Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe Environment Division

1. Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe Environment Division Climate Change Adaptation Planning Angela Benedict SRMT Environment Division

2. What is an Adaptation Plan? An Adaptation Plan is a written document of our Environment, ways of life and strategies to adapt to a changing climate.

3. Changes?

4. Resilience Ability to recover readily from illness and/or depression

5. tolerance The permissible variation of an object or objects in some characteristic such as hardiness weight or quantity.

6. What changes are you seeing?

7. Fall • Apple trees are blooming earlier • Tree leaves are changing colors earlier • Earlier frost warnings • Leaves are dropping earlier

8. Winter • Snowfall • Ice • Extreme events • More rain than snow

9. Cumulative Freezing Days

10. SPRING • March • 2012 High 81°F Low 1°F • 2013 High 57°F Low 2°F • 2014 High 47°F Low -23°F • Maple sap • Flowers • Lower snow pack less runoff but high snow pack could mean flooding

11. Predictions of Sugar Maple in Eastern North America predicted new growth predicted new growth Distribution of Sugar Maple in Eastern North America will change due to an increase in temperature and a decrease in moisture shifting further north east. overlap overlap present range Prediction based on Prediction based on increased increased temperature temperature and decrease precipitation

12. Total Rain fall

13. Summer • Warm, Cold, Warm (Spring), Hot and Dry (Summer) • Extreme rain events • More rain in shorter time periods • Hail storms, wind storms • Drought Conditions • Well went dry • Crops-Corn • Water levels

14. Water Temperatures

15. Black ash Seeds One strategy the Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment is using to save the black ash tree is the collection of black ash seeds. Each year, healthy seeds are harvested in New York and parts of Canada, then carefully recorded, dried, and stored until planting.

16. Adaptation Plan • Special Grant to create Adaptation Plans for all Nations in Region 2 • Created 2 plans • Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe • Shinnecock Nation • Follows Thanksgiving Address

17. Thanksgiving Address • The People • Mother Earth • The Waters • The Fish • Small Plants and Animals • The Berries • Three Sisters • Medicine Herbs • Animals • Trees • The Birds • The Four Winds • The Thunderers • Grandmother Moon • The Sun • The Stars • The Four Beings • The Creator

18. Grand mother moon

19. Grand mother moon • CURRENT CONDITIONS • FUTURE WITH CLIMATE CHANGE • ONGOING AND PLANNED CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION ACTIONS

20. Direct link:http://srmtenv.org/web_docs/2013/09/SRMT_CCAP_08-30-13.pdf Link to Adaptation Plan • http://srmtenv.org • Air Quality Program • Plan is listed under codes and regs

21. CLOSING WORDS “We have now arrived at the place where we end our words. Of all the things we have named, it was not our intention to leave anything out. If something was forgotten, we leave it to each individual to send such greetings and thanks in their own way. And now our minds are one.”