The Tribal Coastal Resilience Portfolio of the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative supports the climate readiness of Northwest coastal tribes by:

• Centering coastal tribal priorities and participation in climate adaptation
• Providing information to tribes and non-tribal partners for advancing coastal resilience
• Enhancing capacity for addressing the climate risks and needs of coastal tribes

The Tribal Coastal Resilience Portfolio is one of three areas of work for the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative, a participatory program designed to support frontline communities. Learn more about the Resilience Collaborative.

Our Team

Portfolio staff:

Project Team: Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, University of Washington Climate Impacts Group, Washington Sea Grant, Western Washington University.

Communities: We collaborate with coastal Tribes in Washington and Oregon.

Partners: Our work is guided by a Tribal Advisory Group and includes external partners such as the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center, and Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center.

Our Work

Our recent activities include:  

Identifying policy solutions for adaptation funding barriers experienced by Northwest coastal Tribes. The Tribal Coastal Resilience Portfolio is collaborating with legal and policy experts from the Native American Law Center at UW School of Law, the Environmental and Energy Law Program at Harvard Law School, and the Environmental Policy Innovation Center to identify policy resources and tools for addressing key funding barriers identified by Northwest coastal Tribes. They will be holding a workshop at the ATNI 2025 Winter Convention in Portland, OR to introduce draft materials and gather Tribal input to guide further development and eventual dissemination of products to federal and state governments.

Assessing adaptation barriers and needs for coastal Tribes in Oregon and Washington. The Tribal Coastal Resilience Portfolio conducted an adaptation needs assessment informed by a review of Tribal climate plans and a series of listening sessions with Northwest coastal Tribes. The team conducted six listening sessions that included 40 participants representing government staff, citizens, and elected officials from 13 Northwest coastal Tribes. The team analyzed listening session transcripts to uncover key climate adaptation barriers and needs which, if addressed, could help catalyze climate action by Northwest coastal Tribes. Key findings are shared in a newly released report:

REPORT

Connecting with The Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center. The Tribal Coastal Resilience Portfolio supported the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center’s 2023 Deep Dive event, “Rising Seas and the Coastal Squeeze: Managing inland migration of coastal habitats in response to sea level rise.” Deep Dive findings underscored the importance of Tribal knowledge, expertise and information-sharing to effective management of coastal squeeze.

Get Involved 

For any questions or concerns, please contact the project technical lead, Meade Krosby (mkrosby@uw.edu)

Related Resources

Tribal nations and Indigenous peoples looking to build climate resilience in their communities may find these resources from Northwest Climate Resilience leaders and partners helpful:

• Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Climate Change Resources
• Climate Impacts Group Tribal Vulnerability Assessment Resources
• Climate Impacts Group Tribal Climate Technical Support Desk
• Climate Impacts Group projects located on tribal lands and nations

Our Funders and Supporters

As a component of the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative, the Tribal Coastal Resilience Portfolio is supported by the NOAA Climate Adaptation Partnerships Program (formerly known as the NOAA Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments Program). Additional support comes from the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington, the University of Washington, UW EarthLab and the UW College of the Environment.