Climate Programs

There are a growing number of tribal programs, government and non-government agencies and programs addressing climate change across the United States. This page includes tribal, federal and NGO climate change programs.

Title Sort ascending Organization Description Geography Website
Wood Education and Resource Center USFS

The Wood Education and Resource Center (WERC), located in Princeton, WV, is a USDA Forest Service facility with offices, training facilities, and a rough mill. WERC's mission is to facilitate interaction and information exchange with the forest products industry, to enhance opportunities for sustained forest products production in the eastern hardwood forest region of the United States. WERC supports managerial and technical innovation to keep businesses competitive. It provides state-of-the-art training, technology transfer, networking opportunities, applied research, and information and sharing. WERC serves the primary and secondary hardwood manufacturing industries located in the 35 States of the eastern hardwood forest region.

Categories: education, forestry, industry, technology, hardwood forest

National/varies Link
Wisdom of the Elders Wisdom of the Elders

Committed to Native American cultural sustainability, multimedia education and race reconciliation, Wisdom of the Elders, Inc. (Wisdom) records and preserves the oral history, cultural arts, language concepts, and traditional ecological knowledge of exemplary American Indian historians, cultural leaders and environmentalists in collaboration with arts and cultural organizations and educational institutions. Wisdom of the Elders especially seeks to correct misconceptions, end prejudice, bring health and wellness to Native people, and demonstrate how Indian culture has and is continuing to enrich our worlds.

Categories: journalism, climate documentation

National, Northwest Link
White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) (Obama Administration Archive) US Executive Office of the President

Through interagency working groups and coordination with other EOP components, CEQ works to advance the President’s agenda. It also balances competing positions, and encourages government-wide coordination, bringing Federal agencies, state and local governments, and other stakeholders together on matters relating to the environment, natural resources and energy. In addition, CEQ oversees the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive. The role of the Federal Environmental Executive is to promote sustainable environmental stewardship throughout the Federal government. In addition, CEQ oversees Federal agency implementation of the environmental impact assessment process and acts as a referee when agencies disagree over the adequacy of such assessments.

Categories: Coordination, Advisory, Regulatory

National Link
Western Alaska Landscape Conservation Cooperative Landscape Conservation Cooperative

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

Alaska, Coastal Link
Village Safe Water Program/Alaska Native Village and Rural Communities Program EPA, State-funded

The Village Safe Water Program provides technical and financial support to communities to design and construct water and wastewater systems. It is meant to assist Alaska Native Villages and Alaska rural communities with the construction of new or improved drinking water and wastewater systems. This funding can also be used to provide training and technical assistance in the operations and maintenance of these systems.

Categories: Water, Natural Resources, Education

Northwest, Alaska Link
Village Power Technical Assistance Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs

The Office of Indian Energy has created a hotline to provide Alaska Native villages with access to quick-response solutions for minor PCE filing challenges. This number is intended for questions that can be addressed relatively quickly; requestors who require more in-depth or longer-term assistance will be directed to complete the online technical assistance request form linked above.

To access the PCE assistance hotline, call 907-707-7234. Hotline hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Alaska Time.

Categories: technical assistance, evaluation, efficiency

Alaska Link
USFWS Climate Change Planning Toolkit

A key part of the Service's climate change strategy is to inform FWS staff about the impacts of accelerating climate change and to engage partners and others in seeking collaborative solutions. Through shared knowledge and communication, we can work together to reduce the impacts of climate change on fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats. The USFWS has compiled a list of resources to inform climate planning and conservation efforts.

Categories: Climate Planning, Climate Data

National Link
USFS Regional Tribal Program Management USFS

Tribal Relations personnel facilitate work on research projects, forest and project planning, wildlife management, watershed restoration, cultural resource management, Tribal access and use, subsistence, biomass utilization, renewable energy, and many more topics and issues.

Categories: Research, Planning

National Link
USFS Climate Change Resource Center USFS

The Climate Change Resource Center (CCRC) is a reference Web site for resource managers and decisionmakers who need information and tools to address climate change in planning and
project implementation.

Categories: Education, Planning

National Link
USFS Climate Change Reference USFS

The Climate Change Resource Center (CCRC) has been developed as a reference for US Forest Service resource managers and decision makers who need information and tools to address climate change in planning and project implementation on national forests.

Categories: Education

National Link
USDA Service Center Locator USDA

USDA Service Centers are designed to be a single location where customers can access the services provided by the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Rural Development agencies. This web site will provide the address of a USDA Service Center and other Agency offices serving your area along with information on how to contact them.

Categories: USDA, service centers

National Link
USDA Rural Housing Service USDA

Rural Development (RD) provides funding for single family homes, apartments for low-income persons or the elderly, housing for farm laborers, childcare centers, fire and police stations, hospitals, libraries, nursing homes, schools, and much more.
In partnership with non-profits, Indian tribes, state and federal government agencies, and local communities, HCFP creates packages of technical assistance and loan and grant funds to assist more rural communities and individuals.

Categories: Development, Assistance

National Link
USDA Rural Data Gateway USDA

The Rural Data Gateway strengthens USDA Rural Development partnerships with rural people, entrepreneurs, government officials and Congress by making RD’s data more available and easier to access. It features Rural Investments Dashboards that significantly expand access to RD financial data through an easy-to-use interface that allows data from more than 65 RD programs to be viewed and downloaded. The Gateway and dashboards will help USDA get more resources to the people who need them in rural places.

Categories: energy, water, infrastructure, health

National Link
USDA Resource Guide for American Indians and Alaska Natives USDA

The USDA Resource Guide for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) was developed to provide tribal leaders and tribal citizens, 1994 Land-Grant Tribal Colleges and Universities, AI/AN businesses, and non-governmental organizations serving AI/AN communities with a tool for navigating USDA resources. The USDA programs and services available to members of American Indian and Alaska Native tribes are described in the following pages. This guide provides readers with a comprehensive summary of USDA Programs, separated into four categories: 1. Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Traditional Foods 2. Business and Community Development 3. Conservation and Forestry 4. Research, Extension, and Outreach 

Categories: resources, agriculture, food sovereignty, traditional foods, business and community development, conservation, forestry

National, Alaska Link
USDA Regional Climate Hubs USDA

USDA’s regional hubs will deliver information to farmers, ranchers and forest landowners to help them adapt to climate change and weather variability. The Hubs will build capacity within USDA to provide information and guidance on technologies and risk management practices at regional and local scales.

Categories: Adaptation

Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, Southeast, National, Alaska, Midwest Link
USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station Forest Service

The Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station is one of seven research centers that are part of the USDA Forest Service. The PNW Reserach Station is engaged in a variety of climate-change related research activities, including co-partnering with the University of Oregon’s Environmental Studies Program on this website.

Northwest Link
USDA Forest Service Climate Change Resource Center USDA Forest Service

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

National Link
USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) USDA

USDA/ERS is a primary source of economic information and research that conducts applied social science research, analyzes food and commodity markets, produces policy studies, and develops economic and statistical indicators involving food, farming, natural resources, and rural development.

Categories: research, economic analysis, social science, food and commodity, statistics, natural resources, rural development, mitigation

National Link
USDA Climate Change Program Office: USDA

The Climate Change Program Office (CCPO) coordinates USDA’s responses to climate change, focusing on implications of climate change on agriculture, forests, grazing lands, and rural communities. CCPO ensures that USDA is a source of objective, analytical assessments of the effects of climate change and proposed response strategies both within USDA and for our partners.

Categories: Natural Resources, Coordination

National Link
USACE Tribal Policy Principles DOD, USACE

The USACE has worked with tribes on many projects, and its guiding principles for working with tribes are accessible at this link.

Categories: policy

National Link
US Global Change Research Program Interagency US Federal

The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) coordinates and integrates federal research on changes in the global environment and their implications for society. Thirteen federal government Departments and Agencies participate in the USGCRP, which was known as the U.S. Climate Change Science Program from 2002 through 2008. The mission of the USCRP is to build a knowledge base that informs human responses to climate and global change through coordinated and integrated federal programs of research, education, communication, and decision support.

Categories: Research, Education

National Link
US Geological Survey (USGS) Office of Tribal Relations USGS

Combining traditional ecological knowledge with empirical studies allows the USGS and Native American governments, organizations, and people to increase their mutual understanding and respect for this land. USGS provides information to tribes as part of our basic mission of providing unbiased scientific information to the Nation, and as part of the Federal Trust Responsibility to tribes.

Categories: policy

National Link
US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Native American Liaisons Office FWS

The Office of the Native American Liaison offers tribal grants for the development and implementation of programs that benefit wildlife and their habitat, including species of Native American cultural or traditional importance and that are not hunted or fished.

Categories: Conservation

National Link
US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Native American Liaisons Office FWS

The Office of the Native American Liaison offers tribal grants for the development and implementation of programs that benefit wildlife and their habitat, including species of Native American cultural or traditional importance and that are not hunted or fished.

Categories: Conservation

National Link
US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Climate Change Strategy FWS

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s (FWS) Climate Change Strategy establishes a basic framework within which the Service will work as part of the larger conservation community to help ensure the sustainability of fish, wildlife, plants and habitats in the face of accelerating climate change.

Categories: Conservation

National Link
US Coastal Property at Risk from Rising Seas Union of Concerned Scientists

This national analysis, by the Union of Concerned Scientists, identifies the number of US homes at risk from chronic flooding over the coming decades due to sea level rise. It also shows the current property value, estimated population, and portion of the property tax base at risk. Information is available by state, community, and zip code. For this analysis, chronic flooding is defined to be flooding that occurs 26 times or more per year, a level of disruption also referred to as chronic inundation. Two time frames are featured. The first falls within the lifespan of a 30-year mortgage issued today. The second extends out to 2100, when more than 2.4 million of today's homes could be at risk. The challenges and choices that come with rising seas are profound and have significant implications for coastal residents, communities, and the broader economy. We explore these implications in the closing section.

Categories: chronic flooding, rising sea level, coastal communities, relocation, infrastructure,

US coastlines Link
Urban Adaptation Assessment Kresge Foundation, Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative

The Urban Adaptation Assessment (UAA) is an interactive database funded by the Kresge Foundation and led by the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) that collates a rich dataset within a visual platform to give leaders the data they need to make decisions on how best to adapt and prepare. Encompassing data from over 270 cities within the United States, including all 50 states and Puerto Rico, whose populations are above 100,000, the UAA allows you to explore the connection between vulnerabilities to climate disasters, adaptive capacities, and how these are distributed within a city. Our easy-to-use tool gives you metrics to see your city’s risk and readiness in seconds. It also enables you to download extensive datasets, and examine which neighborhoods to focus your efforts. 

Categories: adaptation, disaster preparedness, climate change, vulnerability assessment, capacity building

National Link
University of Washington Climate Impacts Group (CIG) University of Washington

The University of Washington Climate Impacts Group (CIG) studies the impacts of natural climate variability and global climate change, focusing mostly on the Pacific Northwest. The CIG has partnerships with tribes in the Pacific Northwest, engages in outreach efforts that include meetings, workshops, and webinars, presentations, consultations, and technical assistance, and is a source of scientific projections, impacts assessments, and tools and resources for climate change adaptation planning and vulnerability assessment.

Categories: Adaptation, Vulnerability Assessment

Northwest, National Link
U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit NOAA, CEQ, DOI, USGS

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

National, Northwest, Southwest, Midwest, Southeast, Alaska Link
U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit NOAA, CEQ, DOI, USGS

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

National, Northwest, Southwest, Midwest, Southeast, Alaska Link