Secretary Salazar Launches New North Central Climate Science Center

WASHINGTON, DC—Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that the Department of the Interior’s North Central Climate Science Center will be operated by a consortium of universities headed by Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo. The center is expected to be up and running in early 2011.

The North Central Climate Center is the fifth of eight planned regional Climate Science Centers—or CSCs—to be established by the Department. With Colorado State University as home base, the center will be led by a consortium of that school and others—University of Colorado, Colorado School of Mines, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Wyoming, Montana State University, University of Montana, Kansas State University and Iowa State University. 

“The members of the consortium headed by Colorado State University can provide us with great expertise in the major climate-related challenges facing the North Central region--including diminishing water supplies, the spread of invasive species, outbreaks of pests and diseases, changing fire regimes, decreased crop and livestock production, and loss of habitat for critical fish and wildlife species,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “Selected through an open competition, these universities represent the full array of landscapes in the Rocky Mountains, Intermountain West, and Great Plains.”

For example, members of the consortium are engaged in research to understand the effects of pine bark beetle outbreaks on water, forest conditions, and grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park, and are also studying the potential for dust from overgrazed areas to accelerate climate-driven snowpack melting.

Other work of the U.S. Department of the Interior North Central Climate Science Center will include:

• Downscaling of global climate change models linking physical factors with biological, physical and ecological responses.
• Forecasting of the effects of climate change on fish and wildlife populations, habitat, and ecosystem services dynamics--including research as well as tool and data development and distribution.
• Climate adaptation research related to vulnerability assessments, adaptive management development, coping strategies, and risk analysis development.
• Developing innovative decision-support tools for adaptation and mitigation

Secretary Salazar initiated a coordinated climate change strategy in September 2009, with Secretarial Order 3289. The order called for establishing the regional Climate Science Centers as well as a network of “Landscape Conservation Cooperatives” that engage federal agencies, local and state partners, and the public in crafting practical, landscape-level strategies for managing climate change impacts on natural resources. Twenty-one LCCs are planned through FY 2012.

The CSCs will serve as regional “hubs” of the National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center, located at the headquarters of Interior’s U.S. Geological Survey. USGS is taking the lead on establishing the CSCs and providing initial staffing. Ultimately, funds and staff from multiple Interior bureaus will be pooled to support these centers and ensure collaborative sharing of research results and data. Together, the CSCs and Landscape Conservation Cooperatives will assess the impacts of climate change that typically extend beyond the borders of any single national wildlife refuge, national park or Bureau of Land Management unit and identify strategies to ensure that resources across landscapes are resilient.

EIGHT REGIONAL CLIMATE SCIENCE CENTERS

The Department of the Interior previously announced: 

• The Alaska Climate Science Center hosted by the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in Anchorage.
• The Southeast Climate Science Center hosted by North Carolina State University.
• The Northwest Climate Science Center led by a consortium of three universities--Oregon State University, University of Washington and the University of Idaho.The Southwest Climate Science Center—University of Arizona, Tucson; University of California, Davis; University of California, Los Angeles; Desert Research Institute, Reno; University of Colorado, Boulder ; and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California in San Diego. In addition to the six host institutions, the CSC also includes the following as partners: Arizona State University; Northern Arizona University; University of California, Merced; University of Nevada, Los Vegas; NASA Ames Research Center, Calif.; and the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution, Tucson.

Announced today was:

• The North Central Climate Science Center headed by Colorado State University and including the University of Colorado, Colorado School of Mines, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Wyoming, Montana State University, University of Montana, Kansas State University and Iowa State University.

Announcements to come include:

• The Northeast, South Central, and Pacific Islands Climate Science Centers-- Interior intends to invite proposals in the spring of 2011 to host the remaining regional centers.

Obama Administration Officials Release Progress Report on Work of Climate Change Adaptation Task Force

WASHINGTON – A new interagency report released today outlines recommendations to President Obama for how Federal Agency policies and programs can better prepare the United States to respond to the impacts of climate change.  The report, produced by the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force, recommends that the Federal Government implement actions to expand and strengthen the Nation’s capacity to better understand, prepare for, and respond to climate change.  The recommendations include making adaptation a standard part of agency planning and ensuring scientific information about the impacts of climate change is easily accessible.

The Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force is co-chaired by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and includes representatives from more than 20 Federal Agencies.  When the President signed the Executive Order on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, on October 5, 2009, he called on the Task Force to develop, within one year, Federal recommendations for adapting to climate change impacts. “Progress Report of the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force,” released today, provides those recommendations, based in part on numerous listening sessions and public outreach events with a wide range of stakeholders.

“While taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and avoid the effects of climate change is a priority, we must also prepare for the inevitable effects of climate change.  Adaptation requires thoughtful, preventative actions and investments to build resilience and reduce risk,” said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.  “The Federal Government must consider climate impacts in decision making and how it will affect our services, operations and assets throughout the country.”

“This report’s framework for climate adaptation moves science into practice to help the Nation cope with the impacts of climate change,” said Shere Abbott, Associate Director for Environment in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “It makes plain that adaptation, and not just mitigation, is absolutely necessary if we are to avoid the worst consequences of global climate change, and it outlines a course of action that will put that part of our Nation's response on track to succeed.”

“There is a growing and urgent need for society to develop and implement science-based strategies to adapt to climate change,” said Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator.  “Adaptation and resilience will require partnerships and action across all segments of society—the public sector, local to Federal government, the private sector, the nonprofit sector and individuals.  In addition, climate change impacts vary from region to region, so new approaches and preparations tailored to meet the needs and solutions for each region must also be part of our strategy.”

The Federal Government is already taking steps to build adaptive capacity and increase resilience to climate change in the United States and internationally.  In the Progress Report, the Task Force recommends that the Federal Government implement the following actions to expand and strengthen these efforts to help the Nation better understand and prepare for climate change:

·        Make adaptation a standard part of Agency planning to ensure that resources are invested wisely and services and operations remain effective in a changing climate.

·        Ensure scientific information about the impacts of climate change is easily accessible so public and private sector decision-makers can build adaptive capacity into their plans and activities.

·        Align Federal efforts to respond to climate impacts that cut across jurisdictions and missions, such as those that threaten water resources, public health, oceans and coasts, and communities. 

·        Develop a U.S. strategy to support international adaptation that leverages resources across the Federal Government to help developing countries reduce their vulnerability to climate change through programs that are consistent with the core principles and objectives of the President’s new Global Development Policy.

·        Build strong partnerships to support local, state, and tribal decision makers in improving management of places and infrastructure most likely to be affected by climate change. 

The Task Force’s work has been guided by a strategic vision of a resilient, healthy, and prosperous Nation in the face of a changing climate.  To achieve this vision, the Task Force identified a set of guiding principles that public and private decision-makers should consider in designing and implementing adaptation strategies.  They include (but are not limited to) the following:

·        Adopt Integrated Approaches:  Adaptation should be incorporated into core policies, planning, practices, and programs whenever possible.

·        Prioritize the Most Vulnerable:  Adaptation strategies should help people, places, and infrastructure that are most vulnerable to climate impacts and be designed and implemented with meaningful involvement from all parts of society.

·        Use Best-Available Science:  Adaptation should be grounded in the best-available scientific understanding of climate change risks, impacts, and vulnerabilities. 

·        Apply Risk-Management Methods and Tools:  Adaptation planning should incorporate risk-management methods and tools to help identify, assess, and prioritize options to reduce vulnerability to potential environmental, social, and economic implications of climate change.

·        Apply Ecosystem-based Approaches:  Adaptation should, where appropriate, take into account strategies to increase ecosystem resilience and protect critical ecosystem services on which humans depend, to reduce vulnerability of human and natural systems to climate change.

The Task Force will establish, by Spring 2011, a partnership committee composed of local, state, and Tribal representatives to consult with the Federal Government as it begins to implement the recommended actions.  The Office of the Federal Environmental Executive, with the advice of the Task Force’s Agency Adaptation workgroup, will develop implementing instructions within 120 days for how agencies should undertake adaptation planning.  Through this planning process, agencies will develop and implement strategic plans that identify how and where adaptation should be incorporated into their programs, policies, and regulations.

The Task Force will continue to meet over the next year as an interagency forum for discussing the Federal Government’s adaptation approach and to support and monitor the implementation of recommended actions in the Progress Report.  It will prepare another report in October 2011 that documents progress toward implementing its recommendations and provides additional recommendations for refining the Federal approach to adaptation, as appropriate.  The full report can be found at www.whitehouse.gov/ceq.

Climate Change and Shorebird Habitat: A New Assessment Tool

Along the U.S. Atlantic coast, at risk from climate change are more than 100 nests of the Federally threatened Piping Plover at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge [28](NWR) in Virginia; valuable acres of habitat for Red Knots at Monomoy NWR [29]in Massachusetts; and prime nesting habitat for American Oystercatchers at Edwin B. Forsythe NWR [30]in New Jersey. All three sites are members of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN). While managers know that these sites and species are vulnerable, until recently they haven’t had any systematic way of assessing or prioritizing habitats and strategies for climate-change adaptation actions.

Thanks to Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences’s new “Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for Shorebird Habitat,” managers now have that capability. This innovative, Excel-based assessment and decision-making tool is the product of a partnership agreement between Manomet and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Northeast Region’s Division of Refuges. This partnership enabled Refuge Biologist Dorie Stolley to work for Manomet for a year, funded by the generosity of individual Manomet donors concerned about the impacts of climate change on shorebirds.

Refuges comprise more than half of the 83 WHSRN sites to date, therefore partnering with USFWS was a natural choice. With input from refuge managers and biologists, Stolley successfully designed the tool and piloted it at the three coastal refuges mentioned above. Participants at each workshop included federal, state, non-profit, and academic partners, as well as local refuge volunteer groups.

For Kevin Holcomb, Wildlife Biologist for E.B. Forsythe NWR, the workshops serve a dual purpose: “While the workshops help to inform future management decisions, they also provide a forum and opportunity to initiate a great dialogue with our federal, state, and local partners. We’re lucky to have such great relationships, and it’s already paying dividends.”

Stolley explains that “the tool guides participants through a series of worksheets and exercises designed to assess the vulnerability of coastal shorebird habitats to climate change, using three categories: effects of sea-level rise; effects of other climate-change variables, like predicted changes in temperature and precipitation; and the effects of increased frequency and intensity of storms. Once this is measured, the assessment outlines explicit strategies and adaptation options, and evaluates each option’s chances for success.”

Charles Duncan, Director of Manomet’s Shorebird Recovery Project, was involved in the design of the vulnerability assessment and sees it as a crucial addition to the WHSRN Site Assessment Tool, upon which it was modeled. “We must understand climate change vulnerabilities and adaptation strategies. Only then can we safeguard the investments of governments, individuals, and organizations involved in our hemispheric network of shorebird sites.” The development of this tool is an important step toward conserving vulnerable coastal sites that are critical for breeding, migrating, and wintering shorebirds. In particular, it also gives refuges a tangible means for addressing climate change issues in their planning documents (as recently mandated by the Federal government), such as Comprehensive Conservation Plans.

Many thanks to those who participated in this collaborative project, particularly the staff at Chincoteague, E.B. Forsythe, and Monomoy NWRs; partners and volunteers of Forsythe NWR; Graham Giese of the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies; and Courtney Schupp of Assateague Island National Seashore.

A video of Dorie Stolley presenting an overview of the Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for Shorebird Habitat at the USFWS Northeast Regional Office can be viewed via the USFWS Video Archives [31](45 minutes, .wmv file; Note: there is a glitch between the 3- and 6-minute marker).

For more information, please contact Dorie Stolley (dorie_stolley@fws.gov [32]); Meredith Gutowski (mgutowski@manomet.org [33]), Conservation Specialist, Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences; or any of the three National Wildlife Refuge pilot sites.

Department of the Interior Announces Locations of Climate Science Centers for Southeast and Northwest Regions

North Carolina State Univ. for SE;

Oregon State, Univ. of Washington and Univ. of Idaho for NW

WASHINGTON, D.C.--Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced the locations selected for the Department of the Interior’s Southeast and Northwest regional Climate Science Centers and the finalization of a cooperative agreement for the Alaska Climate Science Center, which opened on Sept. 1 in Anchorage.

North Carolina State University will host the Department of the Interior’s Southeast Climate Science Center.  A consortium of three universities--Oregon State University, University of Washington and the University of Idaho--will lead the Northwest Climate Science Center.

These are the second and third of eight planned regional Climate Science Centers—or CSCs--to be established by the Department. As previously announced, the first CSC, the Alaska CSC, is hosted by the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in Anchorage.

“With the eight planned Climate Science Centers, we are laying the foundation for our coordinated strategy to address current and future impacts of climate change on our land, water, wildlife, cultural heritage and tribal resources,” Secretary Salazar said. “It is one of the top priorities of the Department of the Interior to put science to work to help us deal with climate change.”

Secretary Salazar initiated the coordinated climate change strategy in September 2009, with Secretarial Order 3289. The order called for establishing not only regional CSCs but also a network of “Landscape Conservation Cooperatives” that engage federal agencies, local and state partners, and the public in crafting practical, landscape-level strategies for managing climate change impacts on natural resources.

 “These regional Climate Science Centers and their partnership networks will provide the science needed to understand which resources are most vulnerable to climate change and will work closely with natural and cultural resource managers faced with planning for those changes,” Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes said today. 

The Southeast and Northwest CSCs were selected through an open competition.  Climate science experts within the Department of Interior, U.S. Forest Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reviewed proposals from universities.

North Carolina State University brings major expertise in biology, climate change, and applied conservation and management to deal with the threat of rising sea levels and increased stress on freshwater resources in the Southeast.  The university has connections to farmers, resource managers, business people and citizens across the Southeast. It also brings an array of science and research partnerships, creating a region-wide expertise network.

The consortium of the University of Washington, Oregon State University, and the University of Idaho provides expertise in climate science, ecology, impacts assessment, modeling, and advanced information technology.  This expertise will be needed to deal with critical issues in the Northwest, where changes in temperature, rain, and snowfall could have significant impacts on streams and the salmon they support as well as forests and agricultural lands.

In addition to today’s announcements, the Department will soon announce the host institutions for the North Central and Southwest Climate Science Centers.  Interior intends to invite proposals in the spring of 2011 to host the remaining regional centers in the Northeast, South Central region, and Pacific Islands.

The CSCs will serve as regional “hubs” of the National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center, located at the headquarters of Interior’s U.S. Geological Survey.   USGS is taking the lead on establishing the CSCs and providing initial staffing.  Ultimately, funds and staff from multiple Interior bureaus will be pooled to support these centers and ensure collaborative sharing of research results and data. 

Once fully instituted, the Climate Science Centers will be a “seamless network” to access the best science available to help managers in the Interior Department, states, other federal agencies, and the private and nonprofit sectors.  The science agenda of each CSC will be identified through a partnership steering committee that includes Landscape Conservation Cooperatives and other federal, state, and local partners to ensure that the CSC’s work is meeting the priority needs of resource managers in each region. 

Within their respective regions, Landscape Conservation Cooperatives will focus on impacts that typically extend beyond the borders of any single national wildlife refuge, national park or Bureau of Land Management unit—such as the effects of climate change on wildlife migration patterns, wildfire risk, drought, or invasive species, to name a few. Twenty-one LCCs are planned through FY 2012, about half of which will be up and running by the end of 2010.

To learn more about the Department of the Interior’s climate change strategy, visit http://doi.gov/whatwedo/climate/strategy/index.cfm.  This site features interactive maps of Climate Science Centers and Landscape Conservation Cooperatives, as well as additional details on the services they will provide.  Additional information can be found at http://nccwsc.usgs.gov.

Obama Administration Officials to Convene Public Meeting of the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force in Miami, FL, on June 23, 2010

Miami, FL – Obama Administration officials will hold a public meeting of the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force in Miami, Florida, on June 23, 2010.  This meeting is being organized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency and co-hosted by the Florida Energy and Climate Commission and the Miami-Dade County Office of Sustainability.  The meeting provides an opportunity for senior members of the Obama Administration to listen to local and regional ideas, questions and concerns about climate change adaptation, and to describe federal efforts already underway to plan for climate change adaptation in this area, with an emphasis on hazard preparedness and mitigation and water resource management.

In 2009, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) initiated the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force, which includes representatives from more than 20 Federal Agencies. When President Obama signed the Executive Order on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, on October 5, 2009, he called on the Task Force to provide a progress report within one year on agency actions in support of a national climate change adaptation strategy and recommendations for any further measures.

WHO:      Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator

                 Rob Verchick, Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Policy, Economics and Innovation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

                 James Murley, Chair of the Florida Energy and Climate Commission

                 Katy Sorenson, County Commissioner (District 8) and Chair of the Budget, Planning and Sustainability Committee

                 Harvey Ruvin, Chair, Miami-Dade Climate Change Advisory Task Force and Clerk of Court of Miami-Dade County

WHAT:   Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force Public Meeting and Press Conference

WHEN:   Wednesday, June 23, 9:00 am – 12:00 p.m. public meeting following by a press conference from 12:15 – 1:00 pm

WHERE: Miami-Dade County Commission Chambers, located at the Stephen P. Clark Government Center, 111 NW 1st Street, 2nd Floor, Miami, FL  33128

WATCH:        The meeting will be webcast live at: http://miamidade.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=168

                 The press conference will be webcast at: http://miamidade.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=170

FWC launches climate change website

Find out what fish and wildlife managers are doing to help wildlife adapt to potential climate change impacts. Measure your carbon footprint. Tap into age-appropriate climate change lessons. These exciting features and more can be found on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) new website, MyFWC.com/ClimateChange. The website is dedicated to educating the public about the impacts of climate change to the state’s fish and wildlife resources and how the agency is addressing those impacts.

“We hope the FWC climate change website will become a must-visit resource for individuals and organizations wanting to learn more about climate change and its impact on wildlife,” said Doug Parsons, the FWC’s climate change program coordinator. “The FWC has established itself as a leader nationally on this issue, and we look forward to working with our wildlife partners to improve the information on the website as this issue unfolds in the years to come.”

Florida’s geography and position as home to threatened and endangered wildlife puts the state in a unique position for experiencing the effects of climate change. Acknowledging that fact, the FWC began addressing climate change in 2007, when the commission passed a resolution directing staff to develop recommendations for conserving fish and wildlife in the face of climate change. In 2008, the FWC hosted a climate change summit, which brought together leading experts and professionals in the field to share their knowledge. Immediately following the summit, the FWC formed climate change teams. The website confirms the FWC’s commitment to addressing this complex issue.

Climate Change Adaptation Task Force

In 2009, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) initiated the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force, which includes representatives from more than 20 Federal Agencies.  When the President signed the Executive Order on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, on October 5, 2009, he called on the Task Force to develop, within one year, Federal recommendations for adapting to climate change impacts both domestically and internationally.
See http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives/adaptation

Interim Progress Report

On March 16, 2010, the Task Force released an Interim Progress Report  which outlines the Task Force’s progress to date and recommends key components to include in a national strategy on climate change adaptation.  These six components include:

1. Integration of Science into Adaptation Decisions and Policy 
2. Communications and Capacity-building
3. Coordination and Collaboration
4. Prioritization
5. A Flexible Framework for Agencies
6. Evaluation

The Interim Progress Report is available for 60 days of public comment.  Submit your comment here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives/adaptation/submit

Workgroups

The Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force formed workgroups to consider the capabilities of the Federal Government to respond to the impacts of climate change on various critical sectors, institutions, and agency mission responsibilities. The workgroups are focused on the following topics:

• Agency Adaptation: Develop recommendations on how agencies should plan and implement adaptation efforts.
• Science Inputs to Policy: Develop recommendations to couple the production of scientific and technical support to adaptation planning, prioritization, and resilience building within the USG, in the US, and internationally.
• Insurance: Develop recommendations on opportunities for the United States Government to support insurance and adaptation issues.
• Water Resources Adaptation: Develop recommendations on how Federal water management agencies should plan and implement adaptation actions related to climate impacts on water resources.
• International Resilience: Develop recommendations on opportunities for the United States Government to support and lead international adaptation efforts.
• Health: Develop recommendations focused on educating and communicating with policymakers, public health officials, healthcare professionals, and the public; building early warning systems, identifying vulnerable populations; forecasting, modeling, and predicting the health impacts of climate change; and building capacity to better prepare for and respond to those impacts.
• Fish, Wildlife and Plants: Develop recommendations on how Federal agencies, state, local, and tribal governments should plan and implement adaptation efforts related to climate impacts on wildlife, fish, and plants.
• Structure for Coordination and Collaboration: Develop recommendations on the structure for U.S. Government adaptation efforts and on how Federal agencies can coordinate adaptation activities with other Federal agencies, state, local, and tribal governments, and the private sector and civil society.
• Urban: Develop recommendations on how Federal agencies in conjunction with state, local, and tribal governments can implement adaptation efforts related to climate impacts on urban environments, communities and infrastructure.
• Coasts and Oceans: Develop recommendations to strengthen resiliency of coastal communities and marine and Great Lakes environments and their abilities to adapt to climate change impacts and ocean acidification. 
• Land: Develop recommendations on how Federal land management agencies in conjunction with state, local, and tribal governments and private landholders can address adaptation related to climate impacts on land.
• Communications: Develop recommendations on how the Federal Government can better communicate messages regarding climate change adaptation and resilience within and outside the government.

Listening Sessions

The Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force workgroups have hosted twenty listening sessions with key stakeholders and experts.  The listening sessions are designed to engage the expertise and recommendations of external organizations into the workgroup deliberations early in this review process. 

Final Product

In October 2010, the Task Force will report to the President on the development of domestic and international dimensions of a U.S. approach to climate change adaptation and what Federal Agencies are doing to support this effort. The Task Force also will recommend additional aspects to consider in the development of a comprehensive national strategy.