Climate Impacts Group

Integrating Climate Adaptation into Water System Planning: CIG’s Collaboration with WA Dept. of Health

HB1181 tasked the Climate Impacts Group with supporting DOH’s development of the WSP CRE, recently published in the updated Water System Planning Guidebook. Resources developed as part of this effort include the supplemental DOH WSP Climate Resilience Element workbook and a webpage with curated resources. “This new requirement provides an important opportunity to connect water system practitioners with a broad array of established tools and resources designed to strengthen system resilience to emerging climate-related risks,” describes Ryan Hasert, CIG Scientist and co-author of the CRE.

Introducing the Climate Impacts Group “Our Climate Future” Webinar Series

The Climate Impacts Group (CIG) is beginning a new webinar series, titled “Our Climate Future,” building on 30 years of the organization’s research, data, tools, and impact, to inspire new ways to stay connected and move forward during this critical time.

Don’t Get Crabby, Get Proactive! Invasive Species Science at the NW CASC

The European green crab (Carcinas maenas), brought to the area by ocean conditions altered by climate change, is threatening shellfish industries, Tribal food sources and estuarine habitats across the Pacific Northwest. Where it becomes established, it preys on clams, mussels and oysters, degrades habitat by destroying aquatic vegetation, and eats and competes with juvenile Dungeness crabs, massively disrupting marine ecosystems.

Fortunately, timely management responses and removal interventions have helped control the spread and impact of the European green crab. Researchers, state agencies and Tribes are working hard to understand how best to protect our ecosystems and resources from this threat.

The Northwest Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (NW RISCC) Network, a program within the CIG-hosted Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center, recently published a management brief, which shares information on the ways warming temperatures can influence this ongoing invasion and highlights the role climate adaptation can play in management.