Climate Programs

The U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit provides scientific tools, information, and expertise to help people manage their climate-related risks and opportunities, and improve their resilience to extreme events. The site is designed to serve interested citizens, communities, businesses, resource managers, planners, and policy leaders at all levels of government.

Categories: Climate change, tribal programs, Adaptation, Mitigation

The U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit provides scientific tools, information, and expertise to help people manage their climate-related risks and opportunities, and improve their resilience to extreme events. The site is designed to serve interested citizens, communities, businesses, resource managers, planners, and policy leaders at all levels of government.

Categories: Climate change, tribal programs, Adaptation, Mitigation

This series of short videos was developed during a three-day digital storytelling workshop with members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. The pilot project explored digital storytelling as a method for building partnerships, understanding local climate impacts and raising awareness about community concerns. Each story touches on different cultural traditions and resources already threatened by climate change and the impacts on individual and community identity and wellbeing.
Each participant developed their own narrative and chose their own visuals to portray their story. The videos represent multigenerational tribal voices.

Categories: climate change, TEK, tribal narratives, oral history, observation, cultural resources, community health

SWMM-CAT allows users to evaluate climate change impacts on stormwater runoff volume and quality, and to explore how the application of various low-impact development (LID) options can be used to alter these hydrological parameters. SWMM provides a spatial and temporal analysis of runoff quality and quantity by dividing basins into multiple sub-catchment areas and analyzing runoff at different time steps. It covers a variety of different drivers that can cause runoff in urban areas, including rainfall, snowmelt, and groundwater percolation, among others, and also allows for mapping and modeling of different sub-catchment drainage system components, including pipes, channels, diversion structures, storage and treatment facilities, and natural channels.

Categories: climate change, storm water management, hydrology, spatial analysis, temporal analysis, runoff

The sea is rising and will cover millions of acres of coastal land in the coming decades. Also, coastal storms are increasingly erratic and violent, threatening lives and property on the coasts. Communities are implementing a wide range of adaptation measures, including seawalls, wider canals, and raised buildings, but many of these are only temporary stop-gaps with challenging financial and ecological implications. In some places, managed retreat, or climigration, should be an option people are talking about, but very few communities dare to raise it as a possibility because of many different variables.
This effort is led by a diverse group of people who are committed to helping communities and policymakers think proactively about managed retreat along with all other options for adapting to climate change. This multi-faceted issue necessitates a multi-expert and multi-experience approach. Thus the network includes a diverse group of thinkers and doers from a wide variety of disciplines and experiences, including planners; residents of coastal communities; a post-disaster social worker; local, state, and federal government representatives; climate scientists; a change management consultant; artists who use expression to help people think about transformation; academics; adaptation finance administrators; and policy mediators.

Categories: climate change, sea level rise, storms, subsidence, relocation, adaptation, mitigation, planning, policy

The Eastern Tallgrass Prairie and Big Rivers LCC is dedicated to addressing the conservation challenges of a heavily agricultural landscape that stretches across the nation’s heartland from southwest Ohio westward across to parts of eastern Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska and northward into segments of Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota.

Categories: Climate change, scientific research, Conservation, policy

The North Pacific Landscape Conservation Cooperative is a self-directed partnership between federal agencies, states, Tribes/First Nations, non-governmental organizations, universities, and other entities to collaboratively define science needs and jointly address broad-scale conservation issues, such as climate change.

Categories: Climate change, scientific research, Conservation, policy

The Peninsular Florida Landscape Conservation Cooperative (PFLCC) will consider landscape-scale stressors, including climate change, habitat fragmentation, invasive species, and water scarcity as it attempts to provide a vision for a landscape capable of sustaining healthy populations of fish, wildlife, plants and cultural resources.

Categories: Climate change, scientific research, Conservation, policy

The South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative is a partnership of federal, state, nonprofit, and private organizations dedicated to conserving a landscape
capable of sustaining the nation’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations.

Categories: Climate change, scientific research, Conservation, policy

The SRLCC is made up of federal, state, tribal and private agencies or organizations involved in the management of key natural resources such as water, animals and plants. The diverse makeup of the group promotes collaboration among members by developing shared conservation goals. The partnership works together to identify where and how to achieve larger and lasting conservation with a landscape scale impact.

Categories: Climate change, scientific research, Conservation, policy

The Western Alaska Landscape Conservation Cooperative promotes coordination, dissemination, and developme​nt of applied science to inform landscape level conservation, including terrestrial-marine linkages, in the face of landscape scale stressors, focusing on climate change. ​

Categories: Climate change, scientific research, Conservation, policy

Changing climate conditions, along with land-use and other ecological changes, are affecting the health, vitality, and resilience of Chinook salmon populations in watersheds throughout Puget Sound. Restoration and protection projects are designed to address the most critical factors affecting salmon populations. However, with climate change, these factors may change: the medium- and long-term success of the projects and expected benefits to salmon may be compromised and/or current investments may not achieve expected results.

The goal of this guidance document is to provide Lead Entities with a framework for reviewing and evaluating sponsored project proposals in light of changing climate conditions.

Categories: climate change, salmon health, watersheds, restoration, protection

EPA’s Climate Ready Water Utilities (CRWU) and Climate Ready Estuaries (CRE) initiatives are working to coordinate their efforts and support climate change risk assessment and adaptation planning. This report details a recent exercise that provided an opportunity for these parties to collaborate on assessment and planning with respect to potential climate change impacts on utility infrastructure and natural resources. The Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool (CREAT) was used to support the collaborative process of identifying climate change threats, assessing potential consequences, and evaluating adaptation options for both a utility and for the overall watershed.

Categories: climate change, risk assessment, adaptation planning, infrastructure, natural resources

STORMTOOLS shows coastal inundation projections from storm surge inundation and sea level rise. STORMTOOLS is a method to map storm inundation, with and without sea level rise, for varying return period storms that covers all of Rhode Island’s coastal waters.

Categories: climate change, resources, prediction, projection, model, education, preparation

This report, published December 2016, sets out a vision and broad approach for managing impacts to and learning from cultural resources under modern climate change. This connects major directions for action from the NPS Climate Change Response Strategy (2010) and the NPS Director’s Policy Memo Climate Change and Stewardship of Cultural Resources (2014) to create four overarching Goals for cultural resources and climate change.

Categories: climate change, planning, policy, adaptation, mitigation, cultural resource,

If your neighborhood association, church organization, city planning office, or community-based organization is interested in building a more resilient community, this toolkit is for you.
The Bay Localize Community Resilience Toolkit guides groups in leading workshops to plan for resilience in their communities while decreasing reliance on fossil fuels. It is designed for community groups that would like to get involved in making a difference in their neighborhood, city, or county. The Toolkit offers Bay Area-specific resources and action ideas in six key sectors: food, water, energy, transportation and housing, jobs and economy, and civic services.

Categories: climate change, planning policy, infrastructure, emissions, energy, community building, social justice

A changing climate presents humanity with only one option: adapt. On the America Adapts podcast, we explore the challenges presented by adapting to climate change, the national movement that has begun to drive change, and the approaches that the field's best minds believe are already working. Join climate change adaptation expert Doug Parsons as he talks with scientists, activists, policymakers and journalists about the choices we face and the people who make them. The climate adaptation conversation, and the movement, starts here.

Categories: climate change, outreach, education, conversation, news, updates, adaptation, science, policy

AGU's Thriving Earth Exchange advances community solutions. We help scientists, community leaders and sponsors work together to solve local challenges related to natural resources, climate change and natural hazards.

Categories: climate change, natural hazards, natural resources, adaptation, climate resilience, community

This toolkit provides local health jurisdictions guidance on how to integrate climate change work into local public health practice. Health departments of all capacities can incorporate climate change considerations into existing planning and programming.​ For those with higher capacity, this toolkit can serve as a resource for developing a Climate and Health Resilience Plan (also called an "adaptation plan" or a "climate change preparedness plan.") This toolkit is adapted from CDC's Building Resilience Against Climate Effects (BRACE) framework and modified based on the experience of five local health jurisdictions in Oregon. This toolkit builds on their lessons learned​​ through planning for climate change at the local level.

Categories: Climate change, health, resilience, planning

The Climate Change Resource Center (CCRC) is a web-based, national resource that connects land managers and decisionmakers with useable science to address climate change in planning and application. Current and expected climate changes have serious implications for ecosystems and the benefits they provide.

Categories: climate change, forest, wildfire, management

The EPA hosts a website dedicated to providing information about climate impacts and resources across the United States. This website features current news and information about climate change in the US.

Categories: climate change, energy, environment

Climate Wise aims to help local leaders in developing Whole Community adaptation strategies to address the impacts of climate change. They offer a number of consulting services including local projections, vulnerability assessments, resilience planning, and GIS consulting.

Categories: climate change, consultation, planning, development, adaptation, GIS mapping

The Seedlot Selection Tool (SST) is a GIS mapping program designed to help forest managers match seedlots with planting sites based on climatic information. The climates of the planting sites can be chosen to represent current climates, or future climates based on selected climate change scenarios.

Categories: climate change, conservation, development, adaptation, nursery, vegetation

We work with landowners and local land trusts to acquire land to protect diverse landscapes; preserve habitat for rare or endangered species; ensure water quality; facilitate wildlife adaptation to climate change; and enhance recreational access. We also protect land from future development while it remains in private hands through conservation easements. The Conservation Capitol Program and Citizen Action Program offers loans and grants for land protection and projects that are aligned with our mission. 

Categories: climate change, community, social justice, conservation, sustainability. adaptation, mitigation

This "Factsheets" tool provides information about Americans' beliefs, risk perceptions, and policy preferences about climate change for all 50 states, 435 congressional districts, and 3,142 counties across the U.S.

Categories: climate change, communication, policy, public response

These state summaries were produced to meet a demand for state-level information in the wake of the Third U.S. National Climate Assessment, released in 2014. The summaries cover assessment topics directly related to NOAA’s mission, specifically historical climate variations and trends, future climate model projections of climate conditions during the 21st century, and past and future conditions of sea level and coastal flooding.

Categories: climate change, climate science, predictions, planning, adaptation, mitigation

The Northwest Climate Science Center (NW CSC) combines academic expertise with federal resources to advance climate science development and delivery for managers and policy makers in the Northwest region. The NW Climate Science Digest is a monthly newsletter that compiles climate science journals and publications for wider access.

Categories: climate change, climate science, planning

The USGS National Climate Adaptation Science Center (NCASC) is the managing entity for the eight regional Department of the Interior Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs). Climate change is creating novel challenges for our nation’s resource managers, decision-makers, and communities. Together, the National and Regional CASCs provide resource managers and other stakeholders with information and decision-making tools to respond to the effects of climate change on fish, wildlife, ecosystems, and the communities they support. Through close collaboration with managers and scientists inside and outside of government, the CASCs deliver science to address stakeholder-defined priority climate needs. Learn more about our science approach or read snapshots of our work.

Categories: climate change, climate change impacts, climate change adaptation, research, decision-making tools

Two of the biggest challenges facing the United States - and the world - are the growing inequalities that unfairly disadvantage large segments of the population, and climate change, which exacerbates existing risks in our communities. The effects of climate change including rising temperatures, more polluted air, and more frequent and intense extreme storms, will disproportionally affect already poor and disenfranchised people. Policymakers must find ways to focus not only on the physical impacts of climate change, but also on the ways that policies can have a differential impact on certain individuals and communities. In this portal we will refer to people facing disproportionate climate impacts as "frontline communities" since these are groups that are on the frontlines of impacts from climate change.

Categories: climate change, adaptation, policy, planning, management, social justice, community health, racial justice, activism

The Adaptation Clearinghouse seeks to assist policymakers, resource managers, academics, and others who are working to help communities adapt to climate change.Content in the Adaptation Clearinghouse is focused on the resources that help policymakers at all levels of governments reduce or avoid the impacts of climate change to communities in the United States. The Adaptation Clearinghouse tends to focus on climate change impacts that adversely affect people and our built environment. Content focal areas include the water, coastal, transportation, infrastructure and public health sectors, and adaptation planning, policies, laws, and governance. Resources that fall within these areas receive priority and are the most likely to be published in the Adaptation Clearinghouse.

Categories: climate change, adaptation, policy, infrastructure, resiliency, planning, database