Lynn Helbrecht is the climate change coordinator for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and has represented the agency on NW CASC’s stakeholder advisory committee for almost ten years! In Lynn’s role, she helps agency staff to understand the risks of climate change and create climate-resilient programs and projects. Previously, she served as executive coordinator for the Washington Biodiversity Council, a public-private partnership established by the Governor to advance collaborative approaches to biodiversity conservation. Lynn received a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from University of California Santa Barbara and a Masters of Environmental Science from The Evergreen State College.
What led you to work in the field of climate adaptation?
I worked as the executive coordinator for the Washington Biodiversity Council for several years, and in 2008, we contracted with Josh Lawler at the University of Washington to prepare a special report about the impacts of climate change on Washington’s biodiversity. It was a sobering introduction to climate change for me. I remember being struck by what a game changer it was going to be and how ill prepared we were in terms of our understanding of the science and the need to learn how to address climate in all aspects of our conservation work. A year or so later, I was lucky enough to be hired by WDFW as the climate change lead for the agency.
What does your day-to-day work look like?
It’s a mix! I usually have a variety of projects underway, which might range from helping staff with climate-related questions, serving as an agency advisor for adaptation research projects, facilitating a training session or collaborating with others to develop new resources and products. Just in the last month we wrapped up a couple of exciting projects — one focused on outreach to hunters and anglers on the importance of taking action on climate change and the other, a risk report for the agency. This risk report, a collaboration with the UW Climate Impacts Group, describes how climate will affect our ability to achieve our goals and objectives throughout our portfolio of work — from conservation and recovery of at-risk species, to harvest and recreation, research, permitting, technical assistance and managing lands and infrastructure. I’m excited for the agency to have both these resources as we start work on a climate resilience plan, which is due to be completed next year.
How does your organization support climate resilience in the Northwest?
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife was one of the first fish and wildlife agencies to establish a dedicated climate position and has also been a leader regionally in helping to advance landscape-level resiliency. We co-founded the Interagency Climate Adaptation Network with the Department of Natural Resources — an informal network of state agencies focused on sharing information on adaptation approaches and initiatives across the state. We are also engaged with regional efforts, such as the Cascadia Partner Forum’s Climate Adaptation strategy, Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Project, Washington Coastal Resilience Project and a new group called ALIGN working to advance climate resiliency through conservation and restoration funding programs.
What is your favorite thing about your work?
It’s hard to pick one thing, but if I can only pick one, it has to be the people I get to work with — both colleagues here at the agency and in the many regional and national organizations that have been working to build our collective capacity to respond to climate change. In the last ten years, I feel that we have developed a robust community of practice and I’m proud to be a part of that group. I’ve learned so much from my peers and colleagues in this community — it has been a tremendous pleasure and privilege.