioritizations based on presence/absence data in the areas of highest
conservation priority.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150611091342.htm?utm_source=feedburn
er&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fearth_climate+%28E
arth+%26+Climate+News+--+ScienceDaily%29
Knowledge co-production and boundary work to promote implementation of
conservation plans: This paper shows how working with stakeholders from diverse
knowledge systems and creating shared knowledge boundaries to satisfy these different
groups can help bridge the gap between conservation planning and implementation, and
promote cross-sectorial cooperation. In this case knowledge co-production occurred in
stakeholder workshops held over the course of four years. These iterative workshops
included co-development of goals, dialogue and negotiation, and capacity building for multiscale implementation. The resulting maps and information integrated diverse knowledge
types of over 450 stakeholders and provide a consistent national information source that has
been applied in 25 of the 37 use contexts since launching 3.5 years ago. This work provides
practical guidance for conservation planners interested in promoting uptake of their science,
and contributes to an evidence base for reflection on how conservation efforts can be
improved.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.12560/abstract
Meager snows spell trouble ahead for salmon: Warm winter temperatures in the
mountains of the western United States this past winter sharply reduced the region's
snowpack, which normally reaches its high point at this time each year. That snow typically
serves as a vital water storage reservoir that is slowly released as the snow melts over the dry
summer months. Without this snowmelt, stream flows are expected to drop sharply this
summer, which in turn is expected to cause water temperatures to rise to a level unhealthy
for migrating salmon. As a result, fisheries biologists expect a looming calamity for
endangered salmon stocks this year.
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/348/6232/268.summary
Feds release plan for recovering Northwest fish species: Federal authorities have
released their final recovery plan for a fish species that teetered on the brink of extinction in
the early 1990s in one of the Pacific Northwest’s major rivers. The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration released the plan on June 8th with the goal of creating a selfsustaining population of Snake River sockeye salmon over the next 50 to 100 years.
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/feds-release-final-plan-forrecovering-snake-river-sockeye/?utm_source=E-clips&utm_campaign=af2af5aaf9E_clips_Jupublisne_9_20156_9_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c909fc207aaf2af5aaf9-388501765
Coastal/Marine Ecosystems/ Ocean Acidification/ Sea Level Rise
Climate mediates hypoxic stress on fish diversity and nursery function at the land–
sea interface: Researchers have found that climate can be a powerful moderator of coastal
hypoxia, but the effects of climate change are hard to predict. In the future water will be
warmer, and warm water holds less oxygen than cold water. Climate change is also likely to
influence the frequency and intensity of El Niño events, but exactly how is still unclear.
Reducing the stress caused by nutrient enrichment and hypoxia will improve the resilience of
the ecosystems and help buffer the effects of climate change. Opportunities for improving
coastal land management practices are numerous and varied. Conservation groups and land
managers can partner with farmers and fishers to manage nutrient applications, restore or
rebuild wetlands that will reduce nutrient levels in agricultural discharge water.
Hughes, B.B.; Levey, M.D.; Fountain, M.C.; Carlisle, A.B.; Chavez, F.P. and Gleason, M.G.
2015. Climate mediates hypoxic stress on fish diversity and nursery function at the land-sea
interface. PNAS 112(26) 8025-8030.
http://www.pnas.org/content/112/26/8025
Ocean 'blob' of warm water bringing poor food for B.C. wild salmon: A University of
Victoria oceanographer studying the so-called "warm blob" of water off the B.C. coast has
observed unusual, "squishy" visitors from the south — and that could be bad news for
young salmon. John Dower, who just returned from a research cruise north of Vancouver
Island, said he saw remarkably high amounts of tiny animals called zooplankton in the
"blob," a huge mass of ocean water about 2 degrees warmer than normal. And the varieties
he saw are normally found off northern California — not Canada.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/ocean-blob-of-warm-water-bringingpoor-food-for-b-c-wild-salmon-1.3104681?utm_source=Eclips&utm_campaign=af2af5aaf9E_clips_June_9_20156_9_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c909fc207aaf2af5aaf9-388501765
Largest Ever Toxic Algae Bloom Contaminate Coasts from California to Alaska:
Scientists are investigating what could be the largest toxic algae bloom ever recorded off the
West Coast. The effects stretch from Central California to British Columbia, and possibly as
far north as Alaska. Dangerous levels of the natural toxin domoic acid have shut down
recreational and commercial shellfish harvests in Washington, Oregon and California. At the
same time, two other types of toxins rarely seen in combination are turning up in shellfish in
Puget Sound and along the Washington coast. Scientists suspect this year’s unseasonably
high temperatures are playing a role, along with “ the blob” — a vast pool of unusually
warm water that blossomed in the northeastern Pacific late last year. The blob has morphed
since then, but offshore waters are still about two degrees warmer than normal. Domoic-acid
outbreaks aren’t unusual in the fall, but the toxin has never hit so hard in the spring, or
required such widespread closures for crabs.
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/toxic-algae-bloom-might-be-largestever/?utm_source=E-clips&utm_campaign=6d9f50c010E_clips_July_16_20156_16_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c909fc207a6d9f50c010-388501765
Climate-linked Mechanisms Drive Spatial and Temporal Variation in Eelgrass
Growth and Assemblage Structure in the Pacific Northwest: Using a combination of
field data and laboratory experiments, the authors have shown that variations in water
temperature, mean sea level, and stress from drying appear to drive spatial and temporal
patterns in eelgrass. Complicated interactions among these variables make it difficult to
predict the effects of climate change on this important resource. However many
characteristics of eelgrass make it a suitable indicator of the effects of climate variation on
marine and estuarine ecosystems.
Thom, R., Southard, S. and Bourde, A. 2014. Climate-linked Mechanisms Driving Spatial
and Temporal Variation in Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) Growth and Assemblage Structure
in the Pacific Northwest Estuaries, USA. Journal of Coastal Research. 68:1-11. DOI:
10.2112/SI68-001.1
Analysis of Otoliths Suggest that Growth Slows With Sea Level Rise for a Deepwater
Predatory Fish: Otoliths are little structures that most fish have in their skulls. Because
layers of mineral are added to otoliths throughout a fish’s life, they can act as a reliable
record of growth patterns — periods of feast and famine — just like tree rings. Now,
scientists are using these structures to show how fish size may decrease as a result of a
changing ocean.
http://www.nature.com/srep/2015/150312/srep09044/full/srep09044.html#f4
http://www.earthmagazine.org/article/counting-tree-rings-fish-skulls-provides-climate-clues
Aquatic Resource/ Stream Flow/ Hydrology in the Western U.S.
Incorporating climate change projections into riparian restoration planning and
design: Riparian restoration may help shade and cool streams to mitigate the impacts of
climate change and other human disturbances. However, climate change may alter which
restoration methods are most effective and which restoration goals can be achieved. In this
review the authors discuss and provide examples of how climate change might be
incorporated into restoration planning at the key stages of assessing the project context,
establishing restoration goals and design criteria, evaluating design alternatives and
monitoring restoration outcomes. Given high uncertainty in future conditions, planners will
need to consider multiple potential future scenarios, implement a variety of restoration
methods, design projects with flexibility and plan to respond adaptively to climate change.
Perry, L.G., Reynolds, L.V., Beechie, T.J., Collins, M.J. and Shafroth, P.B. 2015.
Incorporating climate change projections into riparian restoration planning and design.
Ecohydrology DOI: 10.1002/eco.1645
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Timothy_Beechie
Seeing the landscape for the trees: Metrics to guide riparian shade management in
river catchments: The warming effect of solar radiation on rivers varies across space and
time. Thus the benefits of shading through riparian restoration will also vary from site to
site. These authors used a network of high-resolution temperature measurements from two
upland rivers in the UK along with topographic shade modeling to assess how shade affects
water temperature. Conditions under which shade is most effective at reducing water
temperature and amount of shade needed to offset warming of 1 degree Celsius are
discussed.
Johnson & Wilby. 2015. Seeing the landscape for the trees: Metrics to guide riparian shade
management in river catchments. Water Resources Research DOI 10.1002/2014WR016802
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Matthew_Johnson39/publications
Stream Temperature Patterns over 35 Years in a Managed Forest of Western
Washington: Water temperature in the upper Deschutes River watershed, Washington has
been monitored since 1975 and represents one of the longest studies of water quality on
managed forests in the Pacific Northwest. The authors used this data to examine the
combined effects of hydro-climatic patterns and forest management on stream temperature.
They found that the effects of harvest conducted prior to buffer regulations were obvious
and most pronounced on smaller streams. They did not detect any response on larger
channels to more recent timber harvest where riparian buffers were required. In many cases
the temperature improvements associated with more stringent buffer requirements
implemented over the last 35 years in the Deschutes watershed have been offset by warming
climatic conditions. This emphasizes that it is critical to account for changing climate when
examining long-term temperature patterns.
Reiter & colleagues. 2015. Stream temperature patterns over 35 years in a managed forest of
western Washington. Journal of the American Water Resources Association
DOI:10.1111/1752-1688.12324
The Beaver Restoration Guidebook- Working with Beaver to Restore Streams,
Wetlands, and Floodplains: The North Pacific Landscape Conservation Cooperative
partnered with U.S. Fish & Wildlife, NOAA, Portland State University, and the U.S. Forest
Service to develop a comprehensive guide on using beaver for stream restoration. The goal
of this guidebook, which was just released, is to provide an accessible, useful resource for
anyone involved in using beaver to restore streams, floodplains, wetlands, and riparian areas.
It provides a practical synthesis of the best available science, an overview of management
techniques, and case studies from throughout the western US. Target audiences are
landowners, biologists, engineers, scientists, foresters, farmers, ranchers, the regulatory and
funding communities, and others interested in how beaver activity can be effectively used to
restore riparian habitat and improve water quality. The information contained in the guide is
meant to inform decisions on fish and wildlife habitat restoration and management, range
land improvement, wetland management, mitigation, transportation system planning and
maintenance, and water management.
https://nplcc.blob.core.windows.net/media/Default/2013_Documents/Using_Beavers_Fo
r_Climate/BRG%20v.1.0%20final%20reduced.pdf
Predicting Climate Change Impacts on Aquatic Ecosystems across the Pacific
Northwest: In case you missed it last December, USGS ecologist, Clint Muhlfeld’s, webinar
about climate impacts to NW trout and salmon is now available online.
http://cakex.org/virtual-library/predicting-climate-change-impacts-aquatic-ecosystemsacross-pacificnorthwest?utm_source=July+2015+Slice+of+CAKE&utm_campaign=July+2015+Slice&ut
m_medium=email
Arid Ecosystems
Land Use
Can Better Grazing Help Dairy Farmers Cope With Drought and Climate Change?
Dairy farmers in Oregon have found that rotating their 200 cows between fields, and
keeping them there for a day at a time produces healthier, more robust cows and pasture
than letting the herd graze at random. Rotation also helps the grass retain water, resulting in
a savings of a month to a month-and-a-half of irrigation water a year.
http://civileats.com/2015/06/08/can-better-grazing-help-californias-dairy-farmers-bracefor-drought/
Forests
Mismanaged Forests are a Source of Nitrogen Pollution: Older, overcrowded cypress
and cedar plantations in Japan with little to no undergrowth have become a source of nonpoint nitrogen pollution according to a new study. Trees in these older plantations grow
slowly and use fewer soil nutrients like nitrogen, than younger trees. The crowding and lack
of understory prevents nutrients in fallen needles from being reabsorbed. Instead it forms
runoff during rainfall and snowmelt- heading to nearby streams where it contributes to algal
blooms. The authors recommend thinning and returning the forest to a more natural forest
state to reduce this unexpected source of pollution.
Masaaki Chiwa, Takami Saito, Hirokazu Haga, Hiroaki Kato, Kyoichi Otsuki, Yuichi Onda.
A Nitrogen-Saturated Plantation of and in Japan Is a Large Nonpoint Nitrogen Source.
Journal of Environment Quality, 2015; 0 (0): 0 DOI: 10.2134/jeq2014.09.0401
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150610131539.htm?utm_source=feedburn
er&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fearth_climate+%28E
arth+%26+Climate+News+--+ScienceDaily%29
Changing climate prompts boreal forest shift: A study by researchers at the University of
Alaska Fairbanks has demonstrated that a biome shift is already underway in Alaska. The
boreal forest in Interior Alaska is suffering from unsuitably warm temperatures while the
forest in Western Alaska near the tundra has increased in productivity. The authors spent ten
years gathering white spruce tree cores and disks from 540 trees in 36 stands, sampling from
easternmost Alaska downriver to the western edge of the boreal forest near the Bering Sea.
Two measurements were taken to determine how much the trees grew each year. Ten
growth data was compared to temperature data from historical records and weather stations.
They found that in Interior Alaska, as summer temperatures rose, the growth of the trees
slowed. Meanwhile, in Western Alaska, which is also warming, the trees are growing more
rapidly. In other words the boreal forest is already shifting away from lowlands in Interior
Alaska to higher elevations and the western part of the state.
Glenn P. Juday, Claire Alix, Thomas A. Grant. Spatial coherence and change of opposite
white spruce temperature sensitivities on floodplains in Alaska confirms early-stage boreal
biome shift. Forest Ecology and Management, 2015; 350: 46 DOI:
10.1016/j.foreco.2015.04.016
Fire
Climate and Fires Tightly Linked Over the Past Century in the Northern Rocky
Mountains: A new paper by a team of University of Idaho and U.S. Geological Survey
scientists suggests that climate strongly influences wildfire activity in the northern Rocky
Mountains, despite large changes in forest management and fire suppression.
Increases in wildfires over the past 30 years coincide with an increase in warm, dry summer
conditions, according to the study. The same is true for a period in the early 20th century,
including the dramatic fires of 1910. During a cooler, wetter period in the mid-20th century,
fire activity decreased. The team compared fire patterns found in previously published
records of burned areas in Idaho and western Montana with seasonal climate records to
reveal the flammability of forest vegetation.
Higuera, P.E., Abatzoglou, J.T., Littell, J.S. and Morgan, P. 2015. The changing strength
and nature of fire-climate relationships in the northern Rocky Mountains, U.S.A., 1902-2008.
PLoS ONE 10(6): e0127563. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0127563
http://www.uidaho.edu/newsevents/item?name=climate-and-fires-tightly-linked-over-thepast-century-in-the-northern-rocky-mountains
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0127563
Tribal and Indigenous Peoples Matters
Squaxin Tribe setting summer streamflow targets in the Deschutes River: In order to
establish how much water salmon need to survive during the summer months, the Squaxin
Island Tribe is examining streamflow in the Deschutes River. The end result of the tribe’s
research will be a set of minimum flow targets or standards for the watershed between April
and December. A state-adopted standard would mean that if flows drop beneath the
minimum, the state would take corrective action to bring flows back up. The current
standard was set by the state over 30 years ago for winter months, but didn’t address
summer flows. Historical analysis by the tribe shows that summer flows have gotten lower
and winter and spring floods more frequent and larger in recent decades. The analysis points
to an increase in impervious surfaces and a loss of forest cover as prime causes of the change
in hydrology. Those changes have decreased flow during the summer months by at least 20
percent.
http://nwifc.org/2012/06/setting-summer-streamflow-targets-in-the-deschutes-river/
What Tribal Hatcheries Are Doing to Save Salmon from the Drought: Record low
streamflows and higher water temperatures are a potentially deadly combination for local
salmon. Temperatures higher than 60 degrees cause pathogens such as Ichthyophthirius
multifiliis (ich) and columnaris (gill rot) thrive in warm water, and diseases spread more
quickly when the rivers are crowded by low flows. Tribes are taking action to protect salmon
from these threats by changing the timing of when they let salmon in and out of their
hatcheries. On the Olympic Peninsula, the Makah Tribe’s Hoko Hatchery released Chinook
three weeks early and sockeye a month early. In some instances, hatchery managers may also
bring adult spawners into their facilities early because conditions will be better in a
controlled environment. Changes are contingent upon the approval of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration.
http://nwifc.org/2015/06/what-tribal-hatcheries-are-doing-to-save-salmon-from-thedrought/
Indigenous knowledge can be key to fighting climate change: While indigenous
communities have developed knowledge over centuries to manage their lands and adapt to
challenges such as rising sea levels or wildfires, they are still deeply affected by climate
change. Two University of Kansas professors have authored research exploring cases of
indigenous communities that have had success in applying traditional knowledge to fighting
climate change and how American and international law falls short in preventing exploitation
of those tribes and methods.
http://phys.org/news/2015-06-indigenous-knowledge-key-climate.html#jCp
Taking Action
Climate Change Adaptation in United States Federal Natural Resource Science and
Management Agencies: A Synthesis: 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. This report reviews adaptation activities in
several federal agencies.
http://www.globalchange.gov/browse/reports/climate-change-adaptation-united-statesfederal-natural-resource-science-and
Washington State Board Aims to Remove Stream Barriers for Fish: In Washington the
Fish Passage Barrier Removal Board is starting to develop a strategy for removing the many
barriers that block fish access to streams across the state. The board cites about 14,000
known impediments in Washington and estimates that the total number is closer to 35,000
or 40,000. The barrier removal board was created by the Washington Legislature last year
and now operates under the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. It came
with no funding, but officials are now working with local entities to identify priority areas for
barrier removal.
http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/jun/09/statewide-effort-removing-barriers-blockfish/?utm_source=E-clips&utm_campaign=af2af5aaf9E_clips_June_9_20156_9_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c909fc207aaf2af5aaf9-388501765
2016-17 Puget Sound Action Agenda Strategy Work Available for Public Comment
Through July 10: The Puget Sound Partnership will soon be updating the Puget Sound
Action Agenda, a plan that describes priorities to help recover Puget Sound. The strategy
includes three initiatives- protecting and restoring habitat, preventing pollution from
stormwater and recovering shellfish beds. Puget Sound Partnership is currently asking for
input from the public on recommendations resulting from a series of meetings and
discussions about the update. Online public comments will be accepted through July 10,
2015.
http://www.psp.wa.gov/2016_AA_announcements.php?utm_source=Puget+Sound+Partn
ership+Newsletter&utm_campaign=f624034168&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a58a377414-f624034168-388498729
Oregon’s House Bill 3470, the Climate Stability and Justice Act: Oregon’s HB 3470 is a
Greenhouse Gas Cap and Trade bill that is modeled off of California's AB 32 legislation that
caps and then incrementally ratchets down greenhouse gas emissions. There are many
organizations around the state that are now coordinating efforts to try and help clue
legislators in to the extreme urgency of needing to pass this bill this legislative session.
For more information, visit: http://www.policyinteractive.org/HB3470_1pager.pdf
Expert testimony: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/support-hb-3470-to-limit
Shopping for Water: How the market can mitigate water shortages in the West: A
report by The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution proposes to give farmers the
ability to lease or sell water that they have conserved by reducing their consumption. The
authors argue that reducing agricultural water consumption by just 4% would increase the
water available for residential, commercial and industrial uses by roughly 50%, according to
their analysis of U.S. Geological Survey data. They consider current laws to be outdated and
wasteful and traditional practices to deal with shortages like diverting more water from
rivers, building new reservoirs and drilling additional groundwater wells to be unsustainable.
Using market tools to promote water trading, they argue, is one way to ensure that we can
continue to meet growing water needs in the West.
Washington Post Op Ed
Full report
Inaction on climate change would cost billions, major EPA study finds: On June 20th
the White House released a report examining the likely effects of a global agreement to curb
greenhouse gases. The report, titled “Climate Change in the United States: Benefits of
Global Action,” seeks to measure the potential gains for Americans under an international
accord to keeps global temperatures from rising by more than 2 degrees Celsius over
historical averages. Researchers compared what would likely happen in a business-as-usual
world, in which carbon-dioxide levels in the atmosphere exceed 800 parts per million by the
year 2100, compared to levels of about 462 parts per million expected if aggressive action is
taken over the coming decades to limit greenhouse-gas pollution. The five-year study was led
by the Environmental Protection Agency and incorporated research from peer-reviewed
studies and modeling by scientists from the Energy Department’s Laboratory complex and
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Researchers found that a global agreement to
curb greenhouse gas emissions would likely prevent nearly 70,000 premature American
deaths annually by the end of the century while sparing the country hundreds of billions of
dollars’ worth of economic losses. Slowing the carbon build-up in the atmosphere would
also prevent severe damage to a wide range of critical ecosystems, from Hawaiian coral reefs
that support tourism to shellfish beds off the East Coast. The report concludes that every
region of the country could be spared the severe economic disruptions that would result if
greenhouse gas concentrations continue to soar.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/06/22/inactionon-climate-change-would-cost-billions-in-economic-losses-major-epa-sponsored-studyfinds/?utm_source=E-clips&utm_campaign=a97b15f014E_clips_June_24_20156_24_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c909fc207aa97b15f014-388501765
Climate and Weather Reports and Services
NASA Releases Detailed Global Climate Change Projections: On June 9th NASA
released data showing how temperature and rainfall patterns worldwide may change through
the year 2100 because of growing concentrations of greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere.
The new dataset shows projected changes worldwide on a regional level in response to
different scenarios of increasing carbon dioxide. The high-resolution data, which can be
viewed on a daily timescale at the scale of individual cities and towns, will help scientists and
planners conduct climate risk assessments to better understand local and global effects of
hazards, such as severe drought, floods, heat waves and losses in agriculture productivity.
The new dataset is the latest product from the NASA Earth Exchange (NEX), a big-data
research platform within the NASA Advanced Supercomputing Center at the agency's Ames
Research Center in Moffett Field, California. In 2013, NEX released similar climate
projection data for the continental United States that is currently being used to quantify
climate risks to the nation’s agriculture, forests, rivers and cities.
http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-releases-detailed-global-climate-change-projections
NOAA says ‘hiatus’ disappears once data corrected: The ongoing conversation as to
why the planet had apparently experienced what has been termed a ‘hiatus’ or pause in global
warming since just before the turn of the millennium, has received another contribution, this
time with US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) suggesting
that there actually was no hiatus. Researchers with NOAA say in a new paper out this week
in the journal Science that once adjustments to data are made correcting for errors, the
slowdown disappears. That is, the hiatus is in fact nothing more than an artifact of
inaccurate data. Instead, the research suggests that global warming may now be accelerating.
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/348/6242/1469.abstract
Attribution of climate extreme events: Authors of a new paper published in Nature
Climate Change suggest a different framing for the attribution of extreme weather eventsone which asks why such extremes unfold the way they do. Specifically, they suggest that it is
more useful to regard extreme weather events as being largely unaffected by climate change,
and to question whether known changes in the climate system's thermodynamic state
affected the impact of the particular event. Some examples briefly illustrated include
'snowmaggedon' in February 2010, superstorm Sandy in October 2012 and supertyphoon
Haiyan in November 2013, and, in more detail, the Boulder floods of September 2013, all of
which were influenced by high sea surface temperatures that had a discernible human
component.
Trenberth, K.E., Fasullo, J.T., Shepard, T.G. 2015. Attribution of climate extreme events.
Nature Climate Change. doi:10.1038/nclimate2657
http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate2657.html
Despite Drought in California and the Northwest, May 2015 was the Wettest Month
Ever for the Lower 48 States: According to a report just released by the National Centers
for Environmental Information (formerly the National Climatic Data Center), May of 2015
was it the wettest May on record for the contiguous 48 states. It was also the wettest month
ever in 121-years of record-keeping.
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/summary-info/national/201505
Elevation-dependent warming in mountain regions of the world: The authors review
important mechanisms that contribute to amplified warming at high elevations: snow albedo
and surface-based feedbacks; water vapor changes and latent heat release; surface water
vapor and radiative flux changes; surface heat loss and temperature change; and aerosols. All
lead to enhanced warming with elevation, and it is believed that combinations of these
mechanisms may account for contrasting regional patterns of elevation-dependent warming.
The authors also discuss future needs to increase knowledge of mountain temperature trends
and their controlling mechanisms through improved observations, satellite-based remote
sensing and model simulations.
Mountain Research Initiative EDW Working Group. 2015. Elevation-dependent warming
in mountain regions of the world. Nature Climate Change 5, 424–430.
doi:10.1038/nclimate2563
http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v5/n5/full/nclimate2563.html?utm_source=Jun
e+30+2015+Newsletter&utm_campaign=Constant+Contact&utm_medium=email
Special Reports/Announcements
Pope Francis Calls for Climate Action: On June 18th Pope Francis issued an
unprecedented encyclical on the subject of the environment, arguing that humanity’s
exploitation of the planet’s resources has crossed the Earth’s natural boundaries, and that the
world faces ruin without a revolution in hearts and minds. In it he called for an ethical and
economic revolution to prevent catastrophic climate change and growing inequality. The
message was sent to the world’s 5,000 Catholic bishops and published online in five
languages. It has already inspired demonstrations, lobbying and activism among the world’s
1.2 billion Catholics.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/19/world/europe/pope-francis-in-sweeping-encyclicalcalls-for-swift-action-on-climate-change.html
Press Statement on Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience by John Kerry
Secretary of State Washington, DC June 9, 2015: Last month Secretary Kerry announced
the launch of the Climate Services for Resilient Development partnership, along with the
government of the United Kingdom and partners at the American Red Cross, the Asian
Development Bank, Esri, Google, the Inter-American Development and the Skoll Global
Threats Fund. The private-public partnership was created as part of President Obama’s
Climate Action Plan, unveiled last fall. The effort is aimed at helping other countriesparticularly those that are poorest and most vulnerable- adapt to a changing climate. The
U.S. and its partners are putting $34 million toward the effort. As part of the program the
partners will create a volunteer “climate resilience corps” that the Peace Corps and
AmeriCorps will be launching in developing countries, and NASA will release the first-ever
climate modeling system that breaks data down to the country level, which will enable
countries to better target their individual adaptation planning efforts.
http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2015/06/243304.htm
Federal Advisory Committee Issues Recommendations for Addressing Climate
Change to NCCWSC & CSCs: The report from the Advisory Committee on Climate
Change and Natural Resource Science recognizes the U.S. Geological Survey and the
Department of the Interior for achieving significant accomplishments since the
establishment of the NCCWSC and CSCs and provides several key recommendations to
clarify, focus, and enhance the program's efforts. The committee also recommends that the
NCCWSC/CSC program should expand its capacity to work closely with partners,
including states, tribes and other indigenous groups, and environmental organizations, both
within DOI and with other federal agencies. A “how-to guide” for “actionable science” is
included as an appendix to the Committee’s report. The report also includes two other
documents to which committee members contributed: one is a summary of a primer
on climate change and indigenous peoples and the other provides guidelines for
considering traditional knowledge in climate change initiatives.
https://nccwsc.usgs.gov/content/federal-advisory-committee-issues-recommendationsaddressing-climate-change-nccwsc-cscs
UPCOMING EVENTS
Upcoming Webinars, Courses and Meetings
7/15 – Call, 10am (Pacific). PNW Tribal Climate Change Network Call (to join the network
calls e-mail join the Network email list, email Kathy Lynn at kathy@uoregon.edu)
7/21 – Webinar, 2-3pm (Pacific). Prioritizing restoration and enhancement of passage at
stream-road crossings for fish
8/10-8/14 - Conference, Spokane, WA. 2nd Annual National Joint Tribal Emergency
Management Conference
8/16-8/20 – Conference, Portland, OR. American Fisheries Society 145th Annual Meeting
8/16-8/21 – Eatonville, WA. Northwest Climate Science Center Climate Boot Camp 2015
8/17-8/20 – Conference, St. Paul, Minnesota. Tribal Lands and Environmental Forum
8/21 – Workshop, Portland, OR. Beaver Restoration Workshop
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
11/12-11/13 – Conference, Cambridge, MA. 2015 Rising Seas Summit
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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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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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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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ecohen@prbo.org
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PNW Tribal Climate Change Network: Contact kathy@uoregon.edu
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