USGS-directed research funding, administered by the federal side of the NW CASC’s federal-university partnership, supports a portfolio of regional climate adaptation projects each year. Like all of the research the NW CASC supports, these projects align with research priorities outlined in our five-year Science Agenda, developed through collaboration between regional natural resource managers and scientists.
These new projects, which are launching this fall, focus on managing invasive species and disease under future climate scenarios; managing shrubland ecosystems under future climate scenarios; and managing climate-driven, post-fire ecological transformation.
Anticipating Climate-Driven Spread and Impact of Multiple Interacting Invasive Species in the Columbia River Basin
Principal Investigator: Julian Olden, University of Washington
Co-Investigators: Josh Lawler, University of Washington | Julie Heinrichs, Computational Ecology Group
Incorporating Climate, Disease and Invasive Species Into the Conservation of a First Food, Klamath Redband Trout
Principal Investigator: Jonathan Armstrong, Oregon State University
Co-Investigators: Jerri Bartholomew, Julie Alexander & Melanie Davis, Oregon State University | Alex Gonyaw, Klamath Tribes
Integrating Economics and Ecology to Inform Climate-Ready Aquatic Invasive Species Management for Vulnerable Willamette Basin Communities
Principal Investigators: Braeden Van Deynze & Sunny Jardine, University of Washington
Co-Investigators: Samuel Chan, Oregon State Extension Sea Grant | Rebecca Flitcroft, U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station
Native and Invasive Bivalves in the Pacific Northwest: Co-Occurrence, Habitat Associations and Potential Competition in the Face of Climate Change
Principal Investigator: Stephen Bollens, Washington State University
Co-Investigators: Tim Counihan & Steven Waste, U.S. Geological Survey | Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens, Washington State University | Alexa Maine, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
The Influence of Climate Change on the Vulnerability of At-Risk Amphibians to Disease and Invasive Species in the Northwest
Principal Investigator: Jonah Piovia-Scott, Washington State University
Co-Investigator: Caren Goldberg, Washington State University
Trajectories of Change: How Climate, Wildfire, and Management Drive Shrubland Ecosystem Transitions
Principal Investigator: Lisa Ellsworth, Oregon State University
Co-Investigators: Dominique Bachelet & Robert Kennedy, Oregon State University | Beth Newingham, U.S.D.A. Agricultural Research Service
Climate Adaptability and Ecological Connectivity of Wildlife Communities in Multi-Use Sagebrush-Steppe Landscapes
Principal Investigator: Steven Woodley, Washington State University
Co-Investigators: Daniel Thornton & Lisa Shipley, Washington State University
A Multi-Scale Decision Support Platform for Adaptive Management of Post-Fire Landscapes in the Inland Northwest
Principal Investigators: Arjan Meddens & Michelle Steen-Adams, Washington State University
Co-Investigators: Amanda Stahl & Robert Andrus, Washington State University
From Water to Wildlife: Linking Water Timing and Availability to Meadows and Wildlife in a Changing Climate
Principal Investigator: Rebecca McCaffery, U.S. Geological Survey Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
Co-Investigators: Roy Sando, Meghan Halabisky, Lauren Zinsser, Tabitha Graves & David Selkowitz, U.S. Geological Survey