Dear Reader, With its massive El Niño, 2015 was the
warmest year on record globally, substantially exceeding the previous
record, set only a year earlier. The Northwest felt particularly strong
impacts, experiencing record temperatures across the region. Despite
ample precipitation, a relief from 2014’s drought, we saw the
snowpack disappear with remarkable speed in spring. El Niño has ended,
but the past year gave us a look at the climate challenges we expect in
the not-so-distant future.
We are pleased to bring you this latest issue of Northwest Climate
Magazine, full of stories about the collaborative research, information
development, and capacity-building we deliver to help our region prepare
for climate change. This online publication is jointly produced by
three regional, climate-focused enterprises in the Northwest. We had an
overwhelming positive response to our first issue, and our second issue
includes stories from additional sources, the Great Basin and
Great Northern Landscape Conservation Cooperatives. While our first
issue revealed who we are, where we work, and what we do, this issue
demonstrates the practical utility of the research we produce,
information we generate, and collaborative efforts we support. It is
gratifying to see our work help natural and cultural resource managers
throughout the region understand and prepare for a changing environment.
Many of the stories in this issue deal with water availability, a
pressing issue for the Northwest, particularly after the low snowpack
and associated drought of 2015. Our feature story describes how people
across our region are preparing for future drought–from researchers
studying how to manage forests to better conserve
snowpack, to scientists developing better early warning systems for
drought, to ski resort operators building zip lines and concert venues
on their slopes to provide revenue that doesn’t depend on snow. A second
story explores how applications of the Beaver Restoration Guidebook and
construction of artificial beaver dams can help restore drying
watersheds. We also tell stories about the science and support we offer
to address threats from wildfire and from increasing stream
temperatures; about adaptation efforts of the Nooksack Tribe; an effort
to train our next generation of climate professionals; and new,
cross-boundary, landscape-level conservation planning.
These stories bring to life some of the important collaborations that
are helping our region prepare for the future, and we hope they will
encourage you to participate in our joint research-for-management
enterprise. Your input and participation are needed to guide our future
work and to make our science actionable as we work to meet the
challenges and opportunities of climate change.
How researchers from the Pacific Northwest and Great Basin are working
with the toothy, hardworking beaver to restore river watersheds under
threat from climate change
A look at how scientists with resource managers are hammering out useful
tools and approaches to build habitat connectivity across political boundaries
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