Climate Impacts Group

From the Climate Impacts Group to King County – A new adventure for CIG’s Lara Whitely Binder

It is with both sadness and pride that we announce the departure of long-time Climate Impacts Group team member, Lara Whitely Binder. Lara will be starting her next adventure as the Climate Preparedness Specialist with King County, where she will continue to make significant contributions in building climate resilience across the region.

As a key member of the Climate Impacts Group for 16 years, Lara has become a regionally recognized leader in helping communities consider climate impacts as part of their operations and decision-making. She has assisted a wide range of municipalities, counties, state agencies, federal land managers, and tribes as they seek to embed climate thinking into their management of natural resources and infrastructure. 

Shrubs, grasses planted through federal program crucial for sage grouse survival in Eastern Washington

A new study by University of Washington Climate Impacts Group, state and federal researchers analyzed sage grouse in Eastern Washington and showed a surprisingly large benefit from a federal program that subsidizes farmers to plant year-round grasses and native shrubs instead of crops. Although the program was adopted for many different reasons, the study finds it is probably the reason that sage grouse still live in portions of Washington’s Columbia Basin.

“Without these lands, our models predict that we would lose about two thirds of the species’ habitat, and that the sage grouse would go extinct in two of three subpopulations,” said first author Andrew Shirk, a research scientist with the UW’s Climate Impacts Group. 

Could the NW become an increasingly important dairy-producing region as climate change unfolds?

The Agriculture Climate Network recently published a blog about CIG researcher Guillaume Mauger’s study on the Impacts of climate change on milk production in the United States. The original research was published in The Professional Geographer in 2015. Check out the blog to learn about how climate change will impact milk production in the U.S. 

CIG Welcomes Strategic Communications Lead

The Climate Impacts Group (CIG) is excited to welcome Heidi Roop to the team as our Strategic Communications Lead. Heidi brings a strong background in research science and science communication along with a passion for ‘changing how the world engages in science.’ Heidi’s position is a new one at CIG, focused on developing and implementing a proactive, organization-wide communication strategy.

“We are very excited to welcome Heidi to the CIG team as our new Strategic Communications Lead,” says Amy Snover, Director of CIG. “We are looking forward to having a brand new position that has an explicit focus on communications. We are especially excited about Heidi and her innovative approach to science communication. 

New winter quarter seminar: Linking Knowledge and Action

Dr. Amy Snover and Dr. Meade Krosby are offering an exciting new winter quarter seminar on the theory of practice of linking knowledge and action. This one-credit, reading and discussion-based seminar will explore the theory and practice of linking knowledge with action in support of progress on critical environmental challenges. Concepts will be illustrated using examples from efforts to inform societal responses to climate change. This course (ATMS/ESS/OCN 593) will meet on Tuesdays from 3:30-4:20. 

CIG Data Featured on New White House Climate Data Site

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has launched the Partnership for Resilience and Preparedness (PReP) initiative, a new public-private collaboration which aims to increase the accessibility of climate data that can help communities and businesses to successfully adapt to climate change. This initiative features data from the Climate Impacts Group recent report, State of Knowledge: Climate Change in Puget Sound. 

Edward L. Miles – Scholar, Humanitarian, Bon Vivant, Teacher, Mentor and Friend (1939-2016)

The world has lost an extraordinary scholar in marine affairs, climate impacts, and environmental management. We – members and alumni of the Climate Impacts Group – have lost our founder, director emeritus, colleague, mentor and, above all, dear friend.

Edward Lancelot Miles died at his home in Seattle, Washington on May 7, 2016, from complications of Lewy Body Dementia. He was 76.

Ed’s impact is wide-ranging, both personally and professionally. He had an unstoppable curiosity and powerful intellect, which he aimed at understanding and addressing some of the world’s most complex science, technology and environmental management challenges. Ed’s exuberant spirit elevated everyone around him, and his remarkable leadership skills were critical in bridging some of the serious chasms that too often exist between the realms of science and public policy. 

Tree genetic adaptations to climate

Andrew Shirk, a research scientist at CIG, is collaborating on a new research project evaluating how landscape and climate affect the movement of genes through populations of three tree species: the southwestern white pine, Douglas-fir, and fremont cottonwood. 

New report on climate change in Puget Sound

A new report from the Climate Impacts Group, State of Knowledge: Climate Change in Puget Sound, provides a comprehensive synthesis of relevant research on the likely effects of climate change on the Puget Sound region.