Dr. Eva Colberg is a research scientist at the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center. Her scientific training encompasses community ecology, restoration ecology and the social sciences, with specific interests in the ecology and management of climate change, invasive species and fire. Her current role includes coordinating the Northwest Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (NW RISCC) Network and playing a leading role in the planning and implementation of the NW CASC’s annual Actionable Science Deep Dive.
Prior to joining the NW CASC, Eva was a Northeast CASC-funded postdoctoral researcher at Cornell University and the interim director of the New York Invasive Species Research Institute, where she worked with members of the Northeast RISCC Network to develop guidelines for climate-smart invasive species management. Before that, she served as a research ecologist for Green Again Madagascar, a community-centric reforestation non-profit. She earned her doctorate in ecology, evolution, & systematics from the Harris World Ecology Center and University of Missouri-St. Louis, and she received a bachelor’s in biology with a minor in environmental science & policy from the College of William & Mary in Virginia.
Eva grew up in Alaska and is eager to be back in the Pacific Northwest. She enjoys bringing her sketchbook with her everywhere she goes, and after work might be found finding new patterns of movement, appreciating nature, or practicing another language.
What led you to work in the field of climate adaptation?
Growing up in Alaska motivated me to learn and care about climate and environmental issues from an early age—the nature there is breathtaking, but so are the ways in which climate change and human activities are altering the landscape. That motivated me to work in the climate and environmental sector, but I initially thought I’d be doing so from a policy perspective so that I could impact human actions. However, I wanted a solid understanding of the science behind climate change and the environment, and one undergraduate biology class was alluring enough to make me switch tracks to become an ecologist. Ecology and ecological restoration felt like a better fit for me than pure policy, but even after my doctorate I felt like something was missing. I finally found the missing puzzle piece(s) during my postdoctoral work, which explicitly focused on co-production, boundary-spanning and climate adaptation. That brought the human and action components back into my work in a way that feels like I’ve come full circle. My postdoc also introduced me to the CASC and Regional Invasive Species & Climate Change networks, and I’m grateful to be able to continue working within both in my current position.
What does your day-to-day work look like?
I split my time between coordinating the Northwest Regional Invasive Species & Climate Change Management Network and organizing the NW CASC’s Deep Dive process, both of which require a lot of networking, planning, and meeting facilitation. With NW RISCC, that includes planning our 2025 programming, reaching out to researchers and managers in the region to get a better sense of current priorities and what research is up-and-coming, and presenting at different venues to let people know we’re back in action and looking for more collaborators. I’m also working on different synthesis and outreach products, such as updating a factsheet on European Green Crab and climate impacts in the Northwest, and writing summaries of different journal articles relevant to climate change and invasive species. Every day is a little different and will keep changing as we wrap up old projects and start new ones!
How does your organization support climate resilience in the Northwest?
The Northwest Regional Invasive Species & Climate Change Management Network is a regional collaboration that supports climate resilience as it relates to invasive species in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia, and neighboring states and provinces. Specifically, NW RISCC aims to help practitioners within federal, Tribal, state, and local agencies and conservation organizations integrate climate change science and adaptation with invasive species prevention, early detection, control, monitoring, and research activities. We do this by facilitating interactions between researchers and practitioners, identifying management needs and research opportunities, and synthesizing and summarizing current science at the nexus of climate change and invasive species.
What is your favorite thing about your work?
I love so many aspects of this work, but what stands out the most is the ability to connect with different people on the topic of ecological resilience in a changing climate. Despite the immense challenges we face with climate change and invasive species and our ability to cope with both, working with others who also care about these issues and are taking action on them gives me a lot of hope.