Science Tools for Managers

Federal and state agencies gather information; work with partners, stakeholders, and others; and then write planning documents that guide their natural and cultural resource management. To be useful, these planning documents must reflect current and anticipated conditions, and therefore must include information about climate change. However, there has been little research about what climate inform

Large, hot, fast-moving wildfires are an increasing threat to communities and to the watersheds they rely upon. Forest managers work to reduce the risk from these fires using forest thinning and prescribed burning to reduce the amount of fuel in the forest. However, these activities are expensive, and it can be challenging to identify which acres of forest should be targeted with thinning and burn

Climate change threatens to damage historical sites and disrupt cultural practices in communities around the world, including the South-Central United States. Researchers are now paying greater attention to the impact of climate change on these cultural resources, but currently little guidance exists for decision makers who are interested in protecting them. Because communities value and interact

The amount of water flowing through a stream is an important driver of aquatic habitat, but scientists don’t often measure streamflow in the small stream networks that feed larger rivers. Monitoring smaller streams is especially important as climate change is causing them to (a) flood more often and more intensely, and (b) lose habitat as drought events and water temperatures increase. A better un

Small creeks and streams often dry out during the summer but still support many insects, fish, crayfish, and plants. Though intermittent streams are the most common type of flowing water across the globe, not much is known about which, how, why, or when streams dry or about how patterns of drying affect species in these habitats. More information about patterns of stream drying can help inform the

Human fossil fuel use and agricultural practices have increased atmospheric nitrogen deposits (e.g., through snow and rain) to mountain ecosystems. This, along with increasing measurable climate warming is affecting soil and water acidity and altering nutrient balances. In this project, North Central CASC-supported researchers will analyze decades of unexplored data, including surface water chemis

Characterized by their extreme size, intensity, and severity, megafires are the most destructive, dangerous, and costly wildfires in the U.S. Over the past two decades, megafires have become more frequent in Oklahoma and Texas along with increasing extreme weather events and changes to fuel types caused by woody plant encroachment into grasslands. As climate change and woody plant encroachment are

Wildfire burn areas are increasing in the western U.S., a change that has been linked to increased fuel aridity caused by climate change. Recognizing that there will likely be even more large fires in the future presents an opportunity to prepare and adapt to the expected climatic changes. This project addresses three key science questions: 1) Is there a specific level (threshold) of fuel aridi

The United States National Park Service (NPS) declared climate change as “the greatest threat to the integrity of our national parks that we have ever experienced.” Climate change is causing not only higher average temperatures in most places but also increasing the severity of storms, the number of heatwaves and wildfires, and causing heavier rainfall. These extreme weather conditions pose major

Climatic warming has contributed to recent increases in severe wildfires across the Pacific Northwest (PNW). Following severe wildfire, a burned forest has an increased likelihood burning again within several decades, which can greatly alter vegetation recovery. These changes are of increasing concern to forest managers, conservationists, researchers, the public, and culture bearers. However, more

Species are adapted to particular environmental conditions, but are threatened as climate change shifts habitat conditions. One way species can respond is by moving to new suitable locations, known as climate-driven range shifts. But some species can move more easily and/or more quickly than others, and some landscapes are more difficult to cross. In the upper Midwest, the movement potential of ma

Climate and land use change are affecting many aquatic species throughout Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The objective of this project is to understand and plan for the changes in distribution of aquatic species considered “Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need” (RSGCN) in the mid-Atlantic region. Working with state and federal partners, this project will identify