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NE CSC Newsletter

Thursday, September 19, 2013

News and upcoming events related to the Northeast Climate Science Center

 

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Webinar: "The New Communication Climate: Exploring how fast-evolving information pathways and platforms can limit losses where people live in harm's way"   Andrew Revkin has covered science and the environment for 30 years in newspapers, magazines, books, documentaries and his New York Times blog, Dot Earth, winning the country's top science journalism awards multiple times. He was a staff reporter at The Times from 1995 to 2009. Since 2010, he has been the Senior Fellow for Environmental Understanding at Pace University, where he teaches courses on blogging, environmental-science communication and documentary video with a focus on sustainable development. He has written acclaimed books on global warming, the changing Arctic and the fight to save the Amazon rain forest. Revkin has also written three book chapters on communication and the environment and speaks to varied audiences around the world about the power of the Web to foster progress on a finite planet. Read more...

 

Graduate Fellow participates in Structured Decision Making (SDM) course    From Lynn Brennan, NE CSC Graduate Fellow:  "Thanks in-part to a generous scholarship provided by the Southeast Climate Science Center, I was able to spend the week of August 19th at the National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia participating in a Structured Decision Making (SDM) course.  The attendees were a diverse group consisting of graduate students from the Northeast and Southeast, and state and federal agency employees from across the country."   Read more...

 

Adaptive management workshop for sustainable forestry  NE CSC Consortium member, Tony D'Amato, led a workshop for the Sustainable Forestry Education Cooperative on August 21.  The workshop focused on adaptive management for lowland black ash forests in the upper Lake States region. Tour participants included field staff for the Superior National Forest, Minnesota DNR, County Land Departments, and private forest landowners.

 

New project works with tribes to build adaptive capacity     New grant awarded to NE CSC Consortium Institution, College of Menominee Nation, through the Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments Center (GLISA). This project addresses the challenge of how specific tribes can adapt to climate change in ways that ensure the protection of tribal cultures and harness cultural resources, as well as integrate the best scientific resources about environmental change, address emerging social problems, and negotiate jurisdictional challenges unique to federally-recognized tribes..  Read more…  

 

 

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The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)'s Climate Data Guide    This resource provides concise and reliable information on the strengths and limitations of the key observational data sets, tools and methods used to evaluate Earth system models and to understand the climate system.  Citable expert commentaries are authored by experienced data users and developers, enabling scientists to expose their work and the diverse user community to access and understand the essential data.  The Climate Data Guide was named an exemplary community resource by the 2012 U.S. National Academies' report A National Strategy for Advancing Climate Modeling.  Read more…

 

 

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Thursday, September 19, 1 pm CDT

Midwest and Great Plains Drought and Climate Outlook Webinar presents, 

"Discussion of the current drought impacts across portions of the area as well as outlooks for drought, precipitation and temperatures over the coming months"

To register, visit:  http://drought.gov/drought/content/regional-programs/regional-drought-webinars

 

Monday, September 23, 3:30 pm ET 

The Northeast Climate Science Center presents, 

"The New Communication Climate: Exploring how fast-evolving information pathways and platforms can limit losses where people live in harm's way"

Andrew Revkin, The New York Times

To join, visit: https://necsc.umass.edu/webinars/new-communication-climate-exploring-how-fast-evolving-information-pathways-and-platforms-ca

Are you near Amherst, MA?  Join us live at Engineering Lab II, Room 119, UMass Amherst Campus

 

Tuesday, September 24, 1:00 pm ET

US Forest Service Landscape Science webinar series presents, 

"Climate change, crowd-sourcing, and building the social networks needed for effective landscape conservation of native trouts"

Daniel Isaak

To join or register, visit:  http://www.fs.fed.us/research/landscape-science/

 

Thursday, October 3, 3:30 pm ET

NCCWSC Climate Science and Management presents, 

"Climate Change and Rocky Mountain Ungulates"

Matthew Kauffman

To join or register, visit:  https://nccwsc.usgs.gov/webinar/248

 

Wednesday, October 9, 1-2 pm ET

EPA Climate Ready Water Utilities presents, 

"Scenario Planning to Support Decision Making"

This session will introduce scenario planning, a method that allows a flexible approach to strategic long-term planning and highlight examples from utility representatives that have used scenario planning.

To register, visit: https://epa.connectsolutions.com/e4jeud3sxlf/event/registration.html

 

Wednesday, October 16, 12:00 pm ET

Bard National Climate Seminar presents, 

"National Climate Seminar: Goodbye Miami"

Jeff Goodell

To join or register, visit:  http://www.bard.edu/news/events/event.php?eid=118659&year=2013&month=10&day=16

 

Thursday, October 17, 2pm - 3pm ET

US FWS Restoration Webinar Series presents, 

"Erie Marsh Preserve Coastal Wetland Restoration and Enhancement"

Christopher A. May, Restoration Director of Michigan, The Nature Conservancy

To join, visit:  http://distancelearning.fws.gov/webinars/restoration.html

 

Tuesday, October 22, 1:00 pm ET

US Forest Service Landscape Science webinar series presents, 

"Predicting long-term wildfire effects across complex landscapes"

Steve Norman

To join or register, visit:  http://www.fs.fed.us/research/landscape-science/

 

 

------ UPCOMING EVENTS: ---------------------------------------------------

 

Symposium: Predicting synergistic impacts under climate change    The special symposium  will be held on Tuesday, October 8th as part of the The Wildlife Society's 20th Annual Conference in Milwaukee, WI. In this symposium we discuss new methods and advances in research and application to better enable management of wildlife under an uncertain future.  Read more…

 

 

Congress on Coastal Resilience and risk    December 11-12, 2013, NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction, College Park, MD. The primary goals of this meeting are to identify critical infrastructure and policies to foster coastal resilience and promote an understanding of the new economic and physical environment in which we live. Delegates will have the opportunity to discuss the future of coastal management with leaders in scientific and environmental management fields.  Read more…

 

"Parks: The New Climate Classroom, An insitute forum on climate change education"    November 7-8, 2013 at Cavallo Point Lodge in San Francisco.   A select audience will convene to learn from leading thinkers and share knowledge and practices across agencies, organizations, and geographies. Our goals are to mobilize the education, non-profit, and parks sectors to engage the public in new and innovative ways and accelerate the use of parks as powerful, natural platforms for climate change education.  Read more...

 

 

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Conservation Beyond Boundaries    The North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative is working with states in the Northeast Region to develop decision-support tools that will provide broader context for state and local conservation decisions and actions. Read more…

 

Hook, Line and Sinker    The Great Lakes basin includes numerous rivers and freshwater streams attracting fishermen from across the globe.  Through the coordinated efforts of the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC), federal, state and academic partners are working side-by-side to determine how projected warmer air temperatures and changes in precipitation in the coming century may impact fish habitat.  Read more…

 

Downscaling Scenarios of Climate Change Project to Map Entire Appalachian LCC Region    A DOI Southeast Climate Science Center funded project will be evaluating the latest generation of global climate models to generate scenarios of future change to climate, hydrology, and vegetation for the Southeastern U.S. as well as the entire range of the Appalachian LCC. Read more…

 

 

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GLISA 2013 Climate Assessment Grants Awarded     This year GLISA sought out organizations that can unite stakeholders from specific communities to identify and promote understanding of the vulnerabilities, anticipated impacts, and potential for adaptation to climate change.  Read more...

 

Grants Awarded To Study Climate Change & Watersheds     The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Hudson River Estuary Program, in partnership with the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC), had awarded 11 grants totaling more than $484,000 to fund projects that contribute to watershed resiliency in the face of climate change. Read more…

 

Climate Adaptation Plans Discussed for Great Lakes    On September 9, the International Joint Commission and the Great Lakes Commission, advisory groups to the United States and Canada regarding the Great Lakes region, met in Milwaukee to discuss plans to combat climate change and other human-induced changes in the lakes. Lake levels have been below normal in all of the Great Lakes since the late 1990s, with severe drop-offs in water levels in Lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior. Read more...

 

Climate change may boost frog disease chytridiomycosis    More changeable temperatures, a consequence of global warming, may be helping to abet the threat that a lethal fungal disease poses to frogs. Read more...

 

EPA Releases New Climate Science Lesson Plans for Middle School Classrooms    EPA has released seven new lesson plans on climate change developed specifically for middle school students.  Topics covered by the lesson plans include: the difference between weather and climate, the sources of greenhouse gas emissions, the carbon cycle, sea level rise, and the impact of climate change on coral reefs.  Read more...

 

First-of-Its-Kind Easement in Maryland Protects Historic Area from Sea Level Rise Impacts     The State of Maryland has preserved 221 acres through a Coastal Resilience Easement.  A new element under Program Open Space, Coastal Resilience Easements are designed to protect areas that may be prone to high waters and storm surge by permanently eliminating development, restricting impervious surfaces, protecting areas that allow wetlands to migrate, and requiring periodic Soil Conservation and Water Quality plan updates, all of which can help natural areas more quickly recover from flooding.  Read more…

 

Rural Well-Being in the Prairie Pothole Region   Land-use in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of the northern Great Plains has been shifting at an extraordinary rate, including changes in agriculture practices, the recent boom in petroleum production, and rising tourism, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey report. Read more...

 

Project in Long Island Sound Looks at Climate Change Impact     The Sentinel Monitoring for Climate Change in Long Island Sound Program aims to find out how climate change will alter Long Island Sound.  Home to over 120 species of finfish and countless bird species, the estuary brings in an estimated $5.5 billion annually to the regional economy. The project is studying indicators, or “sentinels” of climate change, with the goal of helping the Sound effectively manage climate change. Read more…

 

50 Years After Its Discovery, Acid Rain Has Lessons for Climate Change    In the 1980s, the dying red spruce trees of New England—many of them taller than eight-story buildings and more than three centuries old—furnished frightening proof of the power of acid rain. The trees were seen as a canary in the coal mine, and it was easy to imagine the ensuing consequences for the forest at large.  Read more…

 

Adding Climate Change Into The Conservation Equation    When setting aside land for conservation, what are the priorities? Nice views? Old trees? Mossy stone walls? A pair of conservation groups think that maybe the biggest consideration should be how much the land will help different species survive climate change.  Read more…

 

EPA Launches New Online Mapping Tool for Environmental Impact Statements    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to consider the impacts of proposed actions, as well as any reasonable alternatives as part of their decision-making process.  Read more...

 

 

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New GLISA Climate Resource: Freezing Rain in the Great Lakes     GLISA participated in a winter climate adaptation project focused on Chicago, IL. Freezing rain events were identified as a weather hazard that are important to city planners and decision makers. As part of the project, GLISA researched how freezing rain events are expected to change in the future for the city. Although Chicago was the primary geographical focus of this research, most of the research is relevant to the Great Lakes region as a whole.  Read more…

 

New Reports Explore How A Shifting Climate May Impact Eight U.S. Regions    The United States will be a much hotter place, precipitation patterns will shift, and climate extremes will increase by the end of the 21st century, according to reports released in January 2013 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in support of the National Climate Assessment (NCA). More recently, the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) summarized the January reports into 2-page summaries for each region.  Read more...

 

Vegetation Response to Altered Hydrology    In a paper published in Wetlands, Christopher Bernhardt (USGS) and others (USGS and USFWS) demonstrate how the paleoecological record can be directly applied to support Everglades restoration efforts.  They reconstructed hydrology and vegetation for the last 300 years using proxy data and compared the resulting natural patterns of variability with managed conditions of the 20th century.  Their results showed that the loss of natural hydrologic variability and connectivity due to water management significantly affected the composition of Everglades wetland vegetation.  These results help managers understand the long-term effects of water management strategies on natural vegetation communities."  Read paper…

 

USGS LANDFIRE Refresh Strategy     Landscape disturbances, including forest harvest and wildfire, have substantial impacts on ecosystems and human populations.  The LANDFIRE Program provides comprehensive vegetation and fuel datasets for the entire United States, updated to reflect landscape disturbances.  With the variety of applications and national programs relying on LANDFIRE data products, they must reflect current landscape conditions.  The LANDFIRE Refresh effort, described in a journal article by Climate and Land Use staff, was the first attempt to consistently update these products nationwide.  Read more…

 

Wetlands Watch Releases Report about Homeowners Insurance and Adaptation in Coastal Virginia    A report from Wetlands Watch entitled "Homeowners Insurance Changes in Coastal Virginia: Causes and Consequences for Shoreline Communities" describes the increasing costs of homeowners' insurance along the Atlantic Coast, as well as changing coverage.  Read more...

 

Geneva Association Releases Report on Ocean Warming and Implications for the Insurance Industry      "Warming of the Oceans and Implications for the (Re)insurance Industry" provides an overview of the detected changes in the oceans and their impact on extreme events and hazard probabilities over the last few decades.  This report summarizes the changes in risk management strategies that (re)insurance companies can implement to address the new situation appropriately, comply with regulatory requirements and ultimately improve their ratings.  Read report…

 

Research Links Woodpecker Population Boom to Emerald Ash Borer Invasion    In a study published this week in the journal Biological Invasions, NRS research entomologist Andrew Liebhold and Cornell University scientists document how an emerald ash borer invasion fueled a population boom for four species of birds in the Detroit area. Read more…

 

Forest-interior Birds May Need More Than Forest Interiors    In an article published this week in the American Ornithologist Union’s publication “The Auk,” NRS research wildlife biologist Scott Stoleson (http://1.usa.gov/1cLqzhZ) suggests that forest regrowth in clearcuts may be vital to birds as they prepare for fall migration. Read more…

 

New National Wildlife Federation Report Shows Climate Change Threatening Freshwater Ecosystems    The report details the ways global warming is threatening fish habitat.  Freshwater fish are dying off as rising water temperatures and extreme weather caused by climate change increasingly affect their habitats across the United States. Read more…

 

 

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Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities Centennial Challenge     Registration Deadline: September 23, 2013.  This opportunity is designed to enable cities to develop and implement plans for urban resilience to withstand natural and manmade catastrophic events. The Rockefeller Foundation's partners will work with selected applicants to establish a suite of financial and technical assistance support to develop and implement the resilience plan. Read more…

 

Appalachian Regional Commission and EPA Livable Communities in Appalachia    Letter of Interest Due: October 4, 2013. Appalachian communities interested in revitalizing their downtowns, promoting local food systems, and using other smart growth approaches to improve human health and the environment are invited to apply for technical support and implementation assistance through the Sustainable Communities in Appalachia partnership. Read more…

 

FEMA Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program    Application Due: October 18, 2013.  The Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) program provides funds for hazard mitigation planning and the implementation hazard mitigation of projects prior to a disaster event. Funding these plans and projects reduces overall risks to the population and structures, while also reducing reliance on funding from actual disaster declarations. Read more…

 

Wells Fargo and the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation Environmental Solutions for Communities    Application Due: December 16, 2013.  Wells Fargo and the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation seek to promote sustainable communities through Environmental Solutions for Communities by supporting highly-visible projects that link economic development and community well-being to the stewardship and health of the environment. Funding priorities include ‘greening’ traditional infrastructure and public projects such as storm water management and flood control, urban forestry, and education and training of community leaders on sustainable practices.  Read more…

 

The Forest Service’s Community Forest and Open Space Program    Application Due: January 15, 2014.  The Community Forest Program is a grant program that authorizes the Forest Service to provide financial assistance to establish community forests that provide continuing and accessible community benefits. Community forests provide many benefits such as protection of habitat, water quality, and other environmental benefits, and they can provide economic benefits through timber resources. Read more…