Steve McNulty Director, USDA Southeast Regional Climate Hub USDA Southeast Regional Climate Hub (SERCH) Assisting land managers adapt and plan for the impacts of current climate variability

10/23/2015

Air Temperature Change

You don’t need warming to have major disasters

Enter the Climate Hubs

10/23/2015 Baseline rules Reagans quote No regulatory role Working with ARS, NRCS, and FS Must be useful to both extension and land owner

Vision: Agricultural production and natural resources maintaind and strengthened under increasing climate variability and environmental change Mission: To develop and deliver science-based, region-specific information and technologies to agricultural and natural resource managers that enable climate-smart decision-making and provide assistance to enable land managers to implement those decisions.

9 USDA Regional Climate Hubs will provide: Technical & Program Support Assessments and Forecasts Outreach and Education

10 Where are the Climate Hubs?

Revised USDA Climate Hub Regions Sub - Hub Locations ARS / Forest Service Forest Service Lead

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10/23/2015 How the hubs work find or develop tools or information that could be of use to the manager for increasing resiliency and sustainability of land during times of environmental stress share information with extension/NRCS/private consultants to assess interest and usefulness If useful, train the trainers and increase tool access and use

10/23/2015 How the hubs work (cont.) listen to feedback on tool from land managers and report needs for improvement or gaps to WO funding sources. Promote new funding to fill gaps in tool or information directly useful to land managers

10/23/2015 An example tool

USDA Forest Service – Threat Assessment Centers Steve McNulty (PI) Emrys Treasure Lisa Jennings Jennifer Moore Myers Robert Herring Nancy Grulke Lisa Balduman USDA Forest Service – Southern Region Chris Liggett (PI) David Meriwether Paul Arndt USDA Forest Service – Pacific Southwest Region Bruce Goines Lara Polansky Bradley Burmark SCIENCE AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

17 TACCIMO is a web-based application integrating climate change science with management and planning options through search and reporting tools that connect land managers with peer-reviewed information they can trust. Inputs Outputs Science: GeospatialScience: LiteratureUSDA FS Forest Planning

Coastal Ecosystems Invasive Species Vegetation Management Animal Communities Water Resources Recreation Air Quality General Biodiversity Land Use & Planning Soil & Geologic Resources Climate Trends Extreme Weather Fire Forest Health Freshwater Ecosystems Plant Communities Photo credits from Bugwood.org: Climate Trends—Petr Kapitola, State Phytosanitary Administration; Fire—Region 2, USFS; Freshwater Ecosystems—Chris Evans, River to River CWMA; Invasive Species—Kerry Britton, USFS; Animal Communities—Alfred Viola, Northeastern University; Vegetation Mgt.—John D. Hodges, MS State Univ.; Plant Communities—Jason Sharman, Vitalitree; General Biodiversity—David Cappaert, MI State Univ.; Water Resources—Chris Evans, River to River CWMA; Soils—Howard F. Schwartz, CO State Univ.; Land Use—James Denny Ward, USFS; Disturbance—Ronald F. Billings, Texas FS Human Dimensions

19 TACCIMO Project History 2009: Concept and prototype development 2010: Web application development – Implementation of basic reporting and explore functionality Version 1.0 released: June 2010 – Review and refinement of web application Version 2.0 released: October : Content development and web application redesign – Forest plan and literature development Version 2.1 released: April 2011 – Implementation of enhanced reporting and explore functionality Version 2.2 released: October : Continuing development through user support – Expanded partnerships – Intensive literature and geospatial content development Version 3.0 expected release: Fall 2013

Who is using TACCIMO? NEPA Analysis and Responding to Public Comments – NEPA coordinators in the Southern region are using TACCIMO to respond to public comments regarding climate change and carbon sequestration. Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments – TACCIMO is working with the California Landscape Conservation Cooperative and non-profit partners EcoAdapt and the Geos Institute to provide the scientific basis for a vulnerability assessment for the Sierra Nevada Mountains. State and Private-Level Forest Management – Forest managers from the North Carolina Forest Service, Southern Regional Extension Forestry, and the PINEMAP project used TACCIMO to craft climate change materials for state level managers and private landowners. Everyday Use – TACCIMO is used for every day climate change needs by federal, state, and private natural resource professionals, and provides a valuable teaching aid for climate change education.

Describing the bounds of future climate TACCIMO Climate Report

22 Describing the bounds of future climate TACCIMO Climate Report

Investigating Effects of Climate Change TACCIMO Literature Explorer

Investigating Effects of Climate Change TACCIMO Literature Report

Investigating Effects of Climate Change TACCIMO Literature Report

Emerging Forest Threats: Management Options For Healthy Forests Pamphlet created in collaboration with the NC Forest Service Forest Management Division with reviews from NCSU Extension Forestry Targeted at private forest landowners engaged in stewardship plans Does not explicitly mention Climate Change or Global Warming Summarized from over 300 peer- reviewed sources in TACCIMO Available at ncforestservice.gov

Visit our Case Studies Page For more examples of TACCIMO applications, visit our case studies page:

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Keep on SERCHing! So, If you are interested in seeing your climate impacts adaptation work make it into the hands of those folks who can really use it, please contact me at or call my office number

10/23/2015