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Similar Species, Divergent Futures: Rethinking Climate Indicator Species
Written by guest author Gavin Graham, summer 2025 NW CASC science communications intern
Is there a shortcut to saving species that are affected by our changing climate? For one group of Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center-supported researchers, what started as an attempt to understand how the changing climate affects a group of threatened amphibians in the Northwest, led them to unexpected findings and insights about species management in a changing climate.
New NW CASC-Supported Study Explores Climate Impacts on Pinto Abalone in Washington
Pinto abalone was once plentiful in Washington’s waters but has declined by a shocking 97% since the early 1990s. What is causing this massive decline in population? A new Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center-supported study, led by former NW CASC Research Fellow Eileen Bates and other researchers from University of Washington, Puget Sound Restoration Fund, and Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife explores how climate warming and ocean acidification are threatening hatchery-raised abalone in the early life stages.
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Invasive Species Science at the NW CASC
Invasive species are an ongoing focus of the NW CASC’s efforts to fund and facilitate actionable science, which have included research on more than 24 invasive species since 2011 across Northwestern habitats ranging from Puget Sound prairies to sagebrush steppe, from coastal wetlands to high elevation forests.
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Surprises in the Klamath: How disease, invasives, and warming waters are affecting redband trout
Written by guest author Heidi Shepard, NW CASC communications graduate research assistant for the winter 2025 quarter
Upper Klamath Lake in south-central Oregon is perhaps the last place one might think of as being trout habitat.
Updated Climate Change Vulnerability Index (Release 4.0) Includes New Features to Support Climate Adaptation Planning for Species
A new release of NatureServe’s widely-used Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI) is now available, providing natural-resource managers with a rapid and cost-effective way to evaluate species’ relative vulnerability to climate change in specific geographies.
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Meet NW CASC’s New Research Fellows and Faculty Fellows!
Please join us in welcoming the new NW CASC Research Fellows and Faculty Fellows! These Fellows will conduct one-year projects in collaboration with regional natural resource managers, while receiving training in the practice of actionable science.
Meet the Fellows
NW CASC Webinar Shares New Models Related to Climate-Ready Invasive Species Management in PNW Rivers
Throughout the Pacific Northwest, invasive plants threaten rivers and the ecosystem services they provide, a risk that climate change may exacerbate. In a new webinar held earlier this week, researchers from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the University of Washington shared findings from two related studies from their collaborative, NW CASC-supported project, Integrating Economics and Ecology to Inform Climate-Ready Invasive Species Management in Pacific Northwest Rivers.
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UPCOMING WEBINAR: Integrating Economics & Ecology to Inform Climate-Ready Invasive Species Management in Pacific Northwest Rivers
The Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (NW CASC) is hosting an upcoming webinar on Tuesday, August 27 at 12:00 p.m. PT, during which researchers from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the University of Washington will share findings from their collaborative, NW CASC-supported project, Integrating Economics and Ecology to Inform Climate-Ready Invasive Species Management in Pacific Northwest Rivers.
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NW CASC Partners with US Fish and Wildlife Service to Deliver Second Climate Adaptation Training Series for Sagebrush Practitioners
Building upon the success of the first Climate Change and Climate Adaptation Training Series for Grasslands Practitioners, the Northwest CASC joined three other regional CASCs and the US Fish and Wildlife Service in developing and delivering a second climate adaptation training series for sagebrush practitioners.
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Now Available: Special Edition Drought Status Update for Pacific Northwest Tribal Nations
A special drought status update for Pacific Northwest Tribes shares that drought has begun to develop and is expected to persist across many Pacific Northwest Tribal lands this summer. The NW CASC and partners worked with the National Integrated Drought Information System to release this update, which provides key takeaways, maps and resources of the most up-to-date science on drought conditions and response considerations.
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