Adaptation Plans

Tribes throughout the United States are developing and implementing tribal climate change adaptation plans and climate vulnerability assessments. Search this list for examples of tribal climate change adaptation plans, as well as other plans and planning resources that may be useful reference guides.

Title Year Description Geography Website
Climate Change in Selawik, Alaska: Strategies for Community Health 2012

Assessment of climate change related health effects in Selawik, Alaska. Selawik is an Inupiat community of approximately 829 residents, located on the Selawik River, about four miles north of the Arctic Circle and 70 miles east of Kotzebue. Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, 2012. To download a PDF of the plan, click here.

Categories: Tribal, Adaptation Plan, Community Health, Tribal Health

Alaska Link
City of Kwethluk, Alaska: Local Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan 2009

Plan for these natural hazards : flooding, erosion, severe weather, and earthquake. Includes information to assist the city government and residents with planning to avoid potential future disaster losses. To download the City of Kwethluk, Alaska Local Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan, click here.

Categories: Tribal, Adaptation Plan, Hazard Mitigation Plan

Alaska Link
Climate Adaptation and Action Plan, Ocean and Coastal Management Plan for the Norton Bay Watershed, Alaska 2021, 2013

Adaption plan for the Norton Bay Watershed is the result of a year of community team effort, bringing in an array of stakeholders and expertise, building partnerships, extensive information gathering, critical thinking, and engaged planning. Norton Bay Inter-Tribal Watershed Council, 2013. Download a PDF of the plan by clicking here.More recently in 2021, Norton Bay Watershed came out with the Ocean and Coastal Management Plan (NBWOCMP): Protecting the Watershed's Subsistence Culture & Resources. Download a PDF of the plan by clicking here.

Categories: Tribal, Adaptation Plan, Ocean and Coastal Management Plan

Alaska Link
Climate Change in Pilot Point, Alaska: Strategies for Community Health 2013

Aassessment of climate change related health effects in Pilot Point, Alaska. Pilot Point is mostly Alaska Native People of Alutiiq and Yup'ik Eskimo decent, averaging about 64 to 100 residents. Pilot Point is located on the Northern coast of the Alaska Peninsula, on the east shore of Ugashik Bay. 2013.

Categories: Tribal, Adaptation Plan, Tribal Health, Community Health

Alaska, Coastal Link
Climate Change in Nuiqsut, Alaska: Strategies for Community Health 2014

Assessment of climate change related health effects in Nuiqsut, Alaska a traditional Inupiat community located on the West bank of the Colville River, 18 miles south from the inlet to the Beaufort Sea. Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, 2014. 

Categories: Tribal, Adaptation Plan, Tribal Health, Community Health, climate change

Alaska Link
Clearwater River Subbasin Climate Change Adaptation Plan 2014

In an effort to prepare for changes to their homelands’ ecology, the Nez Perce Tribe’s Water Resources Division created a climate change adaptation plan for the Clearwater River Subbasin in 2011. The plan focuses on climate impacts to water and forestry resources, two areas of natural resource management that are both culturally and economically important to the Nez Perce Tribe. The adaptation plan includes an assessment of existing conditions in the subbasin, and data on how changes in climate may impact forests, waters, and the local economy. This profile highlights the efforts of the Nez Perce Tribe to increase awareness of climate change issues in their region through this plan, as well as their strategies for integrating adaptation into existing and future management plans. To download a PDF of the plan, click here.

Categories: Tribal, Adaptation Plan, Water Resources

Northwest Link
Vulnerabilities of Navajo Nation Forests to Climate Change 2019

"What are the vulnerabilities of our forests to climate change?"- It is crucial for the future of forest management on the Navajo Nation that this question be addressed. This report derives from a collaborative, multi-faceted effort to identify and describe the vulnerabilities of Navajo forests to climate change. By providing place-based ecological data, this report can aid in developing priorities for forest management. Through the implementation of adaptive, science-based management, the Navajo forests can become more resilient to the effects of climate change.

Categories: vulnerability assessment, BIA TRP, forest management, place-based, implementation, climate change impacts

Southwestern United States Link
Makah National Fish Hatchery Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment 2019

This final report analyzes the sensitivity, exposure, impact, adaptive capacity, and vulnerability of Makah National Fish Hatchery. Some of the fish broodstock programs include Chinook salmon, coho salmon, and winter steelhead trout. The US Fish and Wildlife Service conducted these surveys to assess the vulnerability of these hatcheries in response to the changing climate. To download a PDF of the report, click here.

Categories: vulnerability assessment, natural resources, climate change

Makah Link