Hear from NW CASC & CIG Scientists at Upcoming EarthLab Showcase

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Interested in the work happening at the University of Washington and beyond to address climate change and other large-scale environmental challenges? The UW EarthLab All-Hands Showcase is your opportunity to attend virtual lightning talks from more than 20 professionals all working toward a healthier, more sustainable future. Six scientists from the Climate Impacts Group and the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center are among those presenting. The Showcase will take place Tuesday, May 26, 1–3 p.m., via the video-conferencing platform Zoom.

EarthLab brings together University of Washington expertise to address large-scale environmental challenges, making a positive impact on people’s lives and livelihoods. The Climate Impacts Group and Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center are two of many member organizations and affiliates of EarthLab.

EARTHLAB ALL-HANDS SHOWCASE:

REIMAGINING OUR WORLD’S FUTURE TOGETHER

Tuesday, May 26, 1–3 p.m.

RSVP 

 

 

Climate Impacts Group (CIG) & Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (NW CASC) presenters include: 

Amy Snover, CIG director & NW CASC university director, will discuss the work of Climate Impacts Group and the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center;

Meade Krosby, CIG senior scientist & NW CASC university deputy director, will discuss work to prepare for the impacts of climate change on biodiversity across Washington and British Columbia’s Cascade region;

Guillaume Mauger, CIG research scientist, will discuss floodplain management in Washington state;

Harriet Morgan, CIG researcher, will highlight an exciting, regional example of adaptation to sea level rise with the design of a coastal park;

Heidi Roop, CIG lead scientist for science communication, will present work to create accessible, usable visualizations of sea level rise data;

Mary Ann Rozance, NW CASC postdoctoral fellow, will discuss the Center’s training programs for graduate students.

Faces of Adaptation: Davia Palmeri

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Davia Palmeri is the Conservation Policy Coordinator for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), representing the agency on the NW CASC Stakeholder Advisory Committee. In her role at ODFW, she helps the Department prepare for and respond to crosscutting conservation issues between its fish and wildlife divisions, including climate change, renewable energy development and conservation funding. Previously, she has worked on climate-related issues for the Association of Fish and Wildlife and the American Bird Conservancy. She has a Masters in Conservation Biology from Columbia University in the City of New York and a Bachelors in Biology from Dickinson College. Davia, her partner and her horse moved to the Pacific Northwest two years ago after spending most of their lives near the Atlantic Ocean. Says Davia “It has been fantastic to get to know the state of Oregon, including its ecoregions, people, and culture!”

 

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

I did my graduate degree in Conservation Biology on the impacts of a new land use pattern on upland forest bird communities in Micronesia. Even though loss of cloud forest was an important concern for the persistence of endemic biodiversity and the supply of local drinking water, Micronesians were most concerned about sea level rise and other climate-related challenges. As I thought about the history and future of conservation, I recognized that the impacts of climate change will be the primary conservation issue for my generation.

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

I work on developing and implementing policy related to climate change, climate adaptation, adaptation science & planning, renewable energy development, and funding for conservation. Most of my days are spent in conversations with Department of Fish and Wildlife staff, other agencies’ staff, and partners around the state and region about what is happening in the field, in academia and in the legislature on these subjects. I like to think of my position as being all about making connections across silos to look for ways to improve everyone’s outcomes.

How does your organization support climate resilience in the Northwest?

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is focused on healthy fish and wildlife habitat as the foundation of resilience for the resources we manage in trust for the public. The Fish and Wildlife Commission is currently considering a draft Climate and Ocean Change Policy that would provide consistent direction for incorporating information about the changing climate and ocean into the Department’s science, research, monitoring, planning for species and habitat management and operations. The Policy would also direct the Department to coordinate with other state agencies on a collective framework for identifying climate adaptation priorities for the state that minimizes maladaptive outcomes and maximizes win-win solutions for the state and region.

What is your favorite thing about your work?

My favorite thing about my work is the people that I get to do this work with. I grew up in the suburbs of New York City where many people go to work to collect their paycheck. I have not met anyone in the fields of wildlife conservation and climate adaptation who doesn’t hope to make change or make the world a better place through what they do. I find you all inspiring and am grateful to be a part of this community!

Lynx on the Edge? Canada Lynx Occupancy in Washington

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The Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) is a sensitive indicator species for impacts of climate change, as it is adapted to forested, high-elevation and deep-snow environments. In Washington, part of its southern range, the endangered Canada lynx is especially threatened by increases in temperature and associated loss of snow cover. Understanding how lynx population and occupancy patterns are influenced by climate and fire history is necessary to create effective and long-term management strategies for this species.

Researchers partially-funded by the NW CASC partnered with a group of federal and state agencies, as well as NGOs, to evaluate lynx distribution and status by conducting the largest systematic lynx camera trapping survey in Washington state to date. This effort constituted two years of data collection from nearly 650 camera stations and resulted in approximately 2 million images.

Researchers showed how large-scale occupancy patterns for lynx are influenced by climatic and environmental changes such as fire history and climate-driven temperature and snowpack conditions. This knowledge was used to map current and future lynx distributions, revealing the precarious status of lynx in Washington now and in the future. This study highlights the need for continued monitoring and management of lynx in Washington, without which, the lynx could be driven out of the state altogether, losing this section of its southern range in the continental United States. This project’s design, which proved to be highly effective at surveying lynx across broad spatial scales, offers a relatively easy and inexpensive approach to important future monitoring.

This project resulted in improved understanding of lynx response to climate-dependent variables that will help guide future lynx management, identify areas of conservation concern and inform state/regional/federal listing debates for Canada lynx. The results of this study have been shared with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other interested parties to help inform lynx delisting and monitoring discussions.

Read the Paper

A Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis) passes by one of the Lynx Project camera traps spread across the high mountains of Washington State.
Source: Travis King, Mammal Spatial Ecology and Conservation Lab at Washington State University

New NW CASC Synthesis Explores the Effects of Climate Change on Invasive Species in the Northwest

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The North Coast-Cascades Network Invasive Plant Management Team and Olympic National Park staff travel into the backcountry at Olympic National Park’s Elwha River.
Source: National Park Service

There is growing concern that changing climate conditions will amplify the negative impacts of non-native invasive species and facilitate their expansion. Despite the potential ecological and economic impacts of invasive species expansions in the Northwest, there has been no comprehensive synthesis on climate change effects on invasive species – until now. NW CASC-funded researchers Jennifer Gervais (Oregon Wildlife Institute), Clint Muhlfeld (U.S. Geological Survey) and colleagues conducted an extensive literature analysis to determine the current state of knowledge about climate change effects on non-native invasive species in the Northwest.

This analysis focused on studies describing how climate change has already influenced, or is projected to influence, the demography, range, spread or impact of almost 400 non-native invasive species. These include both terrestrial and aquatic species that have either been documented in the Northwest or whose future invasion of the Northwest is considered inevitable.

This study highlights how little we know about how climate change has or will affect aquatic and terrestrial species in the Northwest, especially at the fine geographic scales needed to manage them. The few retrospective studies describing connections between climate change and terrestrial non-native invasive species were consistent in suggesting that environmental changes associated with climate change have already contributed to the expansion of non-native mammals, insects and plants. In aquatic environments, researchers have similarly demonstrated relationships between conditions associated with climate change and the expansion of non-native fish species (check out related NW CASC-funded research on the hybridization between introduced rainbow trout and native westslope cutthroat trout).

Compared to the number of retrospective studies, there were more studies projecting future dynamics of non-native invasive species relevant to Northwest ecosystems, the majority of which focused on plant taxa. Regardless, both the retrospective and forward-looking studies suggest that while climate change may often benefit aquatic non-native invasive species, it will have more complex and context-specific effects on terrestrial non-native species.

This literature review highlights our limited understanding and ability to predict how non-native invasive species in the Northwest will respond to climate change. Although our understanding of how climate change may interact with non-native invasive species is notably lacking, some evidence suggests that climate-induced non-native invasive species expansions are already underway in the Northwest, particularly in aquatic ecosystems, and will be exacerbated by future changes in temperature and precipitation regimes. Since existing studies suggest that invasives will have varying impacts on native species depending on context, this study also highlights the need for research at the regional and local scale where management actions are taken.

Authors Jennifer Gervais and Clint Muhlfeld urge collaboration among managers, biologists and researchers to develop “a more coordinated and integrated research and monitoring approach,” which will be critical for understanding the environmental conditions that facilitate the spread of invasive species, as well as which habitats and native species might be most vulnerable to their future spread in the Northwest. This understanding can help inform climate adaptation strategies aimed at reducing the impacts of non-native invasive species on Northwest aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

Read the Synthesis

NW CASC Study Synthesizes What Climate Change Means for Northwest Wildfires

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Recent years have brought unusually large and damaging wildfires to the Pacific Northwest, leaving many people wondering what this means for our region’s future. A University of Washington study, funded by the NW CASC and US Forest Service, takes a big-picture look at what climate change could mean for wildfires in the Northwest.

NW CASC University Director to Give Livecast Briefing on Linking Science and Action for Environmental and Energy Study Institute’s Climate Adaptation Data Week

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NW CASC University Director Dr. Amy Snover will be giving a Livecast lunchtime briefing for Congressional staff and the broader community sponsored by the non-partisan Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) on Thursday, April 16th at 9 AM (PT). In her briefing, “Bridging the Gap Between Science and Decision-Making,” Dr. Snover will discuss the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group and Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center’s programs and methods for advancing climate resilience in the Northwest. She will appear as part of EESI’s Climate Adaptation Data Week, a briefing series focused on coastal climate adaptation data needs and applications.

Tillamook Bay, Oregon
Source: Dan Meyers, Unsplash, Public Domain

Register for NW CASC’s Spring Webinar Series: Early Career Considerations for Co-Producing Actionable Science

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The Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center is hosting its spring webinar series focused on early career considerations for co-producing actionable science. This series is designed to help graduate students and postdoctoral scholars engaged in research related to climate adaptation better understand how to (1) incorporate co-production into their work and (2) navigate the range of career pathways available to those interested in spanning the divide between science and decision-making to address urgent environmental challenges.

Upcoming UW Panel Event on Science Communication

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What is the value of scientists communicating about their own research? How can scientists best partner with communications professionals? University of Washington (UW) Climate Impacts Group and Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center Director Amy Snover, along with several other UW experts, will discuss these questions and more at a UW College of the Environment panel on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. This panel is part of a series of events bringing together University of Washington faculty, staff, postdocs and graduate students who want to explore and engage in science communication and outreach.

RSVP to join the conversation

When: Wednesday, March 4, 2020 | 5:00 – 6:30 p.m.
Where: Vista Cafe, Foege Genome Sciences (GNOM)

Panelists:

  • Michelle Ma, assistant director of UW News
  • David Montgomery, professor in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences.
  • Moderated by Molly McCarthy, managing director of marketing and communications for College of the Environment

Faces of Adaptation: Meet Ronda Strauch

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Ronda Strauch is the Climate Change Research and Adaptation Advisor at Seattle City Light. Ronda recently obtained her PhD from the University of Washington in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, specializing in landslide and hydrologic modeling. She received an MS from UW’s College of Forest Resources, where she studied the effects of climate and other factors on high-elevation tree establishment following fire, while her BS focused on Environmental Planning and Management from the University of California at Davis.

Ronda is closely connected to the NW CASC. After completing a NW CASC Research Fellowship as a PhD student at the University of Washington, Ronda went on to become the NW CASC’s Actionable Science Postdoctoral Fellow, leading the 2017-18 cohort through the Research Fellowship Program.

Ronda previously worked for King County’s Road Services Division for 12 years and spent several years working as an ecologist for consulting firms and federal agencies in the Northwest, specializing in environmental and biological assessments. When time allows, Ronda enjoys kayaking, gardening, hiking, biking and mountain climbing.

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

As an undergraduate student, I learned how fast a forest can be altered by wildfire and how our response can substantially influence a fire’s impacts. I realized that fire created a clean slate for external factors like climate to mix things up in the regenerating forest – new patterns, new species, new communities. So by studying past regeneration following fire under varying annual climate, we could get a glimpse of how climate might shape forests into the future. This sparked my interest and led me to pursue an MS in forestry at the University of Washington. That was back in 1989, the same year of the Cairo Compact. At that meeting of nations, the ‘climate crisis,’ as it was called even then, called for collective action on an unprecedented scale to address climate change. I resolved then to do what I could to understand and promote climate science in our foreseeable need to adapt, just as the forest would.

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

I now work at Seattle City Light as a climate change adaptation advisor. My path to the energy sector from my forestry days was convoluted but always looked forward. I was essentially adapting to evolving needs and opportunities, of which there are plenty in the energy industry. I now work every day towards maintaining my climate science knowledge in this rapidly-moving field and facilitating awareness of the many connections between climate and the business of providing electricity services. I also work collaboratively within my organization to identify where our utility is vulnerable to changing climate, what science is needed to inform our decisions and what adaptation strategies can reduce these vulnerabilities. I am also fortunate to be able to support new science that helps guide our adaptation efforts, as well as share our efforts with other utilities in the country.

How does your organization support climate resilience in the Northwest?

City Light is integral to supporting climate resilience in the Northwest. Electricity supports a thriving socioeconomic environment and a thriving natural environment supports renewable power generation, our primary energy source. Thus, our business depends on being resilient in a changing climate, which depends on a resilient ecosystem. Reliable power also helps people and businesses cope with changing climate, such as the use of air conditioners during heatwaves. We are also water managers: how we operate our dams can influence aquatic habitat for salmon and downstream users such as farmers that may be more impacted by floods and drought in the future. We support restoration of watersheds, including forest, streams and wetlands, so that these ecosystems transition robustly with the changing climate. Our hydropower facilities provide the foundation for supporting a renewable electricity grid, including integration of variable wind and solar power.

What is your favorite thing about your work?

My favorite aspect of my work is taking part in endeavors that prepare communities for changing conditions – doing something that I believe makes a difference. Years back I would never have predicted that I would be working for a utility, but this is a very exciting time to be in the energy industry. I love being a government employee, working with wonderful people to facilitate strategies that benefit the community and the ecosystem that I live in.