Climate Change Response Program Angie Richman Communication Specialist

1. Climate Change Response Program Angie Richman Communication Specialist

2. Climate change is the most important, incredibly complex issue affecting work across all scales of the National Park Service – NPS Director, Jon Jarvis

3. To address the seriousness of this issue the NPS Leadership established and funded Climate Change Response Program (CCRP) in FY 2010 for $10M.

4. Natural Resource Stewardship & Science Communi-cations Policy Science Climate Change Response Program$1.7M Adaptation WRD, BRMD$0.3M NPS Climate Change Response$10M Total Mitigation ClimateScienceCenters Enhanced Monitoring $3M $3M DOI Initiatives $3M Park Projects $2M Landscape Conservation Cooperatives Internships

5. Natural Resource Stewardship & Science NPS Climate Change Response$10M Total

6. Natural Resource Stewardship & Science • 5 Landscape Adaptation • Coordinators • Northern Rockies • Pacific Islands • South Atlantic • North Atlantic • Urban Parks • Climate Science Centers • 2 FTE in 2010 Policy NPS Climate Change Response$10M Total Mitigation ClimateScienceCenters DOI Initiatives $3M Landscape Conservation Cooperatives Internships

7. Department of the Interior CC Program DOI Climate Change Response Council Secretary (Chair); Deputy Secretary (Co-Chair); Assistant Secretaries; Bureau Directors Climate Change and Energy Task Force (Deputy Asst. Sec. & Senior Level Bureau Staff) Regional Climate Science Centers Landscape Conservation Cooperatives Public Lands Carbon Project Carbon Footprint Project Biological Carbon Sequestration Assessing carbon storage potential of DOI lands Promoting management strategies to enhance carbon benefits of natural landscapes Geologic Carbon Sequestration Capture and geologic storage • Coordinated science and data delivery • Climate modeling • Monitoring / Data integration • Downscaled modeling • Forecasting • Unified Monitoring and Data Collection • Adaptation planning and decision support • Vulnerability and risk assessments • Ecosystem monitoring /modeling • Strategic habitat conservation • Scenario planning • Unified GHG Emissions Reduction Program • Efficiency programs across all DOI Bureaus • Assessing visitor and concessions • Activities on public lands

8. Regional Climate Science Centers (CSC) Alaska Northcentral Northwest Northeast Southwest Southeast Southcentral Pacific Islands “Fuzzy Boundaries”

10. Natural Resource Stewardship & Science NPS Climate Change Response$10M Total ClimateScienceCenters DOI Initiatives $3M Park Projects $2M Landscape Conservation Cooperatives Internships

11. SCC projects: 149 submitted, 17 funded Internships: 37 submitted, 13 funded Fellowships: 140 submitted, ?? funded

12. SCC projects: • Impacts of Fire Management on Carbon Stock Stability in Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National • Ice Patches as Sources of Archeological and Paleoecological Data in Climate Change Research Internships: •Development of curriculum based climate change education programs and podcasts • Build and showcase a photovoltaic array to showcase sustainable energy throughout the park

13. Natural Resource Stewardship & Science Adaptation NPS Climate Change Response$10M Total Mitigation ClimateScienceCenters Enhanced Monitoring $3M $3M DOI Initiatives $3M Park Projects $2M Landscape Conservation Cooperatives Internships

14. Enhance Existing Network Monitoring Capacity - $3M • Climate Change Monitoring Coordinator (Shawn Carter) • Climate Change Ecologist (John Gross) • Enhanced Monitoring ($1.6 M) • High Elevation • North Atlantic Coastal • South Atlantic Coastal • Pacific Island • High Latitude (Alaska) • Arid Lands • Ecosystem Modeling ($200 K) • Joint project with NSF, NASA, FWS, USGS • Unified Monitoring and Data Collection ($550 K) • Leverage Vital Signs network capacity; partner with others to enhance monitoring and data integration

15. Natural Resource Stewardship & Science Communi-cations Policy Science Climate Change Response Program$1.7M Adaptation WRD, BRMD$0.3M NPS Climate Change Response$10M Total Mitigation ClimateScienceCenters Enhanced Monitoring $3M $3M DOI Initiatives $3M Park Projects $2M Landscape Conservation Cooperatives Internships

16. Core Office • Climate Change Program Manager (Leigh Welling) • Climate Scientist • Climate Change Communication Specialist (Angie Richman) • Program Analyst • Climate Change Assistant (Melanie Graham) • CESU/RLC Coordinator • National Adaptation Coordinator • NRPC • Landscape Ecologist (BRMD) • Resource Planner (WRD) • Provide service-wide coordination for policy, science, planning, mitigation, adaptation, and communication; seed money for prototype assessment and scenario planning

17. Policy • Develop interim policy guidance for superintendants and the field – how to make an informed decision • Establish a policy working group that reflects the servicewide interest (including Cultural Resources) • Support policy needs of ongoing adaptation and mitigation planning

18. 4 Key Components • Mitigation • Adaptation • Communication • Science

19. Adaptation Strategies and Scenario Planning

20. One Dimensional vs Scenario Planning A Outcomes One-Dimensional Planning B C D Possible Futures Scenario Planning A Elements Common to A-B B Elements Common to A-D Elements Common to A-C C D

21. Assateague Island National Seashore Wind Cave National Park

22. “Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable” Peering Into the Fog

23. Communication Products Website: www.nps.gov/climatechange Intranet: http://nrpcsharepoint/climatechange Webinar Speaker Series Monthly Newsletter Bioregional Talking Points

24. Communication Messages Climate change is happening and human activities are contributing to and accelerating it. Changing climate has consequences for parks, people, and the planet. The NPS is responding with practices that address climate change. The choices we make now may help to avoid catastrophic impacts in the future.