August 2016 Newsletter

News and upcoming events related to the Southeast Climate Science Center. Subscribe to the monthly newsletter here.

—— SE CSC NEWS: ——————————————————
Meet our new Global Change Fellows for 2016-17. Read more.
Meet our new University Director, Nick Haddad. Read more.
New Publications: Two new USGS reports and factsheet on identification of sensitive ecosystems in the southeast: Learn more.
New Tool: Climate Voyager was developed with the NC State Climate Office, staff of the SE CSC, and input from the United South and Eastern Tribes. In this initial stage of the tool, historic and projected plant hardiness areas for wild onion (Allium tricoccum) are displayed. Learn more.
New publication: Meta-analysis of Natural Resource Conservation Plan Evaluations. This publication is associated with the SE CSC project, Development of a SECAS Conservation Decision Guidance Library. Read the Publication
Article by Former Global Change Fellow Published: Michael Just’s article, “Where fire stops: vegetation structure and microclimate influence fire spread along an ecotonal gradient” is now available. Read the Article
SE CSC and SC CSC featured in the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozark LCC newsletter on Outreach & Communications in “Co-production” of Knowledge. Read more.
Guiding Principles and Recommended Practices for Co-producing Actionable Science: This guidance document pulled out of the ACCCNRS Report from March 2015 is now available on its own in the SE CSC Science Planning Documents database. ACCCNRS is the advisory board for the Climate Science Center network. See the Document
Staff participated in Rising Voices 4 in Hawai’i in early July: Watch a Video Recap
Science Blog Features SE CSC Coordinator: Aranzazu Lascurain, Program Coordinator for the Southeast Climate Science Center, was recently consulted by Buzz Hoot Roar for help with their newest project. Learn More
New Video: “From Fire Comes Light”: This new video from NC State’s Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources with input from SE CSC PI, Jennifer Costanza, details fire’s role in promoting biodiversity in the Coastal Plain biodiversity hotspot. See the Video
Conservation Corridor Digest Summary: Check out the Annual 2015 digest summary from Conservation Corridor, an organization supported by the SECSC. See the Digest Summary and Sign Up for the Conservation Corridor Newsletter
 
—— FEATURED RESOURCE: ——————————————
2015 State of the Climate: Scientists from the United States have announced key findings from a peer-reviewed State of the Climate report that examines temperature, precipitation and weather events experienced around the world in 2015. The State of the Climate in 2015 report, compiled by more than 450 scientists from 62 countries around the world, confirmed that 2015 surpassed 2014 as the warmest year since at least the mid-to-late 19th century. See the State of the Climate
—— RESOURCES: ——————————————————–
U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit has upgraded the Climate Explorer to 2.0: Learn more.
New Open Access Book, Climate Modeling 101: Explanations Without Equations. Download the book.
NEW Online Course, Managing for a Changing Climate: This online course launches on August 17th, and is free and open to the public! Through this course, individuals will gain an understanding of the climate system, learn how climate varies, discover the regional impacts of climate change and how they affect management decisions, and much more. Learn More
NOAA unveiled a new tool Tuesday that will allow it to give hourly forecasts for river conditions in 2.7 million locations across the United States. The agency called its innovation the “biggest improvement in flood forecasting the country has ever seen.” Learn more.
Changing Climate, Spreading Infectious Diseases: This award-winning paper explores how climate change is affecting our health by altering infectious diseases. Read the Paper
Sea Change: Climate Change and Coastal National Parks: This paper explores three coastal national parks facing the uncertainty of a shifting climate and rising tides.   Read the Paper
Guide for Considering Climate Change in Coastal Conservation: This guide describes a stepwise approach to considering climate change in coastal conservation planning, with links to relevant tools, information and other resources. The steps should be familiar to those already practicing strategic conservation planning, but unlike other guides, these new products specifically focus on climate and habitat considerations of the coastal environment.  See the Guide
COMPANION TO ABOVE: How to Consider Climate Change in Coastal Conservation: This interactive online resource offers brief instruction on each step from the Guide and provides quick access to the most applicable tools when working through each step. See the Resource
Managing climate change refugia to protect wildlife: Natural and cultural areas that will remain similar to what they are today – despite climate change – need to be identified, managed and conserved as ‘refugia’ for at-risk species. This study sets out, for the first time, specific steps to help identify and manage these more resilient and climate-stable havens for plants, animals and fishes. Read the Report
 
—— UPCOMING EVENTS: ———————————————–
SEAFWA 70th ANNUAL CONFERENCE: October 16th-19th | Baton Rouge, LA | The annual conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies is a forum for the exchange of ideas and critical information regarding the management and protection of fish and wildlife resources primarily in the southeast. The conference attracts over 500 representatives from state and federal agencies, citizen’s organizations, universities, and private wildlife research groups, fisheries and wildlife scientists, agency enforcement personnel, and other natural resource related organizations. Learn More and Register
SAVE THE DATE: 2016 Rising Seas Summit: December 13th-15th | New Orleans, LA | The Rising Seas Summit is the premier annual conference bringing together professionals from across sectors to highlight the interrelationships between sea level rise, climate change and extreme events and develop strategies for adaptation. The 2015 Summit boasted more than 300 attendees and was produced in partnership with the City of Boston and Boston Green Ribbon Commission. The USGS Climate and Land Use Director, Virgina Burkett, is on the steering committee for this summit! Learn More and Register
SAVE THE DATE: Citizen Science Association 2017 Conference: May 17th-20th, 2017 | Saint Paul, MN | Due to the passage of North Carolina’s House Bill 2, eliminating anti-discrimination protections for the LGBTQIA+ community, this conference will no longer be held in Raleigh. The Citizen Science Association hopes that the movement of the conference might contribute to changes in North Carolina, allowing the 2019 conference to return to the state. They encourage all to join them on May 17th to be part of conversations to create a field of citizen science and a Citizen Science Association actively committed to equity and justice. Learn More
2016 Confluence Conference: September 8th-9th | St. Simon’s Island, GA | Confluence is the best place for water professionals to come together to explore water resource issues common to NC, SC, and GA. This year’s theme is “In Partnership – Growing Public Confidence” and they will deliver the same positive, upbeat, non-traditional conference program that you’ve come to know and love about Confluence, with ample opportunities for networking and resource sharing to foster better management of water issues common to our region. Learn More and Register
Urban Conservation Summit: Thinking Megaregionally:  September 21st-22nd | Atlanta, GA | This invitation-only event will bring together planners and conservation professionals to engage with the South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative’s Conservation Blueprint and set the stage for future Blueprint revisions. Join 40 of your fellow leaders to discuss how planners are working on natural resource conservation and develop ideas for conservationists and planners to collaborate more closely. Look for a formal invitation within the next few weeks!
 
—— TRIBAL NEWS: ——————————————————-
Downscaled county-level climate projections are now available for Alaska and all Tribes in the lower 48 contiguous states from the Data & Maps Section of any Tribal Fact Sheet in the Tribal Climate Resilience Resource Guide. Learn even more at the Tribal Climate Resilience Resource Guide.
 
—— LCC NEWS: ————————————————————
Appalachian:
*Ohio River Basin Fish Habitat Partnership 2017 Call for Project Proposals   Learn More
*Tools and Resources for Addressing Energy Development in the Appalachians   Learn More
More News from Appalachian LCC
Caribbean:
*Writing notes on National Light Pollution Awareness Day in Puerto Rico  Learn More
*Job Opportunities & Internships  Learn More
More News from Caribbean LCC
Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozark:
*Version 2 of Estuarine Tidal Marsh Assessment Complete  Learn More
*New Farm Service Agency (FSA) policy expands farmers’ ability to enroll pivot corners in the CP33 practice to provide habitat buffers for upland birds  Learn More
More News from Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozark LCC
Peninsular Florida:
*Conservation Easement Preserves Florida Heritage  Learn More
*Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation: August 9 Update  Learn More
More News from Peninsular Florida LCC
South Atlantic:
*Blueprint 2.1 now officially released  Learn More
*Landscapes standing sentinel in Eastern North Carolina  Learn More
More News from South Atlantic LCC
 
—— OTHER NEWS: ——————————————————-
America’s Most Extreme Weather Cities 2016: A Mid-Year Report Card: With 2016 already over half over, this article looks at the most extreme weather cities so far in the United States. Learn More
 
—— OPPORTUNITIES: —————————————————–
CALL FOR PAPERS: The Newport Restoration Foundation is seeking papers (6,000-8,000 words) that focus on what preservationists/conservationists, engineers, city planners, legislators, insurers, historic homeowners and other decision makers need to know and the physical and community adaptation strategies that will be necessary in the future. These papers should explore changes to planning processes, policies, and rules and the kinds of advocacy, education, and leadership needed to implement these changes. Although focused to a US-based audience, we will certainly consider international contributions. The deadline is October 15th.  Learn More and Submit
FY2017 Federal Funding Opportunity: NOAA’s Climate Program Office (CPO) supports competitive research through five major programs. Through this Announcement, CPO’s Programs are seeking applications for 7 individual competitions in FY 2017. Investigators are highly encouraged to learn more about CPO and its Programs, as well as specific Program priorities for FY 2017, prior to submitting applications. An estimated $10 million will be available. Learn More

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