Northern California Climate Adaptation Project Products

The goal of the Northern California Climate Adaptation Project is to increase the understanding of and capacity to reduce climate-related vulnerabilities of habitats and species of natural and cultural importance in northwestern California. For more information about the project, please visit the project page.

The Overview of Climate Trends and Projections summarizes observed changes and expected future conditions for the Northern California Climate Adaptation Project study area.

The Vulnerability/Adaptation Summaries (linked below) provide a high-level overview of vulnerability for habitats and associated species within the four major habitat groups (coastal habitats, forest and woodland habitats, freshwater habitats, and shrubland and grassland habitats), as well as a table of adaptation strategies and actions linked to those vulnerabilities.

The Vulnerability Assessment Syntheses (linked below) provide an in-depth review of how habitats and species are likely to be impacted by climate change and include information gathered from regional experts, the scientific literature, and peer-review comments and revisions. Each synthesis examines the sensitivity of a given habitat, species, or species group to climate change, its exposure to projected changes, and its capacity to adapt. These syntheses aim to expand understanding of habitat and species vulnerability to changing climate conditions and to provide a foundation for developing appropriate adaptation responses.

The Adaptation Strategies and Actions Table presents a suite of potential adaptation strategies and actions for the northern California study area, which were generated by area stakeholders and supplemented by strategies and actions from previous EcoAdapt workshops and sources in the scientific literature. Adaptation actions are provided for the four major habitat groups, and the action listed in the table has been evaluated by a number of criteria meant to assist land managers in identifying and prioritizing actions for implementation (e.g., effectiveness, feasibility, potential co-benefits, and consequences).

The Adaptation Implementation Workshop Proceedings summarize the activities and outcomes of the Northern California Adaptation Implementation Workshops held for the Redding and Eureka/Arcata regions in November 2021. The report includes an overview of climate adaptation planning and a description of the workshop activities, then presents adaptation implementation plans created by workshop participants for six priority sites within the northwestern California study area.

A recording of the May 3, 2022, webinar "Supporting Incorporation of Climate Change Into Federal Plan Revisions for Northern California" is also available here, along with the associated slides:

• Introduction and Overview of the Northern California Climate Adaptation Project(Laura Hilberg, EcoAdapt)
• BLM Climate Change Policy & Context and Planning Applications(Jim Weigand and Katie Flahive, BLM)
• USFS Climate Change Policy & Context and Northwest Forests and Plan Revision(Lara Buluc, Logan Graham, and Sarah Sawyer, USFS)

Habitats:

Coastal Bluffs & Scrub

Habitats:

Coastal Conifer-Hardwood Forests

Coastal Redwood Forests

Mixed Evergreen Forests

Oak Savannas & Open Woodlands

Subalpine Forests

True Fir Forests

Knobcone Pine & Cypress Species

Late-Successional-Dependent Species (e.g., Pacific fisher)

Marbled Murrelet

Sugar Pine

Freshwater Marshes

Seeps & Springs

Vernal Pools

Wet Meadows & Fens

Native Freshwater Mussels

Northwestern Pond Turtle

Port-Orford-Cedar

Riparian-Nesting Birds

Habitats: Endemic Habitats (e.g., caves, cliffs, and talus slopes, etc.)