This resource list is specific to this region (AK, ID, OR, WA) and provides both comprehensive and topic-specific information related to climate change, ecosystem vulnerability, and adaptation. A list of the major science organizations and partners within the region is also provided, and we encourage you to connect with them should you require further resources. 

The resources listed below include a variety of published reports, including the 2018 National Climate Change Assessment and various ecosystem-based vulnerability assessments produced by partners in this region. Be sure to also familiarize yourself with the Explore Climate Impacts tool found at AdaptationWorkbook.org. There you can explore short but detailed summaries of how climate change is expected to impact or further impact your region.

Before diving into climate change resources, if you feel like you need a refresher on climate change basics consider accessing our education modules (~30 min long). The modules feature information on Climate 101, Climate effects on Forests, Climate Adaptation, and Forest-Carbon management 

USFS Climate Education Modules

 

Some selected resources:

1. Summary of climate change trends for the Pacific Northwest: National Climate Assessment: Northwest Climate Assessment Highlights (2018)
2. There are many regional assessments of forest and ecosystem change; this brief summary provides a broad overview of potential changes and how it might affect forests: Predicting the Unpredictable: Potential Climate Change Impacts on Vegetation in the Pacific Northwest (6 pages, 2016). 
3. Adaptation Partners - see “Projects” page for regional Vulnerability Assessments. These assessments are comprehensive and well-organized if you’re interested in diving into a specific topic. Each assessment normally provides downscaled climate information and summaries of climate impacts/vulnerabilities for vegetation, hydrology, aquatics and other focus areas.   
4. Understand past and future water temperature changes - NorWeST Stream Temperature Regional Database and Model
5. If carbon is a big part of your project, check this super short summary of the big ideas at hand:There’s Carbon in Them Thar Hills: But How Much? Could Pacific Northwest Forests Store More? (2017)

 

More climate change resources...

Data tool - NOAA Climate Explorer (Explore graphs and maps of historical and projected climate variables for any county in the contiguous United States)

Regional Climate Change Resources

• Foundational information for this region: National Climate Assessment: Northwest Climate Assessment Highlights (2018)
• State climate summaries (NOAA, NCICS)
• USDA Climate Hubs' Northwest Vulnerability Assessments
• States at risk (Climate Central), Sea level rise viewer for the US including AK
• Data you can use: Climate Mapper and Alaska Climate and Weather tools
• Summaries of climate impacts for the Northwest region - NW Climate Adaptation Science Center (2020). 
• Detailed summary and narrative for this region - Northwest Climate Assessment Report (2013)
• USFS Climate Change Resource Center’s resources for the Northwest Region
• USFS Climate Change Resource Center’s resources for Alaska
• Washington state climate summary- Climate Impacts in Brief
• Oregon state climate summary - Fourth Oregon Climate Assessment Report Executive Summary
• Broad summary *quick read* regarding climate impacts nationally. Interactive site will highlight climate trends at the county level (2020). 
• NOAA Statewide summaries of observed and future climate change
• Observed drought data for all regions

Forestry/Vegetation

• Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center - Ecosystem vulnerability Story Maps 
• Broad ecosystem summary: Climate Change in the Pacific Northwest
• Predicting the Unpredictable: Potential Climate Change Impacts on Vegetation in the Pacific Northwest (6 pages, 2016)
• Climate change effects on vegetation in the Pacific Northwest: a review and synthesis of the scientific literature and simulation model projections (2014)
• Effects of drought on forests and rangelands in the United States: translating science into management responses - Pacific Northwest and Alaska (2019) 
• Regional Example (vulnerability and management responses)- Pacific Northwest - Regional examples of silvicultural adaptation strategies: Western hemlock/ Douglas-fir forests found in the Pacific Northwest
• USDA Climate Hubs - Northwest Forest and Woodland Vulnerability Assessments
• USDA Climate Hubs - Northwest Reforestation, Planting to Suit Current and Future Climates

Regional assessments that include vulnerability assessments of forests, ecosystems, hydrology, recreation, and more

• Climate change vulnerability and adaptation in south-central Oregon (2019)
• Climate change vulnerability and adaptation in southwest Washington
• Climate change vulnerability and adaptation in the Blue Mountains (2017) 
• Climate change vulnerability and adaptation in the North Cascades region (2014)
• Climate change vulnerability and adaptation in southwest Oregon (in press)
• Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation in the Columbia River Gorge, Mount Hood National Forest, and Willamette National Forest (in press)
• Climate change vulnerability assessment for the Chugach National Forest and the Kenai Peninsula

Adaptation resources and examples

• USFS Compendium of Adaptation Approaches (sort by region) 
• Climate Adaptation Strategies for Pacific Northwest Forests
• Tulalip Tribes Natural Resources: Climate Change Adaptation
• Climate Change- Oregon Conservation Strategy

Hydrology

• Sea level rise calculator (US Army Corps of Engineers)
• NorWeST Stream Temperature Regional Database and Model
• Flows of the Future—How Will Climate Change Affect Streamflows in the Pacific Northwest? (2016)
• Data and spatial map interactive tool: Projections of climate change impacts on hydrology in the Pacific Northwest Region (2010)
• A Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for Aquatic Resources in the Tongass National Forest

Wetlands

Wetlands and Climate Change

Carbon

• Can We Store Carbon and Have Our Timber and Habitat Too? (2017)
• There’s Carbon in Them Thar Hills: But How Much? Could Pacific Northwest Forests Store More? (2017)
• Tipping the balance to more carbon storage in Pacific Northwest forests
• Carbon stocks and accumulation rates in Pacific Northwest forests: role of stand age, plant community, and productivity (2016)
• USFS Climate Change Resource Center “Carbon and Land Management” - Introduction, Carbon Management Objectives and Considerations”
• USFS Climate Change Resource Center “Forest Management for Carbon Benefits”

Science organizations in this region

• Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center
• Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center 
• Western Regional Climate Center
• USDA Northwest Climate Hub

 

Did we forget a resource? Please let us know! Contact Danielle.