2012 CSU Communities include the Dan River Basin Association that works in both rural North Carolina and Southern Virginia. Also joining us is the Delta Conservation District, located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. They join 2011’s Superior Watershed Partnership, only 65 land miles away on Lake Superior.

In California, we have added two new CSU Communities, Western Shasta Resource Conservation District in Shasta County and the Mattole Restoration Council in Humboldt County. These two new communities are bookends to our 2011 CSU California Community, The Watershed Center in Trinity County.  These communities are already benefiting from each others  data sources, resource contacts and fundraising efforts.

Also brand new to the CSU program for 2012 is the Clark Fork Coalition (CFC).  CFC has already completed a substantial its climate adaptation plan and is entering our program at the implementation level.  Their focus during 2012 will be how they can compliment the efforts of their local national forest system in climate adaptation planning.

We welcome all of these communities to the CSU family and look forward to updating you on their individual progress!]]> http://www.mfpp.org/?feed=rss2&p=2228 0 http://www.mfpp.org/?p=2213 http://www.mfpp.org/?p=2213#comments Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:46:41 +0000 admin http://www.mfpp.org/?p=2213 Trust is key to decision making in every relationship, and climate adaptation planning is no exception.  Building a diverse, and locally trusted, climate planning team is critical to building momentum behind your planning work, and more importantly, its implementation.   This year Western Shasta RCD has built a dream team to take on their climate adaptation planning.

Almost accepted in the CSU program in 2011, Western Shasta re-applied for the 2012 session and had a year to develop the structure of their adaptation planning team.  The wait paid off.   Upon entering the 2012 program Western Shasta brought with them an extremely diverse team of stakeholders which includes a local public utility, a county transportation planner who is also leads a regional planning effort, forestry and water experts, a health practitioner, public agencies, and the biology department chair from a local college.

This is also just the beginning of their stakeholder team, as they plan to expand to include private businesses, regional economic experts, and others.

As we’ll emphasize throughout this year, climate planning is no easy task, and certainly not an effort that any individual or organization can carry out on their own. Strength comes by expanding your team beyond your usual comfort zone. Western Shasta has designed a team to be reckoned with, sharing the load, responsibility and commitment to the project.

To read about one successful adaptation community, check out this story from Tulsa, OK and pay special attention to the section on their team process.

Although the Ashuelot River region of New Hampshire has been a leader in the Climate Change response planning, prior plans have lacked aspects that address natural resources with specific policy recommendations. In early 2010, Climate Solutions University selected Keene, New Hampshire as one of six communities throughout the country to participate in a one year learning, active engagement and planning process. The Ashuelot River Watershed Climate Adaptation Plan was the result of Keene’s participation in the CSU. We believe that the work accomplished has bridged this gap between assessment and actions and will become a model for the region and state.

Case Study 2010: Ashuelot River, NH Adaptation Plan 2010: Ashuelot River, NH

Tom Sintros served as project leader on a volunteer basis, in addition to full-time work in public education. Rather than apply through his school district in the Monadnock Region, he decided to apply through The Sustainability Project of the Emerson Brook Forest, a grass roots organization for the protection of natural resources in the area over the last two decades. The Sustainability Project supported his work as project leader by providing policy and editorial support, as well as a base in the community’s conservation history.

]]> http://www.mfpp.org/?feed=rss2&p=1998 0 http://www.mfpp.org/?p=1898 http://www.mfpp.org/?p=1898#comments Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:58:27 +0000 admin http://www.mfpp.org/?p=1898 The Moab area is isolated, low-income and rural; there had never been a serious effort to undertake multi-disciplinary watershed planning. Gifted with a pristine and bountiful supply of groundwater, the area is nonetheless constantly threatened by a lack of surface water. This problem, a common one in the desert Southwest, was likely to be exacerbated by climate change. But given the lack of organized information about basics such as groundwater recharge rates, zones vulnerable to contamination, culinary water use patterns, etc., the type and severity of the area’s vulnerability to climate change was not certain.

This issue was to be addressed by Canyonland Watershed Council (CWC) volunteers, writing a watershed plan in their spare time. Not surprisingly, after several months the writing process had not progressed very far. Though a visit from a Utah Division of Water Quality representative had a galvanizing effect on parts of the process, it was plain to CWC organizers that an all-volunteer group was not likely to make significant progress toward a meaningful watershed plan.

Adaptation Plan 2010: Grand County, UT Case Study 2010: Grand County, UT

Enter John Weisheit, and the Climate Solutions University. John, knowing from CWC discussions that climate change was likely to be a huge factor in planning for the Moab area’s water resources, applied to the CSU program. It seemed that the goal of overall climate change planning would mesh well with CWC’s mission to plan for water scarcity.

After being accepted into the program, John hired the team of Dave Erley and Laurel Hagen, both longtime CWC attendees and both with extensive experience in local politics and environmental issues. Laurel and Dave shared the responsibilities of CSU students, attending nearly all meetings and trainings together, and working together on the CSU curriculum. Doubling up on the work was very helpful during the process, bringing additional support and different perspectives to the project.]]> http://www.mfpp.org/?feed=rss2&p=1898 0 http://www.mfpp.org/?p=1872 http://www.mfpp.org/?p=1872#comments Thu, 11 Aug 2011 18:35:49 +0000 admin http://www.mfpp.org/?p=1872 Using input from regional stakeholders and scientists, The Mountain Studies Institute (MSI) identified climate change as one of the major challenges facing the San Juan Mountain Region.

Communities in this region have experienced events such as intense drought and severe wildfire at Missionary Ridge in 2002, outbreaks of pine bark beetle and sudden aspen decline, and consistent late summer water shortages for irrigation. Faced with a future where these types of events may become commonplace or intensify due to climate change, MSI felt that climate change preparedness should be a priority.

Case Study 2010: La Plata County, CO Adaptation Plan 2010: La Plata County, CO

With their participation in the 2010 Session of Climate Solutions University: Forest and Water Strategies, MSI was able to guide their community through the process of developing a Climate Adaptation Plan. MSI participated in this program to enable the San Juan Mountain Region, a traditionally underserved area, to have the opportunity to take actions that would build a climate resilient community. With this support and training program, MSI has been able to complete forest, water, and climate assessments, draft adaptation goals with community input, and further develop one of these goals into an actionable plan.

MSI has also become involved in a number of projects that address this issue, including developing a climate research literature review, partnering with the local group Four Corners Office for Resource Efficiency (4CORE) to contribute to their Climate and Energy Action Plan (CEAP), and hosting the 2010 Climate Conference: Managing for Resiliency in the San Juan Mountain for scientists and stakeholders.]]> http://www.mfpp.org/?feed=rss2&p=1872 0 http://www.mfpp.org/?p=1473 http://www.mfpp.org/?p=1473#comments Thu, 23 Jun 2011 00:17:09 +0000 admin http://www.mfpp.org/?p=1473 The impacts of climate change are detailed in various scientific fields involving the degradation of natural resources, urban development trends, macroeconomics, and regional climatology throughout the United States and the world. Sumner County is not immune to the local impacts of climate change and has experienced increased flooding, drought conditions, and extreme temperatures. The 2035 Climate Adaptation Plan builds upon Sumner County’s recently adopted 2035 Comprehensive Plan, which outlined a significant focus on the protection of natural resources. Whether one considers the scientific and academic research on climate change as valid and relevant, residents and local officials recognize the importance of the county’s natural resources and the risks and threats to water and forest resources because of urban development upon Sumner County’s landscape. The strategies to protect, enhance, and mitigate traditional impacts upon forest and water resources are similar strategies for climate adaptation. With Sumner County taking this bold step to address issues involving the county’s natural resources, both climate change resiliency and natural environment conservation will be enhanced at the local level. Although climate change can be a controversial political wedge issue, the local natural environment and economic capital required to prepare for climate change is much less than the cost of doing nothing. By addressing climate adaptation, Sumner County will benefit directly from the climate resiliency centric strategies that enhance, protect, and mitigate natural resources.   Sumner County TN Climate Adaptation Plan 2010 Sumner County TN Case Study 2010 Sumner County’s Adaptation Plan, developed through their participation in Climate Solutions University,  more comprehensively examines the impact of climate change upon Sumner County’s resources and economy and includes specific measures that will mitigate impacts upon forest and water resources. The document was developed through a nine-month process involving the Natural Resources Protection Focus Group for Sumner County. The Focus Group was lead through the 2010 curriculum conducted by the Model Forest Policy Program called Climate Solutions University (CSU). CSU partnered with MFPP, The Climate Project, and the Cumberland River Compact with funding from The Kresge Foundation to lead six communities across the country through the CUS curriculum. Sumner County was one of two communities east of the Mississippi River to participate. Sumner County’s 2035 Climate Adaptation Plan is organized with an Executive Summary providing an overview of the plan. Next, local research assessing existing conditions and trends of water and forest resources, climate change impacts, and economic impacts is presented followed by a discussion of potential opportunities. Finally, an action plan is organized for the Natural Resources Protection Focus Group to monitor and implement.  ]]> http://www.mfpp.org/?feed=rss2&p=1473 0 http://www.mfpp.org/?p=1337 http://www.mfpp.org/?p=1337#comments Mon, 23 May 2011 18:23:05 +0000 admin http://www.mfpp.org/?p=1337 When people hear about climate change or global warming, they often think of the weather.

“Why worry about global warming? It just snowed.”

This perspective can often be heard around the southwest, including in Taos, New Mexico.  However, weather is the immediate state of the atmosphere, and its patterns change from day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute. Climate is the composite of weather patterns averaged over very long periods of time, and its small changes during the past 100 centuries have rarely been perceptible in human terms. The semi-arid climate in our region is the reason we have sagebrush and piñon-juniper ecosystems, for example, rather than dense hardwood forests or barren desert.

As a result of the work with the Climate Solutions University, the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps (RMYC) and the Town of Taos have come to learn that Taos County’s natural resources and economy are extremely sensitive to changes in climate.  Modern climate change, especially during the past thirty to forty years, is occurring very rapidly, and the impacts of climate change are already being seen in Taos County and throughout the American Southwest.  In this region, scientific projections show a rapidly developing trend towards a more widespread arid desert climate, with existing forested areas being replaced by shrub lands and grasslands. RMYC Taos NM Climate Adaptation Plan 2010 RMYC Taos NM Case Study 2010

The purpose of this Taos County Climate Adaptation Plan (Plan) is to identify the goals, objectives, tasks and strategies that allow Taos County to adapt to the impacts of climate change. The Plan’s first challenge among community leaders is to commit time and resources to the implementation of the Plan. The Plan recommends the formation of a Taos County Climate Adaptation Team (Team) to implement the recommendations of the Plan. The members of the Team must be identified and their responsibilities formalized. Staff from the Town of Taos Planning Department and the RMYC will continue working with the Team members to set priorities, recruit additional Team members, and present the Plan for consideration of approval by local governments, federal agencies, and community organizations. The Town is also creating a Climate Mitigation Plan as a part of a greenhouse gas emissions inventory. The combination of the Climate Mitigation Plan and this Plan will be used to for the Natural Resources Element the Town of Taos Comprehensive Plan.

On behalf of the Taos County area, the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps participated in this one year, intensive distance learning program along with communities from California, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, Washington, New York, Tennessee and Utah.

The conference will take place on Friday, April 8th, 2011 at St. Luke’s Community Health Education Center and will focus on water and forest resources, infrastructure and food.  Please see their website for additional information.

By participating in Climate Solutions University during our 2010 session, NSEA was able to asses their local forest, water and economic resources, determine the potential climate related risks, and then created an adaptation plan that would allow the local community to work towards resource and economic resiliency.

Conference Information

Additional Media Coverage