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Identifying Climate Science Priorities Among Partners in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee

Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. Canva Educational License.

Project Information

Principal Investigator: Christopher A. Lepczyk (Auburn University)
Co-Principal Investigators: Robert Gitzen (Auburn University)
Jean Fantle-Lepczyk (Auburn University)
Project Timeline: September 2025 – August 2027
Consortium Priority Track: Inland Western Region and Species

Overview:

Within the Southeast, much of the focus on understanding climate change and developing ways to adapt or respond to it has been concentrated on the coastal areas. This coastal focus is obvious given the reality of sea level rise and the portion of ecosystems and people that will be impacted by it. However, other areas of the Southeast have had relatively less attention focused on them. In particular, the Inland Western Region (IWR) encompassing inland Alabama and Mississippi, Arkansas, and western Tennessee has had relatively little investment in understanding how species and ecosystems adapt to climate change. Given the scale of problems associated with climate change, it is critical to focus on large areas and develop priorities amongst partners. A number of locations in the US and in the Southeast have developed multi-partner collaborations or consortia focused on climate change adaptation, but there is a pressing need for such collaborations in the IWR. At present, there is not a set of climate science priorities from the IWR built upon a multi-partner perspective. This gap in information thus poses a major limitation for planning and decision making.

To address this gap, our overarching goal is to identify climate science priorities in the IWR amongst organizations involved or charged with natural resources management. In addressing our goal, we will: 1) conduct workshops to discuss climate science in relation to species (including terrestrial, aquatic, game and non-game), ecosystems, and their management; 2) with workshop participants, identify the main issues (species, ecosystems, other natural or cultural resource) and themes requiring further research and insight; 3) conduct follow-up surveys to refine the main issues and needs; and, 4) provide a set of climate science priorities for the IWR as a foundation for future prioritization or decision-making efforts.