Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center

Linda Anderson-Carnahan has worked for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the past 35 years and has been a longtime member of the NW CASC’s Stakeholder Advisory Committee. During her career with the EPA, Linda worked in the Southeast and Midwest regions before moving to the Pacific Northwest region. In this time, she also conducted details with EPA’s Office of Research and Development, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer and the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. Most recently, Linda served as the Director of the Region 10 Laboratory Services and Applied Science Division. 

Linda’s experience includes both staff and management positions in the areas of air and water quality, toxicity and risk assessment, pollution prevention, strategic planning, interagency and cooperative agreement management, and in the Puget Sound, Superfund and Brownfields programs. She holds a B.S. from Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, and an M.S. in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Linda will retire from the EPA at the end of this month. An avid outdoors person, she plans to spend time outside cycling, backpacking, kayaking, skiing and mountaineering, as well as volunteering for environmental causes. The NW CASC wants to thank Linda for her long career of public service and for her contributions on the NW CASC Stakeholder Advisory Committee! 

What led you to work in the field of climate adaptation?

The EPA Pacific Northwest Region (Region 10) initially placed climate change work in its science office where I was located. Since the science office has a broad focus across programs, this placement made sense since the impacts of climate change cross water, land and air. The science office worked across programs to determine how they could integrate climate adaptation considerations into their work. 

What does your day-to-day work look like?

As the Director of EPA Region 10’s Laboratory Services and Applied Science Division, I work with my colleagues to provide our partners in different programs with the technical support and data they need to make decisions about environmental and public health protection. We provide chemical and microbial laboratory analyses, quality assurance, air and water modeling and monitoring, human health and ecological risk assessment, and hydrogeology and geochemistry. These services support our air, water, Superfund, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Brownfields, Tribal and enforcement programs, as well as their state and Tribal partners. 

How does your organization support climate resilience in the Northwest?

I was the Executive Sponsor for Region 10’s cross-program Climate, Energy and Sustainability (CES) Team. The CES Team developed a draft action plan that proposes the following actions to build a strong foundation for climate work: integrate climate considerations into all program decisions; leverage financial incentives and funding mechanisms to address climate change; assist communities in climate mitigation, adaptation and sustainability; and build sustainable operations. 

What is your favorite thing about your work?

I am passionate about science and environmental protection and I believe that climate change is one of the greatest risks we face. I enjoy working to increase awareness about climate change and the actions that each of us can take to address it.

We are excited to announce that Coral Avery, former Bureau of Indian Affairs Pathways Program Intern with the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) and NW CASC, is starting a new position as Natural Resource Specialist for the BIA Tribal Resilience Program and the NW CASC!

Coral Avery (they/she) is a Shawnee Tribal citizen and recent graduate from Oregon State University where they earned a double degree in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources and Sustainability. During their degree program, Coral was accepted to the BIA Pathways Program where they were placed with the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians for the summer of 2019 in Tribal Forestry and Healthy Traditions. From June 2020 to April 2021, they continued the BIA Pathways internship virtually with ATNI and NW CASC, where they focused on Indigenous youth climate programs and published their first scientific papers.

As a graduate, Coral has begun an interagency agreement this April with the BIA and USGS where they now serve as Natural Resource Specialist for the BIA Tribal Resilience Program and USGS NW CASC. Here, they will continue to work with partner organizations, including ATNI, and tribes on scientific papers, grant proposals and tribal climate adaptation efforts.

Dr. John Tull is the Nevada Science Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Science Applications program and serves on the NW CASC Stakeholder Advisory Committee. He has been working in the Great Basin and other desert ecosystems for more than two decades.

After earning his bachelor’s degree  in Forest Wildlife Management from Stephen F. Austin University in Texas, John worked in the Sonoran Desert studying desert mule deer for his master’s before moving to Nevada and completing his doctorate at the University of Nevada, Reno. He subsequently worked on sage-grouse and sagebrush conservation at various NGOs for several years and then joined the Nevada Department of Wildlife for several more years.

John brings a science-based perspective for achieving positive, conservation-oriented outcomes for wildlife and their habitats. He is particularly interested in the interface of science, policy and management.

What led you to work in the field of climate adaptation?

I have been working on wildlife conservation in the Great Basin and other desert ecosystems for most of my career. I recognized the importance of understanding and incorporating climate science and climate adaptation into landscape-scale conservation while working on my dissertation. The value of climate science to inform strategic and durable conservation and restoration investments on the ground is all too obvious and important if we wish to be successful in protecting our native biodiversity.

What does your day-to-day work look like?

Like many people over the last 12 months, my day-to-day work has included too many virtual meetings. In all seriousness, my activities involve a lot of coordination and capacity sharing with the many partners that I collaborate with to meet my agency mission. These activities include many facets like scoping our most critical science needs, reviewing research proposals for funding partners, sharing knowledge and expertise in collaborative conservation venues and partnering with scientists to promote actionable outcomes from research activities.

How does your organization support climate resilience in the Northwest?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is engaged in climate resiliency in the Northwest well beyond my scope of expertise. My specific role in the Northwest is to bring knowledge of sagebrush and high-desert ecosystems to help expand the capacity of partner agencies and organizations for meeting our shared goals to promote climate resilience across all Northwest landscapes.

What is your favorite thing about your work?

My favorite thing about my work is working collaboratively with so many dedicated and brilliant colleagues, across all walks of life, towards common objectives of conserving our incredible natural heritage. The passion that I can share with others keeps me inspired and energized.