Southwest

Fires are becoming more extensive and severe in the West, and post-fire recovery is a challenge for communities as they adapt to a changing climate. Post-fire management can involve watershedrehabilitation, recovering valuable trees, and replanting to prevent forest loss and damage to watersheds. Land management agencies that make decisions may prioritize goals that differ from those of local popu

Across the Navajo Nation, the negative effects of climate change are impacting soil and vegetation management practices to the detriment of ecosystem function, human health, cultural resiliency, and economic well-being. Conducting ecosystem restoration and shifting land management practices are critical elements of climate adaptation and dust mitigation strategies for the Navajo Nation. However, b

The Manzanita Band of the Kumeyaay Nation is one of many Tribal Nations in Southern California playing a leadership role in advancing climate adaptation strategies and actions. This project will bolster the Tribe’s climate adaptation and natural resource conservation strategies that identified fire as a missing element needed to advance these efforts. Culturing burning has been practiced for thou

Actionable science has evolved rapidly over the last decade, and the Climate Adaptation Science Center (CASC) network has established itself as a leader in the field. The practice of actionable science is generally described as user-focused, action-oriented science that addresses pressing real-world climate adaptation challenges. It is also sometimes referred to as usable science, translational ec

Indigenous peoples and nations are on the front lines of climate change impacts and are leading the way in innovative adaptation action, such as in the use of traditional burning. Traditional burning has been recognized as a robust adaptation strategy, increasing the resiliency of ecosystems and the local communities that depend on them for their economic and social well-being. Furthermore, implem

The Pueblo de San Ildefonso is facing increased wildfire risk under climate change. Recent fires have not only burned culturally significant sites, but they have also resulted in a loss of watershed runoff retention, which has increased erosion and the transport of contaminated sediments and soils on Pueblo lands from the adjacent Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). A priority for the Pueblo is

Riparian systems are critical to the human and ecological communities that interact with them. For the members of San Carlos Apache Tribe, this is particularly true, as riparian systems provide immense cultural and natural values such as ceremonial grounds and recreation areas. However, the riparian areas within the San Carlos Apache Reservation are at risk of degradation due to climate change and

Clear Lake, California’s largest freshwater lake, is an important site for seven federally recognized Tribal Nations and numerous related Tribes and Tribal communities, where they hold lakeside cultural ceremonies, fish and recreate, and gather tule reeds. Today, climate change has amplified ecological imbalances within the lake, endangering aquatic wildlife and threatening the health and wellbein

Climate Change threatens efforts to restore and protect the natural and cultural resources vital to the traditional ways of life of Northern California Tribes. The state has indicated the need to include Tribal science priorities and Tribal management objectives into regional planning and policy. Moreover, Governor Newsom’s recent Executive Order N-82-20 aims to combat the biodiversity and climate

California black oak (Quercus kelloggii) groves are a fundamental part of the landscape in Yosemite Valley and the tree is a cultural keystone species for associated Tribal Nations. For centuries, tribal members have planted, tended, burned, and gathered around black oak. Before Euro-American settlers, the tribes actively maintained a sacred, reciprocal relationship with these groves that promoted

View this webinar to learn how warming and changing landscapes will affect big sagebrush plant communities.

The Southwest is projected to face significant climate challenges in coming decades; and many of these stresses have already begun. In recent years, multiple climate assessments have been developed for the Southwest that corroborate forecasts of remarkable change to vegetation pattern and the vulnerability of regional ecosystems and suggest that measurable change is already ongoing. Disturbance ev