Summary
SERCH is currently utilizing its federal and state-level partners, as well as reaching out to more localized specialists, to understand and address the climate change-related needs of land managers in the Southern Region. An initial series of twelve webinars revealed priorities and knowledge gaps that have been integrated into the short-term goals of SERCH. Based on these webinars, the hub is moving forward with an assessment of over 200 land management tools and a series of stakeholder interviews to determine the best methods for delivering climate change adaptation strategies to land management decision makers. Additionally, SERCH is scoping key contacts by leveraging cross-sector partnerships, assessing existing scientific literature from the Template for Assessing Climate Change Impacts and Management Options (TACCIMO), and laying the groundwork for a social network analysis. These initial steps by SERCH are critical to developing its role in the working lands community, finding the best available tools and information for land managers, and building trusting relationships with user groups across the region.