Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team

A Toolkit for Adapting to Climate Change on Western Forests: Incorporating Climate into Resource Management and Planning

A research-management partnership of research stations and national forests is developing the decision support needed by the U.S. Forest Service to incorporate climate change into management and planning in the West. Scientific information and decision support will be documented in peer reviewed literature and communicated through training, common-language publications, and a web-based portal. In addition, we will collaborate with National Park Service and U.S. Geological Survey to address common interests in climate-change adaptation and validate decision-support tools across diverse landscapes and management objectives. We address four tasks:

1. Develop adaptation management resource materials in multiple formats.
• DVD: Adapting to Climate Change: A Short Course for Land Managers
• Online: Adapting to Climate Change: A Short Course for Land Managers
2. Conduct replicate case studies on three national forests to develop and test decision support for adaptation to climate change.
   • Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park (Washinigton State) [publication in preparation]
   • Inyo National Forest and Devil's Postpile National Monument (California)
   • Shoshone National Forest (Wyoming)
3. Extend case-study results for broader applications across diverse landscapes and ownerships. [Publication in preparation]
4. Intensively develop the U.S. Forest Service Climate Change Resource Center (CCRC) website.

FERA will, along with collaborators from the other federal agencies, develop, implement, and report on a case study for Olympic National Forest/Olympic National Park. It will also participate as part of the Steering Team.

Progress:

Video Lecture Series on Climate Change and Fish Available Online

The lecture series is the result of a one-day workshop, entitled 'Climate Change Impacts on Olympic Peninsula Salmon', that took place in November, 2009 at Olympic National Forest Headquarters in Olympia, Washington. Many top regional experts in the fields of fisheries and aquatic science gave presentations on the potential effects of climate change on fish and aquatic habitats in the western U.S., along with information on potential adaptation actions that can be taken in response to climate change. The workshop was conducted as a part of the WestWide Climate Initiative's Olympic Climate Change Case Study. (March 18, 2010)

Wildlife and Climate Change Workshops Held on the Olympic Peninsula

Jessica Halofsky and Dave Peterson convened workshops on the effects of climate change on the vulnerability and adaptability of wildlife on the Olympic Peninsula, as part of the Westwide Climate Initiative.  A small group of scientists worked with resource managers from Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park to determine vulnerability of resources to a warmer climate and to develop adaptation options.  These were the third set of of four workshop topics focused on a Forest Service-National Park Service collaboration to develop a climate change action plan for the Olympic Peninsula.
The results of this process, combined with those of two other national forests in the western U.S., will be extended for broader application across other landscapes and ownerships. (October 19, 2009)

Workshop "Adapting to Climate Change in National Forests: A Workshop for Resource Managers"

Second Climate Change Workshop Held on the Olympic Peninsula -- Jessica Halofsky and Dave Peterson convened a workshop on the effects of climate change on vegetation on the Olympic Peninsula, as part of the Westwide Climate Initiative.  A small group of scientists worked with resource managers from Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park to determine vulnerability of resources to a warmer climate and to develop adaptation options.  This was the second of four workshops focused on a Forest Service-National Park Service collaboration to develop a climate change action plan for the Olympic Peninsula.(June 24, 2009)

Climate Change and Vegetation Management on the Olympic Peninsula (Summary of June 16, 2009 workshop) [.pdf 95 kb]

Olympic National Forest and National Park Plan for Climate Change -- Work on a case study for methods of adapting forest management in light of climate change progresses. Most recently, a joint workshop with the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group, the Olympic National Forest, and Olympic National Park was held to determine how to incorporate the latest climate change information into action plans for resource management, specifically road management.  Development of adaptation options and action plans for other resource areas, including vegetation, fisheries, and wildlife, will continue. (February 2009)

Climate Change, Hydrology, and Road Management on the Olympic Peninsula (Summary of January 13, 2008 workshop) [.pdf 90 kb]

Manuscript "U.S. National Forests Adapt to Climate Change Through Science-Management Partners" -- Manuscript submitted to the journal Ecological Applications. Do not cite.

U.S. National Forests Adapt to Climate Change Through Science-Management Partners [.pdf 2 MB]

Climate Change Effects and Adaptation Options for Forest Ecosystems in the West [.pdf 3.51 MB]

Presented by Jessica Halofsky and David L. Peterson, January 29, 2009 at the meeting "Climate Change, Natural Resources, and Coastal Management: Workshop on the Coastal Ecosystems of California, Oregon, and Washington."

Adapting to Climate Change in Olympic National Forest -- FERA’s Dave Peterson was captured presenting a way that national forests can plan for climate change. The co-presenter was Olympic National Forest Supervisor Cathy O’Halloran (October 2007). You can view this presentation online at:

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pep/climatechange/peterson_ohalloran/

Sharing Climate Change Adaptation Strategies in Scotland

FERA’s David L. Peterson and Crystal Raymond travelled to Perth, Scotland  in early October to present talks on adapting to climate change through science-management partnerships, and the effects of changing fire regimes on carbon dynamics. They attended  the Global Change and the World’s Mountains meeting organized by the international Mountain Research Initiative, and the Centre for Mountain Studies. (October 18, 2010)

Projected Completion Date: June 2011

Project Lead: David L. Peterson (PI)

Collaborators: Connie Millar (PI), Pat Manley, Carl Skinner and Mark Nechodom (Pacific Southwest Research Station), Linda Joyce (PI) and Daniel Isaak (Rocky Mountain Research Station), Ron Neilson (PI) and Becky Kerns (Pacific Northwest Research Station), Mike Furniss (Pacific Northwest and Pacific Southwest Research Stations), Bradley Burmark and Michael Landram (Pacific Southwest Region), Sharon Friedman and Claudia Regan (Rocky Mountain Region), Philip Mattson and Kathy O'Halloran (Pacific Northwest Region), Jill Baron (USGS).