The Earth’s climate is being disrupted irrevocably by the accelerated release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In fact, climate change is already well underway in the southwestern U.S.— more so than anywhere else in North America, outside the northernmost latitudes—and it is already affecting native plants, animals and habitats in ways we can see and measure. The challenge to the conservation community is to manage our forests, grasslands, deserts and rivers to build resilience and to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change on people and nature. Now is the time to prepare for more change. Any action we take now to understand the local effects of climate change and to build ecosystem resilience will help protect our natural areas and the clean water, clean air, and wildlife habitat they provide. The Nature Conservancy has joined with the Climate Assessment for the Southwest (University of Arizona), National Center for Atmospheric Research, Western Water Assessment (University of Colorado) and Wildlife Conservation Society to form the Southwest Climate Change Initiative (SWCCI). Our aim is to provide information and tools to build the resilience of natural areas in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
Landscape Workshops
The Nature Conservancy initiated the SWCCI in 2008 to provide guidance to conservation practitioners and land managers in climate change adaptation planning and implementation on more local scales. This project specifically aims to: (1) further develop and expand our impacts assessment protocol to adjacent states in the Southwest (AZ, CO, and UT), and (2) apply a vulnerability assessment tool being developed by the U.S. Forest Service and an adaptation planning framework developed by a Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) working group to a series of case-study sites in the four states.
The case studies were conducted as a series of landscape workshops and provided opportunities to further test and refine each component of the overall adaptation framework, by building on new research, strengthening existing partnerships, and laying the foundation for future innovation, including on-the-ground application and testing of adaptation strategies. Together, these field-tested tools will be useful in developing conservation action and monitoring plans (e.g., a climate change module in TNC's CAP process), forest and fire plans, and in building a regional learning network, all crucial to meeting the challenges posed by climate change for conservation.A series of landscape workshops where scientists and managers explored how to use climate change information to adjust their management practices. The documents below illustrate how focusing on climate change in a particular landscape can generate specific and concrete ideas for climate adaptation action.
April 2009 — Jemez Mountains
Presentations
Presentations by speakers at the Jemez Mountains Climate Adaptation Workshop of April 2009, including Todd Ringler (Los Alamos National Lab), Bob Parmenter (Valles Caldera National Preserve), Molly Cross (Wildlife Conservation Society) and Carolyn Enquist (The Nature Conservancy)
December 2009 — Gunnison Basin
Presentations
Presentations by speakers at the Gunnison Basin Climate Adaptation Workshop of December 2009, including Gregg Garfin (University of Arizona), Linda Mearns (National Center for Atmospheric Research), Joe Barsugli (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Molly Cross (Wildlife Conservation Society) and Patrick McCarthy (The Nature Conservancy).
April 2010 — Four Forest Restoration Initiative
Presentations
Presentations by speakers at the Flagstaff Climate Adaptation Workshop of April 2010, including Dr. Gregg Garfin (University of Arizona), Dr. Linda O. Mearns (National Center for Atmospheric Research), Dr. Seshadri Rajagopal (University of Arizona), Dr. Kenneth Cole (US Geological Survey), Dr. Kirsten E. Ironside (Northern Arizona University), Dr. Peter Fule (Northern Arizona University), Megan M. Friggins (USFS – Rocky Mtn Research Station), Dr. Joseph L. Ganey (USFS – Rocky Mtn Research Station), and Dr. Molly Cross (Wildlife Conservation Society).Future Regional Climate Change in Arizona – Concepts and Scenarios – Dr. Linda O Mearns
Paleoclimate of the Southern Colorado Plateau: A Context for Future Change – Dr. Kenneth Cole
Plausible Future Effects of Climate Change on Ponderosa Pine – Dr. Kirsten Ironside
Interaction of Climate Change, Fire Regimes, and Hydrologic Regimes – Dr. Peter Fule
The Mexican Spotted Owl – Results of a Vulnerability to Climate Change Assessment – Megan M Friggins
Placed-based Climate Change Planning – Overcoming the Paralysis of Uncertainty - Dr. Molly Cross
May 2010 — Bear River
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) convened a two-day workshop entitled Climate Change Adaptation Workshop for Natural Resource Managers in the Bear River Basin on May 26-27, 2010, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The goal of the workshop was to identify management strategies that will help native plants, animals and ecosystems adapt to a changing climate and lay the groundwork for their implementation in the Bear River Basin. Thrity-nine representatives of 20 state and federal agencies, local governments, academic institutions, and non-governmental organizations participated.Presentations
Presentations by speakers at the Bear River Climate Adaptation Workshop of May 2010, including Patrick McCarthy (The Nature Conservancy in New Mexico), Dr. Gregg Garfin (University of Arizona), Dr. Linda O. Mearns (National Center for Atmospheric Research), Dr. Joe Barsugli (University of Colorado), Dr. Frederic H. Wagner (Utah State University), and Dr. Molly Cross (Wildlife Conservation Society). Workshop recap.
January 2011 — Carson/Santa Fe National Forests
Downloads
Climate Change Adaptation for People and Nature (March 2012)
In the U.S. Southwest, global climate change, acting in concert with extant stressors such as urbanization and over-allocation of water resources, is changing ecosystems in measureable and sometimes dramatic ways. Twentyfirst century projections indicate accelerating climate change and cascading ecological consequences. Our experience suggests that adaptation efforts can be effective if they are focused at the local scale; employ learning networks; and engage in ecosystem-based adaptation: the sustainable management, conservation and restoration of ecosystems so that they continue to provide the services that allow people to thrive in changing environments.
Evidence of Climate Change in NM (April 2008)
There is now strong scientific evidence that human-induced climate change is affecting the earth's species and ecological systems. The Nature Conservancy's state-wide assessment of recent climate change enables practitioners and managers to make better informed decisions and to take action in the near-term by identifying the potential vulnerability of habitat types, priority conservation sites and species to climate change.
Evidence of Climate Change in NM (December 2008)
The second of three reports assesses the conservation implications of recent climate change on New Mexico’s watersheds and hydrology. Analyzing recent trends (1970-2006) in a water balance variable—climate water deficit—that indicates biological moisture stress or drying, this study identifies watersheds of high conservation importance in New Mexico that are most and least vulnerable to ongoing climate change.
Managing Changing Landscapes in the Southwestern United States (January 2011)
This regional assessment examines the impacts of temperature change from 1951-2006 on natural resources in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. It documents that warming has already affected habitats, watersheds, and species in the Southwest, by influencing the timing of seasonal events or amplifying the impacts of natural disturbances such as wildfire and drought. The report concludes that to begin adapting to climate change, natural resource managers should reevaluate the effectiveness of current restoration tools, modify resource objectives, learn from climate-smart adaptive management and monitoring, and share information across boundaries.
New Mexico Climate Change Ecology and Adaptation Workshop (October 2007)
Summaries and presentations from a climate change workshop that reviewed climate change science, articulated management concerns, shared management strategies and identified opportunities to address climate change adaptation challenges.
Opening Remarks - Gregg Garfin
Overview of Climate Change in SW - Jonathon Overpeck
Climate Change and NM Rivers - Manuel Molles
Climate Change and Natural Resource Management - Allen Solomon
Theory and Practice of Climate Change Adaptation - Brian Hurd