Climate Impacts Group

Funding Opportunity for Washington Coastal Tribes

The Climate Impacts Group is launching a small grants program, the Washington Coastal resilience and Adaptation Funding for Tribes (WA-CRAFT), to support the climate adaptation work of Washington coastal Tribes. In alignment with our commitment to honor Tribal sovereignty and self-determination, the program was co-designed with Tribal partners. Guided by their feedback, the program is designed to be non-competitive, low-barrier, and unrestricted to maximize flexibility and accessibility of funds.

In this time of funding uncertainty, we are honored to support the original stewards of this land as they continue their vital work—work that has sustained Tribal communities since time immemorial.

Learn more and apply by August 11, 2025 

As US doubles down on fossil fuels, communities will have to adapt to the consequences − yet climate adaptation funding is on the chopping block

Researchers and directors of regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers, including Meade Krosby with the NW CASC and Climate Impacts Group, pen an article for The Conversation asking: Is the nation prepared to adapt to the consequences?

NW CASC Now Accepting Proposals for 2026 Faculty Fellowship Program

The Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center is now accepting applications for its 2026 Faculty Fellowship Program, a “last-mile” program that funds activities aimed at enhancing the usability of existing research for natural resource managers. The NW CASC invites applications from faculty and non-faculty scientists with primary investigator status at University of Washington, as well as Boise State University, Northwest Indian College, Oregon State University, Portland State University, University of Montana, Washington State University and Western Washington University. The NW CASC 2026 Faculty Fellowship Program funding will run from January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026. The deadline to submit applications is July 15, 2025. 

CIG and Sea Grant receive federal funding to build capacity in Washington coastal Tribes and communities to address hazards due to climate change

Coastal Tribes and communities in Washington are on the front lines of climate change. Many are already grappling with associated coastal hazards, including sea level rise and flooding. However, all too often, these communities lack the capacity to adequately address the increasing climate risks that they face.

Washington Sea Grant (WSG) and the Climate Impacts Group (CIG) — both based at the University of Washington College of the Environment — collectively received $8.1 million in federal funding to strengthen local capacity in responding to climate hazards on the Washington coast. The partners will do this through implementing a new Resilience Fellowship and training programs, a small grants program for coastal Tribes in Washington, and coordinating partnerships to ensure that lessons learned translate into actionable knowledge. 

GHC among WA colleges sharing $9.3 million to build a climate-ready workforce

The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) will receive a $9.3 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop a climate-ready workforce. The UW Climate Impacts Group and the Office of the Washington State Climatologist are partners in this program.  

New funding for the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative supports work in flooding, wildfire smoke

The Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative is starting two exciting new projects this year that will support adaptation to flooding and wildfire smoke, thanks to funding from NOAA and the Department of Commerce. These projects are: 

Stories as science: Integrating lived experience and community knowledge into actionable adaptation science in Pacific Northwest and Pacific Islands regions. This project brings together researchers and storytellers from the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative, the Pacific Research on Island Solutions for Adaptation program and Tikkun Olam Productions. A recent story from the Resilience Collaborative highlights how this project aims to elevate the experiences of frontline communities while testing the oral history process as a novel method for co-producing science and guiding adaptation. 

NCRC and partners to pilot groundbreaking co-production method

Building resilience to climate change requires many diverse areas of expertise, experiences and knowledge. Though they have historically been marginalized from climate preparedness efforts, people of color, Indigenous peoples, people with lower incomes and people whose lives depend on natural resources — known collectively as “frontline communities” — have innovative solutions for building resilience to climate change impacts. 

The Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative and partners are piloting a groundbreaking method for elevating first-hand experiences and visions of climate resilience and solutions, with the goal of incorporating community knowledge into efforts to prepare for climate impacts. Partnering with the documentary storytelling organization Tikkun Olam Productions and the Pacific Research on Island Solutions for Adaptation program, a trans-disciplinary research team will record the oral histories of frontline communities facing flooding and other climate change impacts. 

Now Open! Call for Abstracts and Sessions at Virtual Northwest Climate Conference, October 2-4

Organizers of the 12th Northwest Climate Conference (NWCC) are now accepting abstract and session proposal submissions for this year’s Conference, to be hosted virtually by Boise State University on October 2-4, 2023. For more than a decade, this conference has provided a networking and learning community for practitioners, scientists, tribal members and community organizers interested in climate change impacts and adaptation in the Northwest.

SUBMIT ABSTRACT OR SESSION PROPOSAL 

NW Resilience Collaborative launches Community Grants Program

The Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative is accepting applications for funding of climate resilience projects through its Community Grants Program. The Resilience Collaborative, a program of the Climate Impacts Group, seeks to fund justice-focused, environmental and climate projects that advance community-centered resilience priorities. Nonprofits, community organizations and Tribes in Washington, Idaho and Oregon that serve frontline communities are eligible to apply. Letters of Interest for the Community Grants are due February 28, 2023. 

An informational webinar for potential applicants will be held virtually on Friday, January 20, from noon-1 p.m. Registration is required.

Grants can support projects on a range of topics, including capacity-building, developing resilience plans, implementing and evaluating resilience strategies, documenting climate and environmental impacts and more. 

UW Climate Impacts Group and partner organizations launch the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative 

The UW Climate Impacts Group, along with nine community, nonprofit, and university partners, is launching a program of community-led, justice-oriented climate adaptation work across Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. The Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative will be founded with a five-year, $5.6 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The program will be one of eleven across the country funded through NOAA’s Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments program.

The Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative will advance efforts to adapt to climate change in frontline communities — communities that have been excluded from spaces of power and who are disproportionately facing the impacts of climate change.