Climate Impacts Group

Smoke, sprinklers, aluminum foil: Fighting fire on the Olympic Peninsula

Extreme heat launched the Bear Gulch Fire across 2,000 additional acres of forest on Tuesday and Wednesday, pouring thick smoke on the Hood Canal communities of Hoodsport and Skokomish, Washington. In the three months leading up to the fire, Lake Cushman received 30% of its normal 9.4 inches of rainfall. State Climatologist Guillaume Mauger is mentioned.  

Amid a hot and smoky Pacific Northwest summer, communities seek innovative and collaborative solutions to build resilience

Against [the] backdrop of escalating climate risk, C2ES recently traveled to Seattle, Washington to kick off the second regional Climate Resilient Communities Accelerator. The first in-person convening of the South-Central Puget Sound Accelerator focused on extreme heat and wildfire smoke impacts in the region. State Climatologist Guillaume Mauger is mentioned.  

Meet our 2025 Summer Interns

Cyril Clement, Mutual Aid and Climate Resilience Intern

B.Sc. Environmental Studies and Medical Anthropology double major and Data Science minor

Cyril (he/him) is an undergraduate student at the University of Washington, Seattle, majoring in Environmental Studies and Medical Anthropology, with a minor in Data Science. His academic interests lie in the intersection of climate change and public health. Research has been a central part of his undergraduate journey, with projects covering topics such as health insurance access, community farms, and green stormwater infrastructure. Through his further studies and career, he plans to work closely with communities to uncover ways to disrupt the policies and systemic mechanisms that contribute to environmental injustice. 

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.

Director’s Corner: Onward

Dear Climate Impacts Group community:

I was delighted to join the Climate Impacts Group as the new director this February, and I am honored to lead this amazing team. Between collaborating with Amy Snover on a chapter of my PhD dissertation in 2016, to frequently crossing paths with Guillaume Mauger on aquatic habitat restoration and climate change adaptation issues over the last several years, when I decided to make the transition to CIG, it felt like coming home! I have so appreciated the warm welcome from the CIG staff, the UW community, and all of our partners and collaborators.

As many of you know, it’s been a difficult few months for CIG with the termination of two of our major NOAA grants, including the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative. 

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. 

WA’s drought deepens and the summer forecast offers no respite

Yes, this is summer and it’s supposed to be hot and dry. But this year we’re much drier than normal and, fresh off major droughts in 2024 and 2023, the effects of these lingering dry spells is compounding. Deputy State Climatologist Karin Bumbaco said, “The driest part of our year is just getting started.” Please reach out to CIG directly if you are unable to access the article.

Leavenworth artist’s climate-themed triptych featured at Smithsonian exhibit

For Earth Day, the Smithsonian featured Leavenworth-borth artist Claire Sianna Seaman’s Imagining a Climate Resilient Future in the Pacific Northwest. The triptych was commissioned by the Climate Impacts Group to celebrate our 25th anniversary in 2020-2021.  

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