5A: Enhancing Community Partnerships and Stewardship through Climate-Adaptive Management

Tuesday, October 1, 2024, 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM

Land management agencies and organizations are under increasing pressure to integrate climate change considerations into planning and implementation activities. The Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS) and our partners have been working to tailor climate adaptation tools to meet the diverse needs of resource managers working collaboratively across multiple sectors and spatial scales through the Climate Change Response Framework (CCRF). This framework provides usable information and resources regarding climate change science and adaptation, and facilitates application of this information through on-the-ground management to achieve local, community-driven goals and objectives. Using a multi-step process known as the Adaptation Workbook with “menus” of adaptation strategies and approaches, this framework supports land managers in designing and implementing site-specific climate change adaptation actions. Starting with a forest-specific menu in 2012, these tools are now being used by natural resource professionals who manage an array of ecosystems and approach management with varied goals and values, focusing on forested watersheds, urban forests, wetlands, wildlife habitat, recreation areas, coastal ecosystems, carbon stewardship, fire adaptation, and tribal perspectives. This presentation will provide participants with tools and resources for incorporating climate change adaptation into natural resource planning and implementation utilizing the Adaptation Workbook process, as well as a demonstration of how this process is currently being used to design on-the-ground actions for an Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change (ASCC) project at the Colorado State Forest.