Max Joseph of the NC CASC and Earth Lab provides an overview of the Climate Futures Toolbox, a new tool developed by the NC CASC. About the CFT: Managers and climate impacts researchers face multiple pain points when trying to use climate projection data: discovery, access, and usage. There are multiple global climate model repositories (CMIP3, CMIP5), multiple downscaling techniques (MACA, BCSD, LOCA), and multiple file formats. Each product has different spatio‐temporal resolutions, different climate variables, and different limitations. The investigator team proposed to develop and implement the Climate Futures Toolbox (CFT), a seamless R‐code workflow to ingest historic and projected climate data and generate summary information and customizable graphics for user‐defined time periods and regions of interest. Project goals include: creating a lower barrier to entry for climate data consumers that use R; automating scenario planning data tasks; empowering a larger user community; and reducing potential for errors. The investigator team was committed from the start to creating the CFT as an open‐source and openworkflow tool and to engaging management partners directly in the tool design. We hope that this contributes to the lifetime of the tool by allowing others to contribute future code to summarize climate data in new and different ways as user needs evolve and new data become available.

Alisa Wade, USGS Research Coordinator, NC CASC, provides a brief overview of stakeholder engagement for creating actionable science.

People, Nature, and Future Climate: Developing prioritized climate adaptation actions through a stakeholder driven process in southwest Colorado. Presenters: Renee Rondeau, Conservation Planner and Ecologist, Colorado Natural Heritage Program Marcie Bidwell, Executive Director, Mountain Studies Institute, Durango, CO Andrew Breibart, Hydrologist, BLM, Gunnison Field Office. Abstract: Climate science was the foundation for building adaptation strategies in two rural Colorado mountain communities. But science alone was not enough. In order to develop on-the-ground actions, people were essential. Over a three year period, over 70 stakeholders, representing 20 organizations worked with our science team that included social scientists, ecologists, and climate scientists. Three climate scenarios informed us that droughts, fires, and an increase in insects and disease are likely to change our natural and social systems. Our groups developed adaptation actions that fit into three overarching strategies that can help mitigate some of the climate impacts: 1) Identify, protect, and manage climate refugia, 2) Increase drought resiliency in focal areas, and 3) Allow and assist social and ecological transformation. On-the-ground wet meadow restoration efforts in Gunnison, a Drought-resiliency group in the Mancos Valley, and transformation research in Mesa Verde National Park are just three of the on-going projects that highlight the importance of building local climate working groups.