February 2017 Newsletter

———-SE CSC NEWS————-

Announcing the Global Change Seminar Series. The 2016-17 cohort of Southeast Climate Science Center Global Change Fellows announces a new seminar series for the Spring 2017 semester. Planned by the Global Change Fellows, the seminars will feature Faculty Affiliates from four of the six colleges involved with the SE CSC covering the topic of global change.

Science communication through video. This year our 2016-17 Global Change Fellows are each producing a 4-minute video on their research and how their work is contributing towards Global Change Research. View some of them here.

University Director, Nick Haddad, named an Ecological Society of America Fellow. Read more.

A new report by the National Park Service, Cultural Resources Climate Change Strategy, includes mention of Erin Seekamp’s SE CSC-funded project at Cape Lookout National Seashore. It was reported to be the most downloaded document from a government website in late January, according to a Washington Post article that cites data from analytics.usa.gov.

Fourth National Climate Assessment Southeast Regional Engagement Workshop planned for March 16, 9 am – 5 pm. The SE CSC is partnering with the NCA4 Southeast Region Author Team to hold a workshop to receive input from a broad array of stakeholders on the most important climate impacts affecting the southeastern US. Raleigh, NC (NCSU campus) will be the main meeting site, with satellite meeting locations in Charleston, SC, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Washington, DC, Lafayette, LA, and Biloxi, MS. You can register here to attend at one of the locations or to participate remotely. Get information on workshops in all regions.

Most popular social media posts of 2016 from National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center, the managing unit of the DOI Climate Science Centers: Part 1 and Part 2.

Global Change Fellow alumnus Michael Just was awarded a scholarship to participate in an interactive course on Modeling Principles for Natural Resources Management at the National Conservation Training Center.

Faculty Affiliate, Caren Cooper’s new book, Citizen Science: How Ordinary People Are Changing the Face of Discovery, reviewed in the Washington Post.

Conservation Corridor February Newsletter: http://conservationcorridor.org/digests/.

Faculty Affiliate, Laura Taylor starts new term as President of Association for Environmental and Resource Economists.

Faculty Affiliate, Holly Menninger, profiled in Scientists of NC.

Ten Communities Participating in Beta Phase of Resilience Dialogues, a public-private collaboration to help communities reduce their climate-related risks and build resilience. NCCWSC assisted in development of the project, which includes three communities in the SE CSC footprint: Boynton Beach, FL, Hallandale Beach, FL, and Savannah, GA. Learn more.

New SE CSC-Affiliated Publications:

Meineke, EK, AJ Holmquiest, GM Wimp, SD Frank. 2017. Changes in spider community composition are associated with urban temperature, not herbivore abundance. Journal of Urban Ecology, 2017, 1–8. http://ecoipm.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/178/2014/08/Meineke2017.pdf.

Jafari, N, BL Nuse, CT Moore, B Dilkina, J Hepinstall-Cymerman. 2017.  Achieving full connectivity of sites in the multiperiod reserve network design problem. Computer and Operations Research, 81:119–127. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cor.2016.12.017.

————–FEATURED RESOURCE————–

Our Changing Planet: The U.S. Global Change Research Program for Fiscal Year 2017
The highlights in this Our Changing Planet report represent the broad spectrum of USGCRP activities that extend from Earth system observations, modeling, and fundamental research through scientific assessment, decision support, education, and public engagement.

————–RESOURCES————–

The Southeast Regional Climate Center has released its January 2017 state of the climate report, which includes temperature, precipitation, severe weather reports, and drought condition updates for the region. Read the report.

YouTube series, Global Weirding with Katharine Hayhoe, tackles all aspects of climate change in short animated videos. New episodes are added every other Wednesday at 10 am central time. See the videos.

New Everglades Book available: The Everglades Handbook Understanding the Ecosystem, Fourth Edition covers the key subjects of previous editions with major updates of new science and understanding.

Video: Collaborative Species Conservation in the Southeast. Presentation delivered to the Western Governor’s Association Meeting. Watch the video.

NOAA View Data Exploration Tool. Web viewer that allows global visualization of more than 60 measured and modeled environmental datasets from NOAA satellite and surface data products.

A Conservation Action Map for the TRB Network. During the Tennessee River Basin Network’s 2016 annual meeting, members participated in exercises that helped produce a Conservation Action Map, showcasing the who, what, and where of conservation activities and projects in the Basin. The first iteration of this Map is now available on the Appalachian LCC Web Portal. Learn more.

Ecological Flows for North Carolina. Following recent droughts in North Carolina, the General Assembly convened the Ecological Flows Science Advisory Board to develop a strategy for establishing flow regimes that could protect the ecological integrity of the state’s streams and rivers. A new article in the Journal of the American Water Resources Association describes the method developed to characterize fish and invertebrate responses to flow alterations in North Carolina, a method that will aid in setting ecologically sensitive flows that achieve appropriate environmental objectives. Read the article.

Being Prepared for Climate Change: A Workbook for Developing Risk-Based Adaptation Plans. The workbook from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency presents a step-by-step application of a risk management methodology to climate change adaptation. By taking a risk-based approach to assessing vulnerability, users have a formal way to choose among adaptation actions. Selected actions are not simply beneficial—they rise to the top because they will be best for reducing risk.

Agroforestry and Climate Dashboard, provides a model decision support tool for agroforesters in a changing climate. See the tool.

Following the Ebbs and Flows of Southern Forest Products. A story map allows users to interactively chart the ebb and flow of forest products across southern states. It also provides a constantly updated guide to southern timber product outputs and the mills that process them — and shows declines from past decades.

Incorporating Ecosystem Services. Ecosystem services are the benefits people receive from nature. A new report identifies needs and opportunities to incorporate ecosystem services approaches into Forest Service programs and activities.

Climate Narrative produces video to help further engage with Latino communities, resources available in Spanish, including a 3-minute video explainer and downloadable guide.

Tools for Resilience. Biodiversity Information Serving Our Nation (BISON): Discover locations where plant and animal species have been documented. View it here.

Appalachian LCC has developed a short video series that gives an overview of the science tools and products developed for their conservation partners. See the video.

Reporting on Adaptation: An Online Resource for Climate Adaptation Communicators. As society grows increasingly concerned about the risk of climate change impacts on its communities, health, and ecosystems, a new response – adaptation – is emerging. The Reporting on Adaptation website coalesces a wide array of resources and information on climate adaptation from across institutions, so that reporters (and others) can better communicate the adaptation story.

NOAA unveils tool for coastal planning. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently released a report that updates the upper-end sea-level rise projections with the potential for rapid ice melt in Greenland and Antarctica, using different emissions scenarios and timelines through 2100.

————–NOTABLE PUBLICATIONS————–

Coastal Cities Could Flood Three Times a Week by 2045, according to a new paper in PLos One.

Strategies for Protecting our Cultural Resources in the Face of Climate Change. As a companion to their 2010 report Climate Change Response Strategy, the National Park Service has developed Cultural Resources Climate Change Strategy, which provides “guidance for NPS managers to anticipate, plan for, and respond to the real and potential effects of a changing climate on the cultural resources.” The report defines a conceptual framework incorporating actions that can be taken to preserve sensitive cultural resources in response to climate change in the areas of science, mitigation, adaptation, and communication. Information about SE CSC project, Protecting Cultural Resources in the Face of Climate Change, which is helping to prioritize climate adaptation strategies for Cape Lookout National Seashore, is included in the document.

Resilient Lands and Water Initiative Releases New Report. A collaborative effort by Department of Interior, NOAA, and Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the report summarizes lessons learned from seven Resilient Lands and Waters Partnerships across the US. The Partnerships, which includes one in SW Florida, built upon existing efforts by many partners in each region to incorporate climate resiliency into landscape conservation planning efforts. The report was produced by the Joint Implementation Working Group of the National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy, in response to a directive from the Priority Agenda for Enhancing the Climate Resilience of America’s Natural Resources of the President’s Interagency Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience. They also have a resource website.

A recent Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition paper focuses on America’s rural west, but really could be adapted for any region of the country or the globe: “…community, economic and environmental health go hand in hand. Investment in the stewardship of our forests, watersheds and rangelands creates local jobs, while providing clean water and clean air for the Nation.”

Developing Evaluation Indicators to Improve the Process of Coproducing Usable Climate Science. Work funded by the SW Climate Science Center used a case study approach to develop and test an evaluative framework of 45 indicators for collaboratively producing climate knowledge among climate scientists, resource managers, and decision makers. This coproduction of knowledge allowing integration of climate change science into decisions about resource management and policy development. Read the paper.

Applying Global Climate Change Information to Local Decisions. CISA researchers recently published Climate and Water Resources in the Carolinas: Approaches to Applying Global Climate Change Information to Local Decisions in the Journal of South Carolina Water Resources. Decision-maker questions about climate change in the Carolinas, approaches to using global climate change information, and opportunities to bridge the gap that often exists between scientific research and applications are highlighted. Climate change projections can be used in conjunction with other tools and resources to inform local planning processes.

Earth Sets a Temperature Record for the Third Straight Year. See the animation.

The climate papers most featured in the media in 2016. Every year, thousands of scientific journal papers are published by researchers across the world, but only a tiny proportion make it into the pages of the newspapers.

Yale Program on Climate Communication publishes new report: How to Inoculate the Public Against Misinformation About Climate Change. Prior studies have found widespread public misunderstanding about the scientific consensus that human-caused global warming is happening. A series of experiments have also found that simply informing people of the fact that 97% of climate scientists are convinced human-caused global warming is happening, significantly increases public understanding of the consensus. In turn, the increase in public understanding of the scientific consensus is associated with smaller, but potentially important increases in respondents’ own conviction that global warming is happening, human-caused, and a worrisome threat that requires action. Download the report.

Visualization of Earth’s changing temperature. This interesting spiral graphic that displays global temperature anomalies from 1850 to present has been updated to include data through 2016.

Macroclimatic change expected to transform coastal wetland ecosystems this century, explores impact of climatic changes on coastal wetlands. Read the article.

————–SEMINARS AT NC STATE————–

FEB 23 3:30 PM-4:30 PM. SE CSC Seminar Series: Climate change and plant-pollinator interactions. Location: David Clark Labs, Brooks Avenue, Raleigh, NC, Room 101. See the full Global Change Seminar Series Schedule

MAR 2 3:30 PM-4:30 PM. Seminar: Understanding Plant Community Responses to Global Change Impacts Using Functional Traits. Location: David Clark Labs, Brooks Avenue, Raleigh, NC, Room 101

Spring 2017 Geospatial Forum Seminars.

CENREP Spring Seminar Schedule.

————–WEBINARS————–

Find details of webinar information in our calendar.

FEB 23 1:00 PM-2:00 PM. Navigating the Data Basin Platform: A Guided Tour.

FEB 23 3:30 PM-5:00 PM. An Accounting Approach to Ecosystem Services for Public and Private Sector Decision Making in the U.S.

FEB 28 3:00 PM-4:00 PM. Assessing Soil Moisture Availability across the Gulf of Alaska Region.

MAR 1 1:00 PM-2:00 PM. Quantification of Alligator Gar Recruitment Dynamics Using a River-Stage Specific Floodplain Inundation Model.

MAR 1 3:30 PM-4:30 PM. Climate change impacts on lake thermal habitat.

————–TRIBAL NEWS————–

Travel Scholarships for Tribal Participation in NCA Regional Engagement Workshops. The Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) is now under development and will include regional chapters that contain more detailed regional-scale information that may be more easily incorporated into local efforts like tribal adaptation plans and collaboration efforts. Your input can help improve your region’s chapter so it is useful to tribal communities. Throughout the months of February and March, the NCA4 Regional Author Teams will be holding Regional Engagement Workshops to gather input from all stakeholders in all US regions. The Southeast Regional Engagement Workshop will be held on March 16 (see details above).

In order to facilitate tribal involvement and engagement in the NCA4 Regions chapters, the BIA Tribal Climate Resilience Program, in partnership with Salish Kootenai College and The College of the Menominee Nation are offering travel scholarships to attend these meetings.

To Apply: Simply send a request to Joshua Rosenau (joshua_rosenau@skc.edu) identifying: (1) Which regional meeting (including satellite locations, if applicable) you/group wish to attend, and (2) The amount of the sub-award being requested.

For questions or more information, please contact Joshua Rosenau or Adrian Leighton, adrian_leighton@skc.edu or (406) 885-2787.

Award for Outstanding Service. Western Carolina University’s Ben Steere, assistant professor of anthropology and co-director of Cherokee Studies Programs, is recipient of the Principal Chief Leon D. Jones Award for Archaeological Excellence, presented by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Read the story.

Eastern Band of Cherokee, Re-establishing a Native Plant. Link to the story.

Guide to Freshwater Cyanobacteria, Harmful Algal Blooms for Native American and Alaskan Native Communities.  Read the report.

Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation with Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples. Special Issue of Climatic Change edited by Kirsty Galloway McLean, Ameyali Ramos Castillo, Edwin Castellanos, and Aqqaluk Lynge: Volume 140, Issue 1, January 2017. Access it here.

Environmental Justice for Indigenous Populations. Climate change has an inordinate effect on vulnerable populations. The EPA has published multiple fact sheets outline the effects of climate change on various vulnerable populations, all of which are populations that social workers encounter, © 2016 Social Work Helper, PBC. 01/26/17. More information.

The Importance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) When Examining Climate Change, a blog post by Samantha Chisholm Hatfield here.

Children Learn about Weather and Climate. The US Forest Service has partnered with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to develop a new educational module that introduces children to climate, weather, and climate change. The curriculum is designed so that in addition to meteorology and climatology, tribal members and elders can teach Cherokee traditions and traditional knowledge. The module, which integrates the Cherokee language into a number of activities, is being tested by youth center participants. The first module, which focused on culturally significant plants, was completed in 2015. Information on the new module.

————–LCC NEWS————–

Appalachian:
* LCC Science Helping to Target Restoration Sites to Improve Water Quality in the Susquehanna and Potomac Watersheds. Learn more
* Biennial Spotlight on National Park Resources. Learn more
More News from Appalachian LCC

Caribbean:
* Climate Change Projections and Maps of Potential Future Temperature and Rainfall Scenarios for Puerto Rico. Learn more
* Caribbean Agriculture, Forestry and Climate Governance Database. Learn more
More News from Caribbean LCC

Gulf Coast Prairie:
* LCC Network Releases One Year Progress Report on Accomplishing Recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences. Learn more
* Highlights and Take-aways from the Gulf Coast Prairie January Steering Committee meeting in Kingsville, Texas! Learn more
More News from Gulf Coast Prairie LCC

Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks:
* How to make local governments want more green infrastructure. Learn more
* GCPO LCC Gets a New Geomatics Coordinator. Learn more
More News from Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks LCC

South Atlantic:
* 2017 Blueprint workshop registration now open. Learn more
* Sneak peek at marsh mapping results. Learn more
More News from South Atlantic LCC

————–UPCOMING EVENTS————–

WRRI Annual Conference – March 15-16, 2017 – Raleigh, NC. Information and registration.

Coastal Cultures Conference 2017: Sustaining Cultural Heritage as the Climate Changes
Saturday, April 22, 2017 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM (EDT)
St. Helena Library, Beaufort County Library System
Saint Helena Island, SC. Register.

Black Folks Land Legacy Conference Mar 10 – Mar 12, 2017.
The “Black Folks Land Legacy Conference” is an interactive three day session on historic St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation which is a predominately Gullah/Geechee owned and operated Sea Island. Register.

Call for Tools Cafe Demonstrations. The Gulf of Mexico Alliance and the Harte Research Institute are holding a joint meeting for the 2017 GOMA All Hands and State of the Gulf Summit the week of March 26 – 31, 2017  in Houston, Texas. As part of the meeting transition from the Summit to All Hands, a Tools Café is scheduled for Tuesday evening, March 28th. Submissions are due via email to Dave Reed by Friday, February 17, 2017, Dave.Reed@MyFWC.com; More Information. Register.

————–OPPORTUNITIES————–

Apply for Travel Support for the National Adaptation Forum
Travel support to attend the National Adaptation Forum is available in limited quantities and will be awarded through a competitive review process. Eligible applicants include staff from state, county and municipal government, tribal, non-profit organizations, community leaders, and university students working on or studying climate change adaptation. Applications are due February 17, 2017. Information and application.

FY 2017 NOAA Coastal Resilience Grants Program
The objective of this FOA is to implement projects that build resilient U.S. coastal communities, economies, and ecosystems. This program is intended to build resilience by reducing the risk to coastal communities, economies and ecosystems  from extreme weather events and climate-related hazards. Funding opportunity #: NOAA-NOS-NRPO-2017-2005159. Deadline: 03/15/17.

Monarch Butterfly Conservation Fund 2017 Request for Proposals
Proposals are solicited to support efforts to increase monarch butterfly population numbers, with the ultimate goal of supporting a resilient population and continuing its migratory phenomenon. In 2017 grants will be awarded within two primary categories, 1) increasing habitat and connectivity for monarch butterflies; and 2) enhancing coordination and capacity of monarch butterfly conservation efforts. Learn more.

Land Trust Alliance position – National Climate Change Program Director
Job description website for details and qualifications. Questions: contact Erin Heskett (eheskett@lta.org).

Program Coordinator for South Central Climate Science Center. More information about the Center and the position here.

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