Did you miss it? Watch the latest NC CASC webinar

Did you miss the latest NC CASC webinar? Watch and learn how researchers, land managers, Tribal Nations, and communities are working together to build more resilient pinyon-juniper woodlands across the West.

El Niño 2026-2027: What Could It Mean for the North Central Region?

A potentially very strong El Niño is developing for 2026-2027, but what might that mean for the North Central region? Explore a new USGS CASC resource to learn what scientists are forecasting.

Shifting Shades of Drought

How do we better track when landscapes are becoming unusually dry? In the latest NC CASC blog, graduate researcher Kelsey Warren shares her work developing a new approach to Consecutive Dry Days (CDD).

Shifting Shades of Drought

I spent the summer of 2026 as a graduate research assistant with the North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center (NC CASC) and this RCAP team, developing a proof of concept for a new approach to an existing drought metric: Consecutive Dry Days (CDD), a way to quantify the occurrence of dry spells.

Bringing back bison to Colorado using plant functional traits

Bison (Bison bison) were the dominant, keystone grazer across the Great Plains, North America’s largest biome, for millennia and shaped prairie ecosystems. However, European settlement in the 1800s across this region led to widespread slaughter and near extinction of this once prolific species.

Bringing back bison to Colorado using plant functional traits

Bison (Bison bison) were the dominant, keystone grazer across the Great Plains, North America’s largest biome, for millennia and shaped prairie ecosystems. However, European settlement in the 1800s across this region led to widespread slaughter and near extinction of this once prolific species.

New RCAP Blog on Woody Plant Management

How are land managers working to keep grasslands from turning into woodlands? In a new NC CASC student blog, CU Boulder PhD student Em Wright explores the growing challenge of woody plant encroachment across the Great Plains.

Keeping the Grass in Grasslands: How Land Managers are Managing Woody Plants for Healthy Prairies

Forests play an important role in removing carbon from the atmosphere to mitigate climate change. So, if trees are so critical, why cut them down? The answer is a bit complex.

The SPARRO tool has launched

Over the last three years, scientists, economists, and conservation partners have worked together to develop SPARRO and address a critical gap in consistent, reliable information about grassland bird populations and conservation priorities.
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