During the month of May, Dr. Imtiaz Rangwala, climate science lead at the NC CASC, visited US Fish and Wildlife partners at refuges in the Prairie Pothole region of the US, including Cami Dixon, a Prairie Zone biologist at the Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge in North Dakota.

Dr. Rangwala also participated in a four-square-mile pond survey with colleagues, Ned Wright (USFWS HAPET) and Owen McKeena (USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center). This survey was originally developed in 1987 to assess the contribution of the National Wildlife Refuge System land to continental waterfowl populations in the Prairie Pothole region. Read more about this initiative that has been ongoing for the last 36 years here. 

Later in the month, Dr. Rangwala facilitated a workshop on climate scenario planning and relevant climate tools and datasets at the USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center in Jamestown, North Dakota. Participants included scientists at the Center and the Nature Conservancy. These relationships and collaborations are expected to deepen with NC CASC's future research efforts.