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April 2025 Newsletter

April 22, 2025
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Southeast CASC News

Save the date! The 2025 Southeast CASC Regional Science Symposium will be Sept 9-11, 2025 in Asheville, NC. Watch the event page for updates.

Register for our next science seminar on The Department of the Interior Nature-based Solutions Roadmap that will feature updates and new directions for the project. Happening May 21 at 1pm.

Our latest science seminar featured 2022-23 Global Change Research Fellow, Julianne Reas on Understanding the Role of Conservation Social Science in Improving Natural Resource Management Adaptations. And our current fellows cohort put on a seminar on Leveraging Geospatial Tools for Effective Environmental Planning – A Hurricane Helene Case Study.

SE CASC supported researchers Tom Byl, Devin Moore, and Champagne Cunningham, released a new USGS report on harmful algal blooms alongside De’Etra Young.

A new paper by 2019-20 Global Change Research Fellow, Samuel Flake, separates the effect of leaf shape from leaf size to better understand fire behavior.

Mike Allen is quoted in an article about the red tide off Florida’s southwest coast impacting Gainesville markets.

NPR talks to Rob Scheller about the role of fire in Southern Appalachia.

Community News from the Southeast

Partners

NOAA National Weather Service released their National Hurricane Center Tropical Cyclone Report on Hurricane Helene. 

Inside Climate News explains How Hurricanes Can Fuel Wildfires in the Southeast.

US Fish and Wildlife Service and US Geological Survey partnered on a project Restoring Coastal Wetlands of Southeast Louisiana on NWRs.

Tribal

Visit USET Climate Change Headlines for updates and highlights from across the USET region.  

 ITEP has released volume 2 of the Status of Tribes and Climate Change Report.

A team from Tennessee Tech and UNC-Asheville is using AI to create an interactive tool that can teach and preserve the Cherokee language.

U.S. FWS has transferred 680 acres of land for Spirit Lake Nation in North Dakota. 

Gatherings

Webinars

Events

Find more events on our calendar.

Resources and Publications

Resources

  • Yale Climate Opinion Maps 2024. YPCC has released their latest climate opinions map that highlights public opinion on climate change throughout the country. The map is developed based off of survey data from 2008 through fall 2024, and uses a geographic and statistical model to downscale national public opinion results to the state, congressional district, and county levels.
  • Climate and Land Use Planning: A Policy Guide for U.S. States and Territories. This guide by U.S. Climate Alliance outlines a suite of policies states and territories can use to advance their climate goals through land use planning. It also offers governance strategies to help states undertake cross-sectoral and intergovernmental planning, ensure data-driven planning and decision-making, and foster meaningful engagement with Tribes, communities, businesses, and other stakeholders.
  • National Interagency Fire Center Maps. This page features public access maps including current and historical fire perimeter maps, and real-time wildland fire situational information.
  • March 2025 Greater Mississippi Basin Precipitation Trends. This NOAA and Army Corps of Engineers document covers the various shifts in hydrometeorology affecting the Mississippi Valley and highlights the changes that have been found.

Publications

Does habitat or climate change drive species range shifts? Ecography

In this study, authors looked at climate and habitat changes to understand their impact on species ranges. Focusing on American red squirrels in the northeastern U.S., they tested specific predictions of range responses to warming, precipitation change, and forest composition change. They found that red squirrel abundance is primarily influenced by red-spruce forest cover.

Cruel Summer (and Autumn): Humid Heat Trends, Extremes, and Mechanisms in the Southeast United States. International Journal of Climatology

In this study, authors developed a custom gridded wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) dataset for the Southeast to better understand humid heat trends across the region. They found that the changes are larger and more significant at night and during the summertime. They also found significant increases in humidity in autumn in the Florida peninsula and the Gulf Coast.

Elevated extinction risk in over one-fifth of native North American pollinators. PNAS

In this paper authors assessed the extinction risk of nearly 1,600 species of vertebrate and insect pollinators in North America and found that more than one in five species is at risk of extinction. They found that in the southwestern US, where pollinator diversity is highest, so too are they most at-risk. They found that, while threats vary across regions, the major threats are climate change, agriculture, modifications to hydrological and fire regimes, and housing and urban development.

Harnessing the value of near-term actions for achieving climate-ready fishery management. Frontiers in Marine Science

In this study, authors looked at existing climate-ready adaptation efforts for fisheries to offer priority actions that can be taken in the next 1-2 years. They found that many of these management actions can be implemented in this short timeframe, most can be implemented in the current fishery and regulatory framework, and that while new approaches are needed, managers should proceed with caution to avoid maladaptation.

Opportunities

Student Announcements

UNC-Asheville is now offering a Master of Science in Environmental Resilience.

Hiring Announcements

University of the Virgin Islands is seeking a postdoctoral research associate. Apply by April 30.

ICAR is hiring an assistant director of engagement and research assistant or associate professor in resilience engineering. Apply by April 30.

S.C. Sea Grant is hiring an executive director. Open until filled.

The American Flood Coalition has several positions open. Various closing dates.

University of Florida is seeking a Professor of Practice in Coastal Water Resources Resilience. Open until filled

Seminole Tribe of Florida has several positions open. Various closing dates. 

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is seeking a postdoctoral research scholar. Open until filled. 

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is hiring a Managing Director Clean Energy Extension. Open until filled.

Funding Announcements

NFWF requests proposals for the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley Restoration Fund. Due by April 24.

The J.M. Kaplan Fund seeks project applications for their J.M.K. Innovation Prize. Due by April 25.

NFWF requests proposals for the National Coastal Resilience Fund. Due by May 6.

NSF invites project proposals through their Fire Science Innovations through Research and Education (FIRE) program. Due by June 20.