The NC CASC Rapid Climate Assessment Program (RCAP) aims to create a series of Rapid Climate Assessments (RCAs) which are a synthesis of science information that can be used as a baseline for further research and a foundation for future stakeholder engagement. These RCAs include key elements of collaborative climate adaptation science, including co-production by stakeholders and researchers, status and vulnerability assessments, and identification of challenges and solutions for the given topic.
Each RCA project is led by a team that includes NC CASC research scientists and graduate research assistants (GRAs). The Summer 2026 RCAP topics and teams are:
- Developing Future Climate & Ecological Conditions to Support USFWS Species Status Assessment or Refuge Planning: Imtiaz Rangwala (NC CASC), Kyra Clark-Wolf (NC CASC), Caitlin White (NC CASC), John Guinotte (USFWS), William Sparklin (USFWS), Airy Peralta (NC CASC Graduate Research Assistant)
- Dealing with Woody Invasion in a climate appropriate way: land manager decision framework: Marissa Ahlering (The Nature Conservancy), Kimberly Hall (The Nature Conservancy), Terri Schulz (The Nature Conservancy), Meagan Oldfather (USGS), Em Wright (NC CASC Graduate Research Assistant)
- Compiling a Plant Trait Database to Support Grassland and Bison Management in Colorado: Katie Suding (CU Boulder), Sarah Weiskopf (NCASC/USGS), Emma Galofre Garcia (CU Boulder), Sam Ahler (NC CASC Graduate Research Assistant)
- Finalizing the Eastern Sagebrush Adaptation Menu: Imtiaz Rangwala (NC CASC), Kyra Clark-Wolf (NC CASC), Christy Miller Hesed (NC CASC), Elizabeth Woolner (NC CASC Graduate Research Assistant)
- Landscape Evolution - A Signals Approach to Understanding Watersheds and Climate Non-Stationarity: Mary Keller (University of Wyoming), Jason "Jake" Hawes (University of Wyoming), Tucker Furniss (University of Wyoming), Corrie Knapp (University of Wyoming), Pris (Priscilla) Corbett (NC CASC Graduate Research Assistant)
- Evaluating the effectiveness of low-tech freshwater restoration as a climate adaptation strategy to enable adaptive management in Colorado: Laura Dee (CU Boulder), Meagan Oldfather (USGS), Teresa Chapman (The Nature Conservancy), Andrew Rayburn (The Nature Conservancy), Tyler McIntosh (NC CASC Graduate Research Assistant)
- Rapid Climate Assessment: Tracking Consecutive Dry Days as a Drought Precursor: Michael Downing (Montana Department of Natural Resources), Andrew Hoell (NOAA), Jason Gerlich (CIRES/NOAA National Integrated Drought Information System), Kelsey Warren (NC CASC Graduate Research Assistant)