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Wisconsin
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| SFI logo |
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SFI State Implementation Committee considers climate change
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is one of the most widely-used certification standards for forest management and fiber sourcing, with millions of certified acres across the Northwoods. The Wisconsin State Implementation Committee (SIC) for SFI is kind of like a governing board that helps determine how the SFI certification standard is implemented within the state. SIC members include Packaging Corp. of America, Kretz Lumber, Potlatch, Weyerhaeuser, Sappi, Verso, Domtar, Hancock Natural Resources Group, Louisiana-Pacific, and other certified organizations. NIACS was invited to participate in an October SIC meeting in Rhinelander, WI. Stephen Handler shared information about climate change risks to forests in Wisconsin, adaptation examples, and ways that SFI could help promote further awareness on this issue across the state. We look forward to future collaboration with the SIC and forest industry members! Contact Stephen Handler or Earl Gustafson (WI Paper Council) to learn more.
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Minnesota
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| Warming winters across the USA from 1970 to 2017. |
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Minnesota is on the "front lines" of climate change
The winters just aren't what they used to be in Minnesota. Climate Central recently analyzed observed temperature records from 1970 through 2017 to see where winters are warming the fastest. Two Minnesota cities made the top 5 list of places that are warming the fastest across the country! Both Minneapolis and Mankato have warmed by 6 degrees Fahrenheit for the months of December, January, and February since 1970. Duluth was only slightly behind, warming 5.8 degrees over the same time frame. This headline is important but not entirely surprising, as northern states have tended to warm faster than southern states. See the Climate Central page for more information and maps of this winter analysis. |
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Michigan
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| Climate change discussion session at the Kenton Ranger District. |
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Climate adaptation planning and education on the Ottawa National Forest
The Ottawa National Forest has made strong progress toward being a "climate-ready" agency over the past several years. NIACS helped the Ottawa keep up the momentum with a few engaging events in November. NIACS staff worked with the planning team for the Pomeroy Vegetation Management Project in the southwest portion of the Ottawa. Ottawa staff were able to share ideas about key climate change risks in the Pomeroy project area and develop some appropriate adaptation actions. The following day, NIACS held two climate change education sessions at the Bessemer and Kenton District offices. These sessions were open to all staff, and they resulted in some great conversations and discussions. We look forward to working with the Ottawa on more events in the future! |
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On Video
What does sustainable forestry mean to the foresters and producers who make it happen? Take a few minutes and watch this great video from Floline Media about forestry in the Northwoods! Featured speakers include NIACS partners Jon Fosgitt (Compass Land Consultants) and Jason Holmes (Bayfield County Forestry Dept.).
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Upcoming Event
Feb 20-22, 2018 - Oconomowoc, WI
The Wisconsin Wetland Association holds this annual conference to cover the latest and greatest research and information on wetland ecosystems. This year, the theme is "Wetland Resilience for a Changing World," and the 2-day program will feature climate change impacts and adaptation. NIACS staff will be giving multiple presentations and also organizing a 1-day adaptation workshop the day following the conference. Contact Danielle Shannon to learn more!
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Useful Resources
Check out this new documentary from WKOW in Wisconsin. It's 55-minutes long, and it would make a great discussion piece for a classroom or a community event!
The College of Menominee Nation Sustainable Development Institute is creating a new platform for indigenous peoples to share information on climate impacts and discuss ways to adapt. The new website just launched, and contains lots of great videos and resources!
NIACS created a series of 2-page handouts that summarize how individual tree species are expected to respond to climate change across the Northwoods states. Each handout includes model projections from two future climate scenarios and models like the Climate Change Tree Atlas. We think they're a handy way to show a lot of information and get people thinking about managing climate change risk and opportunity. Contact
Stephen Handler with any questions or comments!
Vulnerability Assessments for Wisconsin's Natural Communities
The WICCI Plants and Natural Communities Working Group has released a series of short climate change vulnerability assessments for Wisconsin's natural communities. Briefs are available for 10 broad community groups (Northern Forested Wetlands, Southern Upland Forests, etc.) and 52 more specific Natural Communities (Boreal Rich Fen, Oak Woodland, etc.) These are great resources - enjoy!
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Online Education
This 8-week training will run from January to March 2018, with 1.5-hour sessions each week. Staff from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, The Wildlife Society, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, National Park Service, Northeast Climate Science Center, and other organizations have worked together to design this course. Email
Davia Palmeri to learn more!
NIACS created the
Adaptation Workbook as an online, interactive decision-making process. This year, we've expanded the site to support urban forestry and agriculture projects, in addition to regular forestry projects. Stephen Handler gave a quick "tour" of the website in a recent webinar to the Climate Learning Network - click on the link above to watch!
The Climate Change Resource Center (CCRC) has released a new interactive online education module, "Responses to Climate Change: What You Need to Know." It provides an overview of adaptation options for resistance, resilience, and transition, and how to incorporate these ideas into natural resource management. This is the third module in a series; the first two cover the fundamentals of climate change science and an overview of climate change effects around the country.
NOAA's National Center for Environmental Information, North Carolina State University's Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites-North Carolina, along with many cooperating partners in every state has released a state-by-state assessment of climate change. They're full of great graphics and printable PDFs!
Lake States Fire Science Consortium
The Lake States Fire Science Consortium is designed to share knowledge among researchers and managers across our region. They have a searchable Science Library of great resources, and a regular webinar series. Check it out!
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Feel free to contact
Stephen Handler with any comments questions or suggestions for projects within the Northwoods Response Framework!
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