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Setting habitat protection and restoration priorities in a warming world: Lessons from Wyoming
Please join us for the NC CASC webinar on Thursday, December 9, 2021, 11a -12p MDT: "Setting habitat protection and restoration priorities in a warming world: Lessons from Wyoming". Presented by: Molly Cross, Wildlife Conservation Society Paul Dey, Wyoming Game & Fish Department Please register in advance for this meeting: https://cuboulder.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJckdemvqzwsE9PhJZ5YF2s1WCriYijoEiFz After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about how to join the meeting. Abstract: In 2020, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) partnered with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) on a project designed to help the agency incorporate climate change into their Statewide Habitat Plan (SHP) that was slated for an update that year. WGFD and WCS worked together to develop and apply a process for incorporating climate change into the SHP, which included a participatory workshop, a post-workshop Information Needs Survey, and regular meetings throughout the year to translate findings from the workshop and survey into the updated SHP. As a result of this project, climate change was more extensively incorporated into the 2020 SHP relative to the previous version of the plan (completed in 2015). This included discussing climate change as a threat to achieving habitat protection and restoration for river, riparian and wetland habitats, as well as incorporating climate-informed management strategies and actions. The updated SHP also included climate change within the agency’s scoring system for allocating funding to habitat management projects. In addition to informing the SHP, the project also helped WGFD identify management-relevant climate-related information needs that are considered highly useful to WGFD staff and their management efforts. We believe that the project offers a useful model to other agencies that are interested in incorporating climate change into management plans, and to scientists and agencies looking to identify priority research needs related to climate change. About the speakers: Molly Cross is a lead Climate Change Adaptation Scientist for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Her work brings together researchers and conservation practitioners to incorporate climate change science into on-the-ground conservation goals actions. She is also Director of Science for the WCS Climate Adaptation Fund, which supports applied projects demonstrating on-the-ground interventions for wildlife adaptation to climate change in the United States. Paul Dey is the aquatic habitat program manager for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. In this role, he facilitates a team of twelve agency logists in implementing stream restoration, fish passage, and water management projects to improve stream functions and aquatic resources.
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Please join us for the NC CASC webinar on Thursday, December 9, 2021, 11a -12p MDT: "Setting habitat protection and restoration priorities in a warming world: Lessons from Wyoming". Presented by: Molly Cross, Wildlife Conservation Society Paul Dey, Wyoming Game & Fish Department Please register in advance for this meeting: https://cuboulder.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJckdemvqzwsE9PhJZ5YF2s1WCriYijoEiFz After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about how to join the meeting. Abstract: In 2020, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) partnered with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) on a project designed to help the agency incorporate climate change into their Statewide Habitat Plan (SHP) that was slated for an update that year. WGFD and WCS worked together to develop and apply a process for incorporating climate change into the SHP, which included a participatory workshop, a post-workshop Information Needs Survey, and regular meetings throughout the year to translate findings from the workshop and survey into the updated SHP. As a result of this project, climate change was more extensively incorporated into the 2020 SHP relative to the previous version of the plan (completed in 2015). This included discussing climate change as a threat to achieving habitat protection and restoration for river, riparian and wetland habitats, as well as incorporating climate-informed management strategies and actions. The updated SHP also included climate change within the agency’s scoring system for allocating funding to habitat management projects. In addition to informing the SHP, the project also helped WGFD identify management-relevant climate-related information needs that are considered highly useful to WGFD staff and their management efforts. We believe that the project offers a useful model to other agencies that are interested in incorporating climate change into management plans, and to scientists and agencies looking to identify priority research needs related to climate change. About the speakers: Molly Cross is a lead Climate Change Adaptation Scientist for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Her work brings together researchers and conservation practitioners to incorporate climate change science into on-the-ground conservation goals actions. She is also Director of Science for the WCS Climate Adaptation Fund, which supports applied projects demonstrating on-the-ground interventions for wildlife adaptation to climate change in the United States. Paul Dey is the aquatic habitat program manager for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. In this role, he facilitates a team of twelve agency logists in implementing stream restoration, fish passage, and water management projects to improve stream functions and aquatic resources.
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webinar
NC CASC Webinar Series Webinar: Setting habitat protection and restoration priorities in a warming world: Lessons from Wyoming
Please join us for the NC CASC webinar on Thursday, December 9, 2021, 11a -12p MDT: "Setting habitat protection and restoration priorities in a warming world: Lessons from Wyoming". Presented by: Molly Cross, Wildlife Conservation Society Paul Dey, Wyoming Game & Fish Department
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Please join us for the NC CASC webinar on Thursday, December 9, 2021, 11a -12p MDT: "Setting habitat protection and restoration priorities in a warming world: Lessons from Wyoming". Presented by: Molly Cross, Wildlife Conservation Society Paul Dey, Wyoming Game & Fish Department
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North Central Tribal Drought Webinar December 2021
This webinar is a recap of fall 2021 drought conditions, the drought outlook for this winter, and a brief discussion of the Mesonet program at South Dakota State University. Speakers include Crystal Stiles (NIDIS), Doug Kluck (NOAA), and Nathan Edwards (SDSU). Moderated by Stefan Tangen
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This webinar is a recap of fall 2021 drought conditions, the drought outlook for this winter, and a brief discussion of the Mesonet program at South Dakota State University. Speakers include Crystal Stiles (NIDIS), Doug Kluck (NOAA), and Nathan Edwards (SDSU). Moderated by Stefan Tangen
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Developing Climate Information for US Fish and Wildlife Service Species Status Assessments Using the Climate Toolbox
Presented by: Katherine Hegewisch (University of California Merced) John Guinotte (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Alexandra Kasdin (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Aimee Crittendon (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Abstract: Field biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service develop climate information for species status assessments of potentially endangered species using data from ClimateToolbox.org. In this webinar, we will discuss the data needs for these assessments and will provide an overview of the data and tools in the Climate Toolbox with specific examples of how biologists currently utilize the Toolbox for assessments. About the speakers: Katherine Hegewisch is a project scientist at the University of California Merced where she works as a climate data provider, analyst and web tool developer. She is the developer of the Climate Toolbox, a series of web tools for visualizing climate data. She received her PhD in physics from Washington State University in 2010. John Guinotte is a spatial ecologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), in its Ecological Services Program, based out of the legacy region 6 office in Lakewood Colorado. John assists FWS field offices across regions 5 and 7 with analytical, geospatial and statistical needs for listing or delisting species under the Endangered Species Act’s Species Status Assessments. In addition to informing listing decisions, John’s work supports habitat conservation plans, recovery, critical habitat, climate vulnerability and mitigation. John has PhD in Tropical Environmental Studies and Geography from James Cook University in Australia. Alex Kasdin is a Species Assessment Team Project Manager with the Ecological Services Program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; she works out of the Regional Office in Lakewood, Colorado. She leads teams of biological experts crafting Species Status Assessments to inform classification decisions under the Endangered Species Act. She also helps decision-makers apply the standards in the Act to determine if species warrant listing. Alex has a Bachelor’s degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a Master’s in Public Affairs, both from Princeton University. Aimee Crittendon is a Biologist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Western Colorado Ecological Services Field Office, where her work focuses on federally threatened and endangered species listing and recovery. Before her work with the service, Aimee served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Botswana and then went on to work for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as an aquatic invasive species response coordinator. Aimee has a masters in Conservation Biology and Watershed Ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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Presented by: Katherine Hegewisch (University of California Merced) John Guinotte (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Alexandra Kasdin (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Aimee Crittendon (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Abstract: Field biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service develop climate information for species status assessments of potentially endangered species using data from ClimateToolbox.org. In this webinar, we will discuss the data needs for these assessments and will provide an overview of the data and tools in the Climate Toolbox with specific examples of how biologists currently utilize the Toolbox for assessments. About the speakers: Katherine Hegewisch is a project scientist at the University of California Merced where she works as a climate data provider, analyst and web tool developer. She is the developer of the Climate Toolbox, a series of web tools for visualizing climate data. She received her PhD in physics from Washington State University in 2010. John Guinotte is a spatial ecologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), in its Ecological Services Program, based out of the legacy region 6 office in Lakewood Colorado. John assists FWS field offices across regions 5 and 7 with analytical, geospatial and statistical needs for listing or delisting species under the Endangered Species Act’s Species Status Assessments. In addition to informing listing decisions, John’s work supports habitat conservation plans, recovery, critical habitat, climate vulnerability and mitigation. John has PhD in Tropical Environmental Studies and Geography from James Cook University in Australia. Alex Kasdin is a Species Assessment Team Project Manager with the Ecological Services Program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; she works out of the Regional Office in Lakewood, Colorado. She leads teams of biological experts crafting Species Status Assessments to inform classification decisions under the Endangered Species Act. She also helps decision-makers apply the standards in the Act to determine if species warrant listing. Alex has a Bachelor’s degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a Master’s in Public Affairs, both from Princeton University. Aimee Crittendon is a Biologist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Western Colorado Ecological Services Field Office, where her work focuses on federally threatened and endangered species listing and recovery. Before her work with the service, Aimee served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Botswana and then went on to work for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as an aquatic invasive species response coordinator. Aimee has a masters in Conservation Biology and Watershed Ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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North Central Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (NC RISCC) to Host Science Integration Workshop
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Tools for developing reproducible climate futures for resource planning
Presented by: David Lawrence, National Park Service Amber Runyon, National Park Service Other co-authors: John Gross, National Park Service Gregor Schuurman, National Park Service Brian Miller, U.S. Geological Survey, North Central CASC Joel Reynolds, National Park Service Please register in advance for this meeting: https://cuboulder.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYrduGrpj4iE9INQlaV2SclWlQu123wURPH After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about how to join the meeting. Abstract: When trying to adapt to a changing climate, with all the inherent uncertainties about how the future may play out, resource managers often turn to scenario planning as a tool. Managers use scenario planning to explore plausible ways the climate may change, allowing them to work with climate change uncertainty rather than being paralyzed by it. Once identified, scenarios of the future are used to develop proactive measures to prepare for and adapt to scenarios of change. A key part of scenario planning is generating a list of potential future climates we may experience. This webinar will describe and compare different approaches to generate the climate futures and identify an approach that captures a broad range of climate conditions (a key ingredient to developing scenarios) across both near and long-term planning horizons. We then will describe tools for creating reproducible climate futures, including an R package and training materials that enables users to develop their own projections, and provide guidance on their use. Over the past decade, we have operationalized the generation of climate futures and with the recent development of the Reproducible Climate Futures (RCF) R package, standardized and streamlined their production. We have found climate futures and scenarios offer an adaptable approach to planning across a broad range of management contexts. About the speakers: David Lawrence specializes in aquatic ecology and has worked as a climate change scientist within the National Park Service Climate Change Response Program since 2017. In this role David conducts and translates climate change research to support forward-looking land and water management. David has a PhD in ecology from the University of Washington. Amber Runyon is an ecologist for the National Park Service Climate Change Response Program where she collaborates with park managers to provide management-relevant projections of future-climate that serve as the basis for climate-informed planning. Amber has a PhD in ecology from Colorado State University.
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Presented by: David Lawrence, National Park Service Amber Runyon, National Park Service Other co-authors: John Gross, National Park Service Gregor Schuurman, National Park Service Brian Miller, U.S. Geological Survey, North Central CASC Joel Reynolds, National Park Service Please register in advance for this meeting: https://cuboulder.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYrduGrpj4iE9INQlaV2SclWlQu123wURPH After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about how to join the meeting. Abstract: When trying to adapt to a changing climate, with all the inherent uncertainties about how the future may play out, resource managers often turn to scenario planning as a tool. Managers use scenario planning to explore plausible ways the climate may change, allowing them to work with climate change uncertainty rather than being paralyzed by it. Once identified, scenarios of the future are used to develop proactive measures to prepare for and adapt to scenarios of change. A key part of scenario planning is generating a list of potential future climates we may experience. This webinar will describe and compare different approaches to generate the climate futures and identify an approach that captures a broad range of climate conditions (a key ingredient to developing scenarios) across both near and long-term planning horizons. We then will describe tools for creating reproducible climate futures, including an R package and training materials that enables users to develop their own projections, and provide guidance on their use. Over the past decade, we have operationalized the generation of climate futures and with the recent development of the Reproducible Climate Futures (RCF) R package, standardized and streamlined their production. We have found climate futures and scenarios offer an adaptable approach to planning across a broad range of management contexts. About the speakers: David Lawrence specializes in aquatic ecology and has worked as a climate change scientist within the National Park Service Climate Change Response Program since 2017. In this role David conducts and translates climate change research to support forward-looking land and water management. David has a PhD in ecology from the University of Washington. Amber Runyon is an ecologist for the National Park Service Climate Change Response Program where she collaborates with park managers to provide management-relevant projections of future-climate that serve as the basis for climate-informed planning. Amber has a PhD in ecology from Colorado State University.
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Identifying Potential Landscapes for Conservation Across the Central Grasslands of North America: Integrating Keystone Species, Land Use, and Climate Change
Presented by: Ana Davidson, Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Colorado State University Registration link: Please register in advance for this meeting: https://cuboulder.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEodeyhrTMpGdVrVGZ622sNwK_vf8vOq9Kw After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about how to join the meeting. Abstract: Our team is developing a large-scale collaborative conservation planning initiative for the black-tailed prairie dog ecosystem that stretches across North America’s Great Plains. Because prairie dogs are keystone species of North America’s central grasslands, their conservation and management often lies at the core of many conservation efforts across the region. Through mapping and ecological modelling, we are working to identify potential landscapes for conservation that will consider ecological, political, and social factors, along with changing climate and land use to maximize long-term conservation potential and co-existence with human activities. Here, we will report on our habitat suitability model for the black-tailed prairie dog and landscapes we have identified to have high conservation potential for the black-tailed prairie dog ecosystem. About the speaker: Dr. Ana Davidson (http://anadavidson.weebly.com/) is a Research Scientist at the Colorado Natural Heritage Program at Colorado State University (CSU) and a Joint Faculty member in the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology at CSU. Her research centers on biodiversity conservation, spanning multiple scales, from local field-based ecology to landscape ecology and global-scale macroecology. Much of her work focuses on species that play large and important ecological roles, such as burrowing mammals and large herbivores, that shape and transform ecosystems and are central to the conservation of associated species.
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Presented by: Ana Davidson, Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Colorado State University Registration link: Please register in advance for this meeting: https://cuboulder.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEodeyhrTMpGdVrVGZ622sNwK_vf8vOq9Kw After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about how to join the meeting. Abstract: Our team is developing a large-scale collaborative conservation planning initiative for the black-tailed prairie dog ecosystem that stretches across North America’s Great Plains. Because prairie dogs are keystone species of North America’s central grasslands, their conservation and management often lies at the core of many conservation efforts across the region. Through mapping and ecological modelling, we are working to identify potential landscapes for conservation that will consider ecological, political, and social factors, along with changing climate and land use to maximize long-term conservation potential and co-existence with human activities. Here, we will report on our habitat suitability model for the black-tailed prairie dog and landscapes we have identified to have high conservation potential for the black-tailed prairie dog ecosystem. About the speaker: Dr. Ana Davidson (http://anadavidson.weebly.com/) is a Research Scientist at the Colorado Natural Heritage Program at Colorado State University (CSU) and a Joint Faculty member in the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology at CSU. Her research centers on biodiversity conservation, spanning multiple scales, from local field-based ecology to landscape ecology and global-scale macroecology. Much of her work focuses on species that play large and important ecological roles, such as burrowing mammals and large herbivores, that shape and transform ecosystems and are central to the conservation of associated species.
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Participatory Climate Change Scenario Planning: A Standard Approach, Application Guidelines, and Management Outcomes from a Decade of Research and Development with US National Parks
Participatory scenario planning offers a framework to imagine a range of potential future conditions and develop adaptation actions despite high uncertainty across future societal and environmental trajectories. Drs. Schuurman and Miller share their experience using scenario planning in U.S. national parks, engaging participants, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative information, and translating scenarios into action.
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Participatory scenario planning offers a framework to imagine a range of potential future conditions and develop adaptation actions despite high uncertainty across future societal and environmental trajectories. Drs. Schuurman and Miller share their experience using scenario planning in U.S. national parks, engaging participants, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative information, and translating scenarios into action.
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Climate Solutions Days 2022
In April 2022, the NC CASC celebrated Earth Week by hosting Climate Solutions Days, an à la carte offering of presentations, workshops and trainings scheduled throughout the week where scientists and practitioners shared insights on climate change impacts from findings in the North Central region. Themes woven into panel presentations, working groups, listening sessions, trainings and tools included:
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In April 2022, the NC CASC celebrated Earth Week by hosting Climate Solutions Days, an à la carte offering of presentations, workshops and trainings scheduled throughout the week where scientists and practitioners shared insights on climate change impacts from findings in the North Central region. Themes woven into panel presentations, working groups, listening sessions, trainings and tools included:
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The Challenge of Planning for Extremes in Natural and Cultural Resources
Resource systems in our region and beyond seem to be awash in extreme weather and climate events, mega-drought in the Colorado River Basin, floods in Yellowstone and Death Valley, “heat domes”, “flash droughts,” and wildfire conditions that defy even the most carefully planned and conducted prescribed burns. Extreme events pose a number of distinct challenges to resources planning and management, starting with the analytical effort needed to assess and detect their physical characteristics (frequency, magnitude, etc.), evaluate the threat they pose to natural and cultural resources, their likely evolution in a changing climate, and how to configure these insights into management plans. Managers know that “unexpected” conditions may arise, surprises are likely, and they cope and adapt plans in various ways. The toolkit for dealing with extremes might benefit from lessons from other fields, ranging from aviation to nuclear safety, disaster analysis and reduction, and we will examine some of these approaches, but also apply the most common strategy of all: drawing lessons from recent cases. Webinar participants are encouraged to have a case of extreme conditions or surprising system behavior in mind to offer for discussion. Register in advance for this meeting: https://cuboulder.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIrceupqzIuEtLWej6caFLxLent3pllgwKR
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Resource systems in our region and beyond seem to be awash in extreme weather and climate events, mega-drought in the Colorado River Basin, floods in Yellowstone and Death Valley, “heat domes”, “flash droughts,” and wildfire conditions that defy even the most carefully planned and conducted prescribed burns. Extreme events pose a number of distinct challenges to resources planning and management, starting with the analytical effort needed to assess and detect their physical characteristics (frequency, magnitude, etc.), evaluate the threat they pose to natural and cultural resources, their likely evolution in a changing climate, and how to configure these insights into management plans. Managers know that “unexpected” conditions may arise, surprises are likely, and they cope and adapt plans in various ways. The toolkit for dealing with extremes might benefit from lessons from other fields, ranging from aviation to nuclear safety, disaster analysis and reduction, and we will examine some of these approaches, but also apply the most common strategy of all: drawing lessons from recent cases. Webinar participants are encouraged to have a case of extreme conditions or surprising system behavior in mind to offer for discussion. Register in advance for this meeting: https://cuboulder.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIrceupqzIuEtLWej6caFLxLent3pllgwKR
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