Following the Ute Mountain Ute (UMU) Tribe's development of a Climate Action Plan, the NC CASC funded a project to further support the Tribe in planning for a changing climate. We initiated the partnership with a climate adaptation training in 2021. The project team then collected traditional ecological knowledge (via tribally led interviews), remotely sensed imagery of vegetation change, and climate data. All this information was brought together in a climate change scenario planning workshop in the fall of 2023. 

Reflections from this work were summarized in a recent publication led by NC CASC climate adaptation scientist, Tony Ciocco. The findings from the workshop will be shared with the UMU community through an art installation and accompanying illustrated booklet being developed by a UMU artist and a science communicator.

The scientific work also continues through a collaboration with the UMU Tribe Biologist to develop a prototype workflow for mapping tamarisk on the reservation. The lack of existing information and tools regarding tamarisk presence and extent was identified during the 2023 workshop as a significant data gap, which is limiting strategic management of this invasive species on UMU lands.