| |
|
Michigan
|
|
 |
| Black ash wetland on the Chippewa National Forest. Photo credit: Louis Iverson, USDA Forest Service |
|
Contribute to a new high-resolution map of black ash
Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is a threat to all North American ash trees and its continued spread has brought it to areas where black ash wetlands are an important part of the landscape. Researchers and land managers are working together to understand and mitigate the ecological, economic, and cultural effects that EAB will have on these forested wetlands. In order to be effective they need to know how to expand their research results and where to target management efforts. Joe Shannon, a researcher at Michigan Technological University, is asking for contributions of forest inventory data to create a new map of black ash. More information about the effort and a PDF submission form can be found at mtu.edu/blackashmap. Please consider contributing information to this project! |
|
Wisconsin
|
|
|
| Todd Ontl, Courtney Peterson, and Paul Berrang at the Southwest WI SAF Meeting. |
|
Wisconsin Society of American Foresters considers future risks
The Southwest Wisconsin Chapter of the Society of American Foresters held a meeting in February to get people thinking about the future. "Managing Today's Forests for Future Risks" featured a great lineup of speakers in a half-day program. Courtney Peterson (Colorado State/ NIACS) discussed the Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change project, Paul Berrang (USFS) presented on assisted migration and genetics, and Todd Ontl (USDA Climate Hubs/ NIACS) covered NIACS adaptation tools for foresters. The mixed crowd of professionals and students enjoyed the session and we hope to do more with SAF in the years ahead!
|
|
Minnesota
|
|
|
| St. Croix River Association Logo |
|
A new mantra for forest managers: Accept, Adapt, Repeat.
The St. Croix River Association held their 2018 Forestry Conference in February at the Audobon Center for the North Woods. This year's theme was "Managing the North Woods for the Future," and NIACS staff member Stephen Handler was invited to give the keynote address. Stephen gathered inspiration from Meredith Cornett's great article in Agate Magazine, and he presented some ideas on a new "mantra" for land managers: Accept, Adapt, and Repeat. The audience included well over 100 participants from private consulting firms, land management agencies, universities, and also private landowners. Climate change ideas came up throughout the day in separate presentations on wildlife, forest pest issues, and resilient site conditions. There were great discussions, and we look forward to participating in future SCRA events! (Maybe even getting out for a paddling trip sometime!) |
|
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!
|
|
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!
|
Feel free to contact
Stephen Handler with any comments, questions, or suggestions for projects within the Northwoods Response Framework!
|
|
|
|
|
|
