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
Tribal Public Health and Environmental Think Tank American Public Health Association

Many American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes across the United States are finding their traditional ways of life disrupted by poor housing conditions, barriers to educational achievement, poverty, historical trauma, and racism. All of these factors – compounded by environmental hazards, geospatial challenges and limited access or proximity to health care or medical services – lead to poor health outcomes. The Think Tank is focused on increasing education and awareness of the unique public and environmental health challenges faced by tribal communities, and achieving improvements to these issues.

Categories: Tribal Health, community health, natural resources, climate change, health assessment, food health

National Link
Tribal Healthy Homes Network THHN

The Tribal Healthy Homes Network is a tribally-led coalition that strives to find and share solutions for healthy, sustainable, and safe housing. We search for and help develop effective programs, and share our results with tribes. We also serve as a clearinghouse for technical support, program guidance, resources, and funding.

Categories: Tribal Health, healthy housing, technical support, funding

National Link
Tribal Extension Grant Program USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Deadline is Ongoing. The Tribal College Extension grant program allows the 1994 Land-Grants to create extension offices for their reservation communities. Each extension office works with reservation communities to build programs that target local needs. The result is a diversified and targeted outreach. Reservation youth participate in fun activities in a safe environment. Farmers and ranchers gain science-based insights to improve their productivity. Financial literacy training enhances rural reservation economies. The 1994 Land-Grants also provide culture-centered family activities to restore Native languages, traditions and agriculture. Within this grant program are two types of funds: Capacity grants and Special Emphasis. Capacity grants fund an entire Extension office which can have many mission areas and clients. Special Emphasis are targeted, short-term pilot projects that allow Extension educators to explore new ways to better serve their community.

Categories: reservation communities, financial literacy training, education, culture, native languages, traditions, agrculture

Link
Tribal Equity Grants Program USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Deadline is Ongoing. The 1994 Land-Grants use Equity to support faculty who develop classes and degree programs that teach science and math to Native Americans. The programs focus on agriculture, natural resources and human sciences. The faculty strive to graduate students who can achieve their life goals. Since many 1994 Land-Grants are two-year schools, some students aspire to advanced degrees. Other students seek training to begin a vocational career in agriculture. Still other students want to earn certifications just to improve their daily lives. Faculty have used Equity funding to help build laboratories, conduct remedial courses, create new degree programs in forestry and provide students stipends so they can complete their education. The goal is to graduate empowered students who can embrace their future with new skills and knowledge.

Categories: math, science, agriculture, natural resources, human sciences, vocational training, education

National Link
Tribal Eco-Ambassadors Program EPA

Applications accepted continuously. EPA conducts research in partnership with tribal colleges and universities (TCUs). Selected professors from eight different TCUs will receive funding and technical support from EPA to work with a group of students to solve environmental and public health issues most important to their tribal communities, ranging from sustainable building materials to monitoring of local drinking water wells.

Categories: Health, Research, Water, Natural Resources

Northwest, Southwest, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, National, Alaska Link
Tribal Connections - US Forest Service Indian Lands Map Viewer USDA Forest Service

The U.S. Forest Service released Tribal Connections, a new online interactive mapping tool that shows how lands managed by the agency connect or overlap with current tribal trust lands and lands tribes exchanged with the federal government prior to 1900. This reference tool will help Forest Service employees and the public better understand historical treaties and the role they play in making current land management decisions. Tribal Connections contains multiple layers that include information on forests and grasslands managed by the agency, lands owned by tribes and historical data on lands ceded by treaties. Nearly 4,000 miles of shared boundaries between tribal lands and Forest Service-administered/owned land are identified.

Categories: Forest Service, GIS, mapping, tribal trust lands, treaties

Link
Tribal Communities and Climate Change EPA

The Tribal Communities page contains links to EPA resources as well as sites outside of EPA with information that can help tribes reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency, land use planning, renewable energy, transportation, water/wastewater, and waste management. This page also provides information on collaborating with state and local governments, organizations, and Tribal Colleges and Universities for funding and partnering opportunities.

Categories: Education

National Link
Tribal College Research Grant Program USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture

The 1994 Land-Grants often serve as the primary institution of scientific inquiry, knowledge and learning for reservation communities. This funding allows them to address the questions that matter to these communities such as protecting reservation forests or monitoring water quality. Projects may help a tribe improve bison herd productivity, discover whether traditional plants can play a role in managing diabetes or control invasive species. The grant's partnership requirement ensures that other federal and Land-Grant research entities can share resources and knowledge with these, the newest Land-Grants. In addition, this grant places an emphasis on training students in science.

Categories: reservation communities, science, research, tribal education, tribal colleges

Link
Tribal Climate Health Pala Band of Mission Indians

In 2016, Pala Band of Mission Indians was awarded a grant from the U.S. EPA under a solicitation called “Building the Capacity of Tribes to Address the Health Impacts of Climate Change.” The grant funds the development and distribution of online trainings, a resource clearinghouse, and other capacity-building tools that will help tribal health and environmental professionals across the nation prepare their communities for the public health impacts of climate change.

Categories: Tribal Health, capacity building, environmental health, public health, community

National Link
Tribal Climate Adaptation Guidebook Oregon Climate Change Research Institute, Adaptation International

The Oregon Climate Change Research Institute, along with Adaptation International, created the Tribal Climate Adaptation Guidebook, which provides a framework for climate change adaptation planning in the context of existing tribal priorities. The Guidebook builds on the on-going climate-related work in tribal communities, directly considers the unique issues facing Indigenous communities, and identifies opportunities and guidance for incorporating Traditional Knowledges based on the Climate and Traditional Knowledges Workgroup’s Guidelines for Considering Traditional Knowledges (TKs) in Climate Change Initiatives. The Tribal Climate Adaptation Guidebook is designed to be useful for tribes at any stage of adaptation planning and with varying degrees of funding and staff capacity. The Guidebook is designed so that tribes can work through any applicable section and skip sections that are not applicable. The development of the guidebook was overseen by a group of advisors who supported the writing staff by refining the goals and objectives for the Guidebook and by providing regular reviews throughout the development process. The project was funded by a grant from the North Pacific Landscape Conservation Cooperative and received supplemental funding from the Pacific Northwest Climate Impacts Research Consortium and the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute.

Categories: adaptation, planning, resource, climate change

National, Northwest Link
Tribal Air and Climate Resources EPA

Tribes have historically played an important role in environmental issues including air quality and climate change. Tribal citizens are often disproportionately affected by air pollution, while their governments play an increasingly valuable role in controlling and reducing pollution and its adverse health effects. Tribes are also particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and are taking steps to prepare for and become more resilient to these changes. Learn about the environmental programs and technical assistance regarding air quality on tribal lands.

Categories: air quality, climate change, air pollution, health, technical assistance

National Link
Tree Assistance Program (TAP) USDA, FSA

The 2014 Farm Bill authorized the Tree Assistance Program (TAP) to provide financial assistance to eligible orchardists and nursery tree growers to replant or rehabilitate eligible trees, bushes, and vines lost by natural disasters. TAP is administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). To be considered an eligible loss:Eligible trees, bushes, or vines must have suffered more than a 15 percent mortality loss in a stand (adjusted for normal mortality) due to an eligible natural disaster;Mortality loss on a stand of eligible trees, bushes, or vines is based on:Each eligible disaster event, except for losses due to plant disease; andFor plant disease, the time period as determined by the FSA for which the stand is infected.The loss must not have been preventable through reasonable and available measures;The loss must be visible and obvious to the FSA representative; if the loss is no longer visible, FSA may accept other loss evidence and determine whether that other evidence substantiates that an eligible loss due to natural disaster occurred; and FSA may require information from a qualified expert to determine extent of loss in the case of plant disease or insect infestation

Categories: natural disasters, rehabilitation, replant, tree health, plant health

National Link
The Washington-British Columbia Transboundary Climate-Connectivity Project NPLCC

The Washington-British Columbia Transboundary Climate-Connectivity Project engaged science-practice partnerships to identify potential climate impacts on wildlife habitat connectivity in the transboundary region of Washington and British Columbia, and adaptation actions for addressing these impacts. This gallery includes data gathered or created as part of this project, as well as accompanying reports describing key findings for 13 case studies (including 11 species, a vegetation system, and a region).

A primary goal of this project was to increase practitioners' capacity to access, interpret, and apply existing climate and connectivity models to their decision-making. For this reason, many of the data layers included in this gallery have been reproduced with slight modification from existing sources; detailed information on original data sources can be found in the metadata provided with each layer.

Categories: Data-set, Climate Modeling, Landscape-level Climate Impacts, Scientific Data

Washington, International (Canada), Northwest Link
The Roots of Wisdom Exhibition: Native Knowledge Shared Science

This exhibition explores four inspiring stories of environmental and cultural restoration, and is a 5-year cross-cultural collaboration involving OMSI, IEI, Smithsonian NMAI and four Native Community partners.

Categories: TEK, cultural revitalization, sovereignty, self determination, social justice, restoration

National Link
The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) NIDIS

Drought is one of the most costly natural disasters affecting the U.S.The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) was established in 2006 (NIDIS Act) to help begin to move society from a reactive response to drought to a proactive stance. NIDIS was envisioned to be a dynamic and accessible drought information system that provides users with the ability to determine the potential impacts of drought and the associated risks they bring, and the decision support tools needed to better prepare for and mitigate the effects of drought.

Categories: Research, Education, Emergency Response

Southwest Link
The National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers USGS

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

National Link
The Hoonah Native Forest Partnership Sustainable Southeast Partnership

The Hoonah Native Forest Partnership (HNFP) is a science-based, landscape scale, community forest approach to watershed planning and project implementation. The overall goal of the HNFP is to achieve a measurable and resilient blend of timber, salmon and deer production, local economic diversification and improved watershed health. The HNFP is one of southeast Alaska’s premiere all-lands, all-hands initiatives and our hopes is that this effort can be used as a model for other areas in the region.

Categories: science, community forest, watershed planning, implementation, natural resources, wildlife conservation, watershed health

Alaska Link
The Climate Data Factory

We provide ready-to-use, bias-adjusted and quality checked IPCC climate projections data for impact modelling, and ready-made graphics across 4,300 cities worldwide.

Categories: climate data, climate projections, impact modeling, graphics

National Link
Template for Assessing Climate Change Impacts and Management Options (TACCIMO) USDA Forest Service

The Template for Assessing Climate Change Impacts and Management Options (TACCIMO) integrates climate change science into land management and planning. This tool generates reports capturing and organizing information for a specific location and natural resource issue by synchronizing climate change literature with mapping tools and climate models. Learn more about this information delivery tool here.Please note, as of 9/16/22, the TACCIMO site is currently experiencing technical issues.

Categories: climate change impacts, planning, maps, land management, natural resource protection, climate models

National Link
Sustainable Southeast Partnership

The Sustainable Southeast Partnership is a diverse network of organizations and individuals working together to reach cultural, ecological and economic prosperity for Southeast Alaskan communities and the region.

Categories: culture, economic health, food security, energy independence, fisheries, forestry

Alaska (Southeast) Link
StreamCat: Stream Catchment Dataset Tool EPA

EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) has developed the Stream-Catchment (StreamCat) dataset, an extensive collection of landscape metrics for 2.6 million streams and associated catchments within the conterminous U.S. StreamCat includes both natural and human-related landscape features. The data are summarized both for individual stream catchments and for cumulative upstream watersheds, based on the National Hydrography Dataset Plus Version 2 geospatial framework.

Categories: Freshwater, Climate Projections, Stream Catchment, Scientific Data

National Link
Stream Temperature Monitoring Network, Cook Inletkeeper

Cook Inletkeeper developed the Stream Temperature Monitoring Network to build the science-based knowledge needed to identify thermal impacts in Alaska’s coastal salmon habitat. We are 1) collecting consistent, comparable temperature data for Cook Inlet’s salmon streams; 2) increasing our understanding of the rate of rising stream temperatures and areas of maximum exceedances throughout the basin; and 3) providing the knowledge and data needed to prioritize sites for future research, protection and restoration actions. Click here for site locations and links for site-specific factsheets.

Categories: Cook Inlet Watershed, salmon, climate change, warming temperatures, stream temperatures, adaptation, data collection, restoration

Alaska, Cook Inlet Watershed Link
STORMTOOLS Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council

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

United States Link
Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) EPA

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

National Link
State of Alaska's Salmon and People (SASAP) National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis

The State of Alaska’s Salmon and People (SASAP) project is a collaboration of researchers, cultural leaders, and others working to bring together integrated, accurate, and up-to-date information that will help to support better salmon decision-making. SASAP’s mission is to create an equitable decision-making platform for all stakeholders by addressing data gaps in Alaska’s salmon system through information synthesis, collaboration and stakeholder engagement. This project is led by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California, Santa Barbara and Nautilus Impact Investing (NII) in Anchorage, Alaska. SASAP is collaborating with and engaging leading experts at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks and Anchorage, indigenous leaders, and specialists across resource sectors.

Categories: salmon health, decision-making, information synthesis, data, stakeholder engagement, collaboration

Alaska Link
State Climate Summaries

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

National Link
State Carbon Pricing Network ClimateXChange

The State Carbon Pricing Network (SCPN) is a network of hundreds of advocates, legislators, and experts spearheading carbon pricing efforts in their state. It is a platform for campaign leaders to connect and collaborate with one another, exchanging wisdom and resources. SCPN provides a range of critical services to state campaigns, including:WebinarsCampain Training ResourcesMonthly Phone CallsMedia resourcesOnline PlatformsResearch and Policy Analysis

Categories: carbon pricing, network, research, policy, training

National Link
Southern Rockies Landscape Conservation Cooperative Landscape Conservation Cooperative

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

West, Southwest Link
Southern California Climate Adaptation Project EcoAdapt

The Southern California Climate Adaptation Project was initiated to improve understanding about the vulnerability of important southern California habitats to climate change and to develop adaptation strategies designed to reduce vulnerabilities and/or increase resilience of habitats. This project used a collaborative, stakeholder-driven process that involved soliciting input from land and resource managers, conservation practitioners, scientists, and others from federal and state agencies, universities, and nongovernmental organizations. Input was provided through participation on the project's Stakeholder Advisory Committee, a series of workshops focused on vulnerability and adaptation, and peer reviews of draft products. Project products include climate change vulnerability assessments and adaptation strategies and actions for 12 regionally important habitats. In addition, four case studies were developed to demonstrate how climate vulnerability and adaptation information can be integrated into on-the-ground projects. The diverse range of products are intended to inform federal agency management plan revisions and projects as well as other regional management and conservation planning efforts.

Categories: adaptation, resilience, habitat, conservation, assessment, climate change

Southern California Link
Southeast Alaska Tribal Ocean Research Southeast Alaska Tribal Ocean Research

SEATOR is a partnership committed to monitoring and communicating our findings about shellfish toxins, harmful algal blooms, and ocean acidification.

Categories: monitoring, shellfish, shellfish toxins, algal blooms, ocean acidification

Alaska (Southeast) Link