Climate Programs

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

A wealth of publications, webinars, outreach materials, success stories, and other resources associated with the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program have been published in recent years. In addition to resources specific to the CFLRP, the Forest Service has also identified resources that may be of interest to the broader community of collaborative restoration practitioners. These resources have been compiled so that the stories, successes, and lessons learned regarding large-scale collaborative forest restoration can be shared.

Categories: forest, restoration, inter agency collaboration, management, planning, education, information

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

EPA’s Climate Showcase Communities Program helps local governments and tribal nations pilot innovative, cost-effective and replicable community-based greenhouse gas reduction projects. Fifty Climate Showcase Communities across the United States are leading projects in energy production, residential and commercial energy efficiency, waste management, transportation and land use that reduce energy use and save money.

Categories: GHG Reduction, Mitigation, Energy

At FireScience.org, we have our finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the fields of fire science and public service. First, we’ve compiled all the information you need to decide whether to pursue a career in fire science or public service and present it here in an easy-to-follow format. We’ve talked to experts about the kind of training you’ll need, and what you can expect form the different careers. We’ve researched where to get training and created comprehensive, searchable lists of schools and programs.

Categories: Grants, Scholarships, Fire Management, Educational Training, Firefighting

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

Ecotrust is powered by the vision of a world where people and nature thrive together. Since 1991, we have partnered with local communities from California to Alaska to build new ways of living and doing business. From forestry to finance, food access to green building, we work to advance social equity, economic opportunity, and environmental well-being. Program focus areas include climate change and indigenous communities.

Categories: Indigenous Communities, Forests, Oceans and Fisheries, Water and Watersheds, Built Environment, Climate

The Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty (WGIFS) was born in March of 2006 out of a recognized need to carry the Indigenous voice in the various meetings, conferences and discussions that have taken place within the food security movement. Through participation in the B.C. Food Systems Network Annual Gathering and strategic planning meetings, the WGIFS was created for the purpose of increasing awareness of the underlying issues, concerns and strategies impacting food security in Indigenous communities. The WGIFS seeks to apply culturally appropriate protocols and ancient ways of knowing through a consensus-based approach to critically analyzing issues, concerns and strategies as they relate to Indigenous food, land, culture, health, economics, and sustainability.
The WGIFS consists of members who provide input and leadership on ways to increase awareness and mobilize communities around the topic of Indigenous food sovereignty. The WGIFS strives to ensure Indigenous voices are carried from a strong and balanced representation and currently consists of participants from key communities and groups (listed below) in each of the major regions around the province of B.C. The working group is inclusive of non-Indigenous advocates from settler communities and promotes cross cultural participation that is representative and balanced based on geography, community group and cultures.

Categories: indigenous foods, food security, land, culture, health, economics, sustainability

Inuit Circumpolar Council-Alaska (ICC-AK) is a 501(c) 3 non-profit corporation that represents and advocates for the Iñupiat of the Arctic Slope, Northwest, and Bering Straits; St. Lawrence Island (Siberian) Yupik; and Central Yup’ik and Cup’ik of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in Southwest Alaska. ICC-AK is a member country to the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) and represents Inuit from Alaska at this international forum. The ICC is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) that represents the interest of approximately 155,000 Inuit of the United States, Canada, Greenland and Russia.

Categories: Intertribal Organization, Inuit Peoples, Arctic, Circumpolar, Natural Resource Management, Cultural Resources Management, Climate Impacts

Founded in 1977 by the late Eben Hopson of Barrow, Alaska, the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) has flourished and grown into a major international non-government organization representing approximately 155,000 Inuit of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Chukotka (Russia). The US branch of the ICC, ICC-Alaska, is the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC)-Alaska is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works on behalf of the Inupiat of the North Slope, Northwest and Bering Straits Regions; St. Lawrence Island Yupik; and the Central Yup’ik and Cup’ik of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Region in Southwest Alaska.

Categories: Inuit, Arctic, Policy, Climate Impacts, NGO

Gateway to invasive species information; covering Federal, State, local, and international sources.

Categories: invasive species, adaptation, planning, research

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

Our efforts bring together a diverse group of natural and cultural resource partners (including tribes)  to create landscapes and ecosystems that represent commonly held community values, use the best available science and knowledge, with a goal for a connected, resilient region for years to come. CCLC offers habitat connectivity tools, spatial mapping tools, and partner assessments.

Categories: land management, spatial mapping, communication, conservation, networking, data, cascades, coasts, ecosystem services

The Earth's temperature is rising as a result of increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. Agriculture is a source of methane and nitrous oxide emissions, two prominent greenhouse gases. Changes in agricultural practices can reduce emissions of these gases, and reduce atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide by sequestering carbon in soil.

Climate change will affect crop and livestock yields worldwide, which will lead to changes in food and fiber consumption, prices of agricultural commodities, and farm incomes.

ERS is uniquely positioned to analyze these changes through its expertise on the economics of:

Land use and management,
Technology adoption, and
Environmental program design.

Categories: land use management, technology adoption, greenhouse gas emissions, agriculture, carbon dioxide, carbon sequestration

Improvements to state and territory coastal management programs are encouraged through this program. The focus is on nine enhancement areas: wetlands, coastal hazards, public access, marine debris, cumulative and secondary impacts, special area management plans, ocean and Great Lakes resources, energy and government facility siting, and aquaculture. The program was established in 1990 under Section 309 of the Coastal Zone Management Act.

Every five years, states and territories review their programs to identify priority needs and opportunities for improvement. The programs then work with NOAA to develop multi-year improvement strategies that focus on one or more of the priority enhancement goals.

Categories: Land, Coastal

For practitioners looking to develop, facilitate, or participate in a landscape conservation design (LCD) process, the new Recommended Practices for Landscape Conservation Design guide leverages the knowledge, years of experience working on landscape-scale conservation issues, and the legacy of the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives. The guide can serve as a reference and springboard for those seeking to implement broad-scale, multi-species conservation; collaborate and share data across regions and states; and incorporate human dimensions into the landscape

Categories: landscape conservation, species conservation, data sharing, collaboration

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

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

The Plant Conservation Alliance is a public-private partnership of organizations that share the same goal: to protect native plants by ensuring that native plant populations and their communities are maintained, enhanced, and restored.

Categories: Native plants, plant restoration, plant development

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

EcoAdapt runs the Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE), which is a joint project with Island Press aimed at building a shared knowledge base for managing natural systems in the face of rapid climate change.

Categories: Natural Resource Management

Established in 1976, the Intertribal Timber Council (ITC) is a nonprofit nation-wide consortium of Indian Tribes, Alaska Native Corporations, and individuals dedicated to improving the management of natural resources of importance to Native American communities. The ITC works cooperatively with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), private industry, and academia to explore issues and identify practical strategies and initiatives to promote social, economic and ecological values while protecting and utilizing forests, soil, water, and wildlife.

Categories: Natural Resource Management

The Native American Fish & Wildlife Society (NAFWS) is a national tribal organization established informally during the early 1980's. NAFWS was incorporated in 1983 to develop a national communications network for the exchange of information and management techniques related to self-determined tribal fish and wildlife management.

Categories: Natural Resource Management

Our Natural Resources (ONR) is an alliance of intertribal organizations and tribes committed to develop and advance a national tribal natural resources strategy. ONR brings together a unique blend of expertise to support the capacity of tribes to use, protect, restore, and enhance the natural resources that are central to the well-being of all communities. ONR is open to all tribes, organizations, and individuals that support the mission, attainment of the goals, and work towards the vision.

Categories: Natural Resource Management

Natural Resources and Sustainable Agricultural Systems National Programs support researchers at seventy locations developing the technologies and strategies needed to help farmers, ranchers, and other managers effectively steward the diverse agricultural mosaic spread across the nation. From livestock grazing expansive natural western rangelands, to crops grown in the rich Midwestern Heartland and the Southern States regions, to the high-value produce that comes from the valleys and plains along both coasts, these diverse landscapes generate more than $200-billion in goods and services that are the basis of a strong rural economy. Emphasis is given to developing technologies that are economical to use and systems that support profitable production and enhance the Nation’s vast renewable natural resource base. Research priorities are identified through a continual dialogue with a wide range of customers and stakeholders to ensure that our science is relevant and provides effective solutions to their concerns. We address issues affecting both private and public lands, because together these are the foundation of a healthy and vibrant agricultural industry that not only provides food, feed, fiber, and renewable energy to the nation, but also abundant and high quality supplies of fresh water and clean air, as well as healthy ecosystems.

Categories: natural resource management, agriculture, research, stewardship, science and technology, sustainable industry

The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is a voluntary land retirement program that helps agricultural producers protect environmentally sensitive land, decrease erosion, restore wildlife habitat, and safeguard ground and surface water.

Categories: Natural Resources

The National Agricultural Library has compiled a set of resources and information pretaining the natural resource and environmental issues.

Categories: Natural Resources

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

The NOAA Climate Program Office's (CPO) Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) program supports research teams that conduct innovative, interdisciplinary, user-inspired, and regionally relevant research that informs resource management and public policy.

Categories: Natural Resources, Regulatory, Research

The Partners for Fish and Wildlife is a voluntary habitat conservation program that provides technical and financial assistance to private landowners for habitat restoration projects that benefit Federal trust species. 9/28/13 is the end of the Federal fiscal year. For application instructions, contact the local Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program office. For office contact information please visit: http://www.fws.gov/partners/contactUs.html

Categories: Natural Resources, Wildlife, Conservation, Fisheries, Water