Building a Regional Network Focused on Climate Change & Invasive Species in the Northwest

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Zebra mussels are among the most devastating aquatic invasive species to invade North American fresh waters. They attach themselves to boats, so if someone uses a boat in an infected lake and then launches the boat in Washington waters, they could be introduced here. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has an early detection program to help prevent the introduction of zebra mussels in Washington. If introduced, these mussels have the potential to change ecosystems and food sources critical to native mussels and species such as salmon and trout.
Source: Alexander Hardy, CC By 2.0

Climate change and invasive species threaten ecosystems across the Northwest and the world, creating significant challenges for managing our lands and waters. Although both are recognized as major threats, there are still many questions about how climate change and invasive species interact to create novel and complex challenges for our ecosystems. 

The Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (NW CASC), U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and EcoAdapt have recently launched the Pacific Northwest Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (PNW RISCC) Network to help natural resource managers and biologists incorporate climate change science into invasive species management. The network’s goal is to establish a community of practice that helps resource managers make climate-smart decisions around invasive species prevention, early detection, control, monitoring and future research activities. 

 

Though we have some ideas of how climate change and invasive species interact, we know little about how climate change will affect invasive species in the Northwest, especially at the fine geographic scales needed to manage them. Concerning patterns from other regions are showing that as the climate warms, some invasive species are shifting their ranges into new areas that were once unsuitable for them. Certain invasives will be able to persist for longer periods throughout the year as the timing of our seasons shifts under climate change. Moreover, increasing wildfires, floods, droughts and other disturbances are leaving landscapes vulnerable, creating new opportunities for invasion. Although all regions are likely to see interactions between invasive species and climate change, different regions will experience the impacts differently. 

The PNW RISCC Network will build on work that is underway in other regions, including the Northeast RISCC Management Network and a Hawaii-based working group led by the Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center. The PNW RISCC Network will also use findings from a recently published NW CASC-funded synthesis paper of climate-induced expansions of invasive species in the Pacific Northwest as a starting point for understanding the gaps in available science. 

In the Northeast, the RISCC Management Network is working to reduce the combined effects of invasive species and climate change by synthesizing relevant science, building strong manager-scientist communities and conducting priority research. Founded by Northeast CASC’s Dr. Toni Lyn Morelli and colleagues in 2016, the Northeast RISCC Management Network has grown to nearly 450 invasion scientists, climate scientists, natural resource managers, policymakers and other local stakeholders. The Network comes together through workshops, meetings, symposia and webinars to share regional knowledge about current management strategies, learn about managers’ specific information needs and identify ways to translate research into management action. “Managing the interaction of invasive species and climate change is an overwhelming task for any one individual or agency,” says Dr. Morelli. “But together, we can pool our knowledge and our experience to bring the latest science and the most effective actions to improve outcomes and, ultimately, achieve conservation in the face of global change.”

Similarly, the Pacific Islands CASC is partnering with the Pacific Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species and the Hawaii Invasive Species Council to bring together a working group on climate change and invasives in Hawaii. The goal of this partnership is to improve managers’ access to and use of climate information resources that address the intersection of these threats to island sustainability, food security and economic prosperity.

In its early stages, the PNW RISCC Network has established an Advisory Team and is working on a needs assessment survey to better understand priority management questions and opportunities in the Northwest. Says Paul Heimowitz, Regional Invasive Species Coordinator for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and a key partner of the project, “It’s exciting to see how quickly a Northwest collaboration has formed around the intersection of these two huge conservation challenges. There are many potential angles the PNW RISCC could address, and so the upcoming needs assessment will be a valuable tool to aim our focus on the highest collective priorities.” 

If you are interested in participating in the Pacific Northwest RISCC Network, please contact EcoAdapt’s Rachel Gregg at rachel.g@ecoadapt.org. 

NW CASC’s Amy Snover Discusses Value of CASC Program with WA Representative Derek Kilmer

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The Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center’s (NW CASC) University Director, Dr. Amy Snover, recently talked with WA Representative Derek Kilmer about the unique work of the Climate Adaptation Science Centers and how Congress’ continued support for building climate resilience through investments in the CASC program is helping the Northwest and the country as a whole prepare for and adapt to a changing climate.

Dr. Snover explains, “The real happy secret about climate adaptation is that there are folks on the ground in communities all around this region – in our local governments, in our tribal entities, in our state and federal agencies – who are thinking about these climate risks and are doing their best to prepare for them. It’s really important that all of us support them and make that sure they have the tools they need to ensure that we can thrive in the face of climate change.”

Watch Their Discussion

Upcoming Video Storytelling Workshop Will Kick Off Indigenous Youth Photo Contest

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The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) is hosting a Video Storytelling Workshop with Oregon State University’s Multimedia Team on Tuesday, August 11th at 12 PM (PT). This workshop is geared towards BIPOC youth, but all are welcome.

The skills you’ll learn in this workshop can help you:

  • Map out your story
  • Get started with free video editing software
  • Brainstorm creative ways to execute videos within the limitations of COVID
  • Ask specific questions during Q&A

This workshop kicks off ATNI’s Indigenous Youth Video Contest (submissions due Sept. 7th – see rules on registration page), which seeks to explore the impacts of climate change through the eyes, experiences and passions of Indigenous youth.

Register for the Workshop

WA Representative Derek Kilmer Invests in Climate Resilience, Showing Continued Support for the NW CASC

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The recently passed FY21 House Interior Appropriations bill includes nearly $63 million to support the national network of Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASC), including the Northwest CASC. These investments will allow the CASC network to continue to provide actionable science and research that directly address many of the climate-related challenges unique to different regions of the country.

Congress’ continued support for building climate resilience through investments in the CASC program is helping the Northwest and the country as a whole prepare for and adapt to a changing climate. NW CASC’s University Director Amy Snover notes, “We at NW CASC are tremendously fortunate to have support from Congress in general, and our Washington delegation and Rep Derek Kilmer in particular, for both the NW CASC in our state and the CASC program nationally.”

Read the Press Release

Indigenous Youth Video Contest Now Accepting Submissions!

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The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians’ Indigenous Youth Video Contest seeks to explore impacts of climate change through the eyes and experiences of Indigenous youth, especially around themes of traditional knowledge, youth empowerment and climate resilience. Winners of the video contest will receive travel awards to attend the in-person 2021 National Tribal Leadership Climate Change Summit, set to take place in Seattle in May. The deadline for video submissions is September 7, 2020.

Learn More

 

NW CASC’s Mary Ann Rozance and Colleagues Receive Award for Course Design on Environmental Policy, Planning and Activism

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(Left to right) Dr. Melanie Malone, Dr. Diana Denham, Dr. Mary Ann Rozance and Erin Goodling (not pictured) received the 2020 Curriculum Innovation Award for their course exploring the complex politics of urban river contamination and clean-up.

Urban rivers, though central to human life, are often places of conflict and racial inequities caused by uneven power dynamics. Why is this? How are decisions made about urban environments and what are the social and ecological outcomes of these decisions? What is the role of public engagement in environmental planning?

These are just some of the questions explored in the course Urban Rivers: Environmental Policy, Planning and Activism, designed by NW CASC postdoctoral fellow Dr. Mary Ann Rozance and colleagues Dr. Diana Denham, Dr. Melanie Malone and Dr. Erin Goodling. They were recently awarded the national 2020 Curriculum Innovation Award by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, which “recognizes undergraduate and graduate courses that prepare future planners to solve economic, social, and environmental challenges.” As PhD students in a National Science Foundation Integrative Research and Education Traineeship, they undertook the preparation, curriculum design and co-facilitation of this interdisciplinary course focused on water sustainability in urban environments.

The Urban Rivers course represents a two-pronged approach to sustainability education: it provides hands-on training in interdisciplinary teaching to graduate students while offering an innovative course to undergraduate students based on best practices in sustainability education. It examines the complex politics of urban river contamination and clean-up through a comparative case study of two rivers with Superfund sites in the Pacific Northwest: the Willamette River’s Portland Harbor and the Lower Duwamish River. Through field trips and other immersive learning experiences, as well as interdisciplinary team teaching, this course allows students to explore ecological issues, environmental history, clean-up planning processes, public participation, community organizing and social justice issues.

As part of this award, the curriculum for this course will be freely available through the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Congratulations, Mary Ann, Diana, Melanie and Erin!

About the awardees: Mary Ann Rozance studies climate adaptation planning as a postdoctoral fellow at the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center at the University of Washington. Dr. Diana Denham is Adjunct Faculty at Portland State University whose research interests inlcude urban indigenous food systems in Oaxaca, Mexico. Melanie Malone is an assistant professor at the University of Washington whose research interests include soils, contaminants and critical physical geography. Erin Goodling is a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oregon, studying homelessness and environmental justice.

Read the Paper Describing the Course
(If you have trouble accessing this paper, please email nwcasc@uw.edu)

Check out the Urban Rivers blog

The Duwamish River remains a heavily used waterway for barges and other industrial traffic.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Flickr

 

Climate Change Refugia Special Issue: Buying Time for Biodiversity to Adapt in a Changing World

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In forests, disturbance refugia – areas disturbed less severely/frequently than the surrounding landscape – protect species from fires/droughts/insect outbreaks.
Source: University of Washington

Human-caused climate change will rapidly alter ecosystems in the Northwest and around the world, putting species that inhabit them under severe stress. These sweeping ecological changes will leave little time for species and ecosystems to adapt to new conditions, resulting in extinctions and large-scale ecosystem transformations. In a time of dramatic ecological upheaval, identifying and protecting climate change refugia — areas relatively buffered from climate change over time — can protect species from the negative effects of climate change in the short-term as well as provide longer-term protection for biodiversity and ecosystem function.

Although conserving refugia has been recognized as a promising climate adaptation strategy, until recently, little research on refugia has translated to on-the-ground conservation efforts. New science on climate change refugia and improved understanding of their practical applications have allowed researchers and resource managers to work together to start putting refugia conservation into practice.

The USGS Climate Adaptation Science Centers have been at the forefront of this climate change refugia research, prompting leading journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment to publish a special issue to look at how far the field has come in recent years and what research is still needed to effectively manage refugia in a changing climate. This special issue covers a diversity of refugia-related research, provides real-world examples of refugia conservation strategies and identifies ongoing research needs.

New science on identifying & managing refugia in different ecosystems – like aquatic ecosystems that support vulnerable freshwater fish – is helping scientists & managers put refugia conservation into practice
Source: Jonny Armstrong

The authors in this special issue call for broadening the scope of refugia management by moving beyond the narrow focus on climate and landscape factors to a more comprehensive understanding of refugia — one that accounts for ecological complexity, scale and species’ ability to adapt to changing conditions — to better capture the conservation potential of refugia. As Toni Lyn Morelli, USGS Research Ecologist at the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center, notes, “Networks of small, connected refugia might sustain some populations and could play a supplemental role in enabling species to persist.” Combining approaches for identifying refugia that operate at different scales and focus on different ecological processes will allow a more thorough assessment of climate change refugia potential.

Climate change refugia networks can provide short- to medium-term protection for species and buy time for other species and ecosystems to adapt in a rapidly changing world. With advances in research, theory and concrete examples, such as those highlighted in this issue, natural resource managers are better equipped to start putting refugia conservation into practice. “Climate change refugia conservation is an opportunity for hope, a chance to be proactive in a time of adversity and uncertainty,” says Morelli.

This special issue features work from Climate Adaptation Science Center researchers, affiliates and resource managers from across the network, and was born out of the work of the Refugia Research Coalition (RRC). The RRC is funded by the Northwest and Northeast CASCs to bring a network of scientists and managers together to advance refugia research and translate it into conservation on-the-ground.

Check out the Special Issue

Eastern Washington
Source: University of Washington

Improving Refugia Identification by Combining Landscape and Species-Based Approaches

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A burrowing owl keeps an alert eye on anything that moves around its burrow.
Source: Unsplash, Public Domain

Identifying and protecting climate change refugia — areas relatively buffered from climate change that can help species persist in a warming climate — is increasingly important for conservation planning. Until recently, the approaches used to identify refugia at broad scales mainly focused on landscape features and climate conditions. However, new research shows that including approaches that look at species-specific tolerances for climatic change can provide unique information that other methods miss, highlighting the importance of asking “refugia for what?” when prioritizing refugia. Using complementary ways to map climate change refugia provides a more complete understanding of regional refugia, inviting more tailored management actions to protect these habitats for biodiversity in a changing climate.

The ability of an area to serve as a climate change refugium for biodiversity depends on the following factors: the physical landscape, the amount of climate change experienced and the range of climate conditions that species can tolerate. There are several approaches used to understand an area’s refugium potential, each of which is based on one or more of these factors. Environmental diversity approaches look at the range of climate, soil and landscape features that provide variable climate conditions and can serve as small-scale refugia (i.e., deep valleys, steep slopes), while climatic exposure approaches look at areas where projected climatic changes are relatively small. Climate tracking approaches, which can be species-neutral (relying on information about climate and landscape variation) or species-based (relying on species-specific needs), look at the distance and connectivity between areas that are currently suitable for species and new locations that will be suitable in the future. 

To better understand the spatial similarities and differences between refugia identified with these approaches, Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center-funded researchers Julia Michalak (University of Washington) and colleagues used existing refugia data from across North America to compile overlapping refugia maps, allowing regional patterns of refugia to emerge. They were then able to look at the landscape characteristics within these patterns to understand what factors are driving similarities and differences in areas where refugia were identified. They found that although only 7% of the study area was classified as potential refugia using all three approaches, 86% of the study area was classified as refugia using at least one of the three approaches. This discrepancy shows that certain approaches for identifying refugia are more relevant in particular regions. 

The findings also show that species-based approaches add another layer of information that is important to identifying refugia, since they account for the conditions that a species can tolerate, which the other measures may under- or overestimate. When divided by habitat group, species-based approaches identified the greatest diversity of regions. For example, considering refugia for grassland birds, a very vulnerable species group, identifies areas omitted by other approaches. These results further emphasize that using multiple, complementary refugia mapping approaches offers a more complete picture of the refugia potential of an area. 

Until now, the approaches used to identify refugia mainly focused on landscape and climate conditions. New research emphasizes the importance of focusing refugia management on specific conservation targets and incorporating species-specific approaches, to provide more nuance that can improve conservation planning in a changing climate.

Read the Paper

A Broader View of Disturbance Refugia in a Changing Climate

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Students from UW Professor Brian Harvey’s Lab conduct research following the 2017 Norse wildfire in the Snoqualmie National Forest.
Source: University of Washington

Many natural disturbances, like wildfires, which have helped to maintain ecosystem processes and biodiversity in the past, are worsening under climate change and are threatening biodiversity. There is increasing recognition of the role of disturbance refugia — locations disturbed less severely or less frequently than the surrounding landscape — as legacies important to sustaining species under rapid ecological change. Although previous research on disturbance refugia in forests has primarily focused on fire, a new Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center-funded study by Meg Krawchuk (Oregon State University), Garrett Meigs (now at Washington DNR) and colleagues, synthesized research on multiple types of disturbances in forests and how they interact and influence refugia.

Although it may be easiest to classify refugia as either present or not present in a given area, this study recommends taking a broader view of disturbance refugia by considering the spectrum of types and qualities of refugia across landscapes. Because they can take on many different forms over spatial and time scales, disturbance refugia should be considered at a range of scales, from individual organisms to entire landscapes. The quality of refugia also differs, since disturbances occur at different levels of severity. For example, fire refugia are not simply locations that are unburned. Instead, there is a broader range of fire effects that can contribute to persistence as a refugium. Additionally, refugia provide a range of ecological functions, from providing seed sources for tree regeneration to critical resources for wildlife during and after a disturbance. This makes it helpful to ask the questions “refugia from what disturbance?” and “refugia for what ecological attribute?” when identifying refugia and their ecological roles.

This study provides a disturbance refugia framework that goes beyond fire and recognizes single and overlapping disturbance events — like fire, drought and insect outbreaks — and describes how they might interact in supporting forest biodiversity. Interactions in forest ecosystems can either improve or reduce refugia functionality through negative (stabilizing) and positive (amplifying) feedbacks. Because positive feedbacks between fire, drought and insects are expected to become more common under climate change, it’s likely that refugia will be less abundant and less functional in areas where these positive feedbacks occur. For this reason, it will be increasingly important to better understand underlying causes of disturbance refugia and how they are affected by interacting disturbances. This more comprehensive view of forest disturbance refugia provides insights for forest management in North America under climate change that can also be translated to forest management strategies to benefit forests globally.

In addition to providing and illustrating the disturbance refugia framework, this study also highlights advances in methods and tools for understanding disturbance refugia. It emphasizes that using multiple techniques for identifying refugia can provide an effective toolbox for understanding the potential of disturbance refugia to conserve biodiversity. A case study focusing on fire refugia in late successional/old-growth forest of the Pacific Northwest and conservation for the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina), provides an illustrative example of refugia science dovetailing with management application.

The disturbance refugia framework emphasizes that disturbance refugia represent one component in a complex patchwork created by disturbances in forests. Although this study focuses on three natural disturbances in North American forests, the disturbance refugia framework is relevant to ecosystems across the world. Continued research that considers the range and complexity of disturbance refugia will be critical to informing management of disturbance refugia under climate change.

Read the Paper

Snoqualmie National Forest
Source: University of Washington

Faces of Adaptation: Sean Finn

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Sean Finn lives in Boise, Idaho and is a Science Coordinator in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Science Applications Program. Sean’s work mostly involves infusing science into conservation decision-making across large landscapes. His initial training was in wildlife biology but has since expanded, over the last 28 years, to include diverse aspects of natural resource science and management including landscape ecology, systems analysis and climate adaptation. Most recently, Sean has been working on developing Landscape Conservation Designs, which bring together collaborative goal setting, spatial optimization modeling and structured decision making to envision and quantify desired future conditions for resilient and sustainable socio-ecological landscapes. In his free time, Sean enjoys volunteering on local habitat restoration projects and maintaining a native xeriscape at home.

Sean has worked closely with the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (NW CASC) over the years, first as Coordinator for the Great Northern Landscape Conservation Cooperative and most recently as a part-time Partnerships Ecologist for the NW CASC.

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

I have always been interested in how the natural world responds to disturbance, both at the species level and as integrated systems. My graduate work focused on northern goshawk population response to varying levels of timber harvest; I discovered that landscape patterns were as influential on nest site selection as conditions close to the nest tree. That discovery has framed much of my work since. How do animals adjust to change? And how do those species-level adjustments shape natural communities? Now that we collectively recognize that accelerated, human-caused global warming is leading to profound changes in the water cycle, phenology, energy and nutrient flows, I am driven to understand how species respond and how we can strategically deploy conservation to offset or at least minimize impacts on biodiversity and ecological integrity.

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

As a Science Coordinator, my days can be pretty hectic switching from computer to phone calls to literature reviews. I work on projects stretching from Colorado to British Columbia so the focal species/system sometimes changes by the hour! While I usually end up doing more coordination and less science, a lot of my day-to-day work includes synthesizing and communicating conservation science data and information to interdisciplinary teams that are working to align management actions in multijurisdictional landscapes. I do get to do some spatial analyses and modeling, which is nice.

How does your organization support climate resilience in the Northwest?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s mission is to ‘work with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people,’ so there’s a lot of climate resilience weaved in there. We manage about 75 wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries across the Northwest and are responsible for the recovery of 98 species currently listed as threatened or endangered. As we develop conservation plans, species status assessments and recovery plans, we incorporate considerations of future climate conditions to project potential management strategies that conserve biodiversity, an important component of ecological resilience. The Science Applications program that I work under delivers technical expertise and large landscape concepts. For example, one outcome of a Landscape Conservation Design is meant to strategically guide placement of new wildlife refuges in places where species are likely to persist under the climate of the future.

What is your favorite thing about your work?

My favorite thing about my work is the challenge of thinking about the interactions among living things (including humans) and the biophysical factors that constrain or threaten their persistence. Occasionally those factors are fairly simple to identify (increasing temperatures -> reduced soil moisture -> higher drought conditions -> larger and more intense wildfire) but in a lot of cases there’s more complexity. I find teasing out elements of that complexity and devising plausible adaptive responses quite enjoyable. Knowing that I can make a small contribution to sustain and enhance ecological function – and benefit future generations of humans, wildlife and plant communities – gives me satisfaction that my time is well spent.