Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
it. might.be. possible.to. design. road. networks.to. reduce. damage. caused. to.
valley-bottom.roads.when.looding.occurs.
•.
Collaborate with a variety of partners
.-.Working.with.a.diversity.of.land-
owners,. agencies,. and. stakeholders. will. develop. support. for. and. consis-
tency.in.adaptation.options..For.example,.federal.land.managers.can.work.
with.adjacent.state.forest.managers.to.agree.on.conservation.strategies.for.
anadromous.ish.species.
•.
Promote education and awareness about climatic change
. -. It. is. critical.
that. internal. and. external. education. on. climatic. change. is. scientiically.
credible.and.consistent.(Spittlehouse.and.Stewart.2003),.with.emphasis.on.
the.role.of.active.management.in.adaptation..For.example,.local.residents.
can.be.informed.that.wildire.may.be.more.frequent.in.a.warmer.climate,.
which. makes. it. imperative. that. they. clear. brush. around. homes. to. reduce.
ire.hazard.
UNDERSTANDING, FORECASTING, AND
ADAPTING—THE NEXT PHASE
The.next.phase.of.WMI.research.targets.scientiic.activities.that.will.inform.decision.
support.in.federal.agencies.and.beyond.(Figure 8.5)..Although.our.understanding.of.the.
effects.of.climatic.variability.and.change.on.Western.ecosystems.is.far.from.complete,.
there.is.increasing.demand.from.resource.managers.to.move.forward.with.implementa-
tion.of.climatic-change.science.in.management.and.planning.and.to.develop.options.for.
adaptation.to.a.warmer.climate..Suficient.information.is.available.to.make.informed.
decisions,.despite.some.uncertainty,.and.guidance.is.needed.now.to.comply.with.agency.
mandates.to.address.climatic.change..WMI.is.collaborating.with.federal.agencies.in.this.
transition.while.maintaining.scientiic.studies.in.key.areas.
First,.WMI.will.strive.to.
understand climate-ecosystem interactions, and detect
and attribute change
..Land.managers.and.policy.makers.need.evidence.that.ecosys-
tems.are.changing.(detection),.and.that.changes.are.caused.by.speciic.agents.(attri-
bution),.in.order.to.develop.and.implement.adaptive.management..They.also.need.a.
strong.scientiic.basis.for.all.decision.making.related.to.climatic.change..Proposed.
studies.expand.the.geographic.scope.of.WMI.bioregions.and.provide.empirical.data.
and.mechanistic.understanding.for.the.modeling.effort.described.next.
Second,.WMI.will.use.
ecological forecasting to identify thresholds and vulnera-
bilities
..We.will.build.on.previous.modeling.efforts.and.provide.forecasts.of.speciic.
changes. across. the. West,. which. in. turn. will. provide. the. scientiic. basis. for. devel-
oping. descriptions. of. future. ecosystem. conditions. in. Western. mountains.. We. will.
emphasize.local.and.regional.vulnerabilities.of.ecosystem.components.or.processes.
to.climatic.variability.and.change,.thresholds.at.which.speciic.forest.or.hydrologic.
ecosystems. may. experience. state. changes,. and
uncertainties. associated. with. the.
forecasts.
Third,. we. will. collaborate. with. land. managers. throughout. the. western. United.
States. to.
develop adaptation strategies
. to. address. potential. effects. on. natural.
resources..Building.on.our.initial.efforts.described.previously,.a.variety.of.syntheses,.
