Nooksack Indian Tribe Natural Resources Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment

The climate of the Nooksack River watershed is changing, and is projected to continue to change throughout the 21st century. In addition to rising temperatures and exaggerated patterns of seasonal precipitation, the watershed is likely to experience greater wildfire risk, more severe winter flooding, rising sea levels, and increasing ocean acidification. These changes will have profound impacts on the watershed’s plants, animals, and ecosystems, including changes in species distributions, abundances, and productivity; shifts in the timing of life cycle events such as flowering, breeding, and migration; and changes in the distribution and composition of ecological communities. Understanding which species and habitats are expected to be vulnerable to climate change, and why, is a critical first step toward identifying strategies and actions for maintaining priority species and habitats in the face of change. The University of Washington Climate Impacts Group worked collaboratively with the Nooksack Indian Tribe’s Natural Resource Department to evaluate the climate change vulnerability of priority species and habitats for the Tribe. This report describes the approach taken to assess vulnerability and summarizes key findings from the assessment’s results. The report also includes an appendix of fact sheets describing individual assessment details for each of the species and habitat types evaluated; these fact sheets highlight each species’ key climate sensitivities as well as data gaps of importance for understanding their vulnerability. Together, the information provided in this assessment offers a rigorous foundation for future climate adaptation efforts aimed at addressing climate risks to the Nooksack Tribe’s priority species and habitats.To download a PDF of the plan, click here.