Steve McNulty Director, USDA Southeast Regional Climate Hub steve_mcnulty@ncsu

Steve McNultyDirector, USDA Southeast Regional Climate Hub

steve_mcnulty@ncsu.edu

USDA Southeast Regional Climate Hub (SERCH)

Assisting land managers adapt and plan for the impacts of current climate

variability

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1991-2012 Air Temperature Change

You don’t need warming to have major disasters

Enter the Climate Hubs

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Baseline rules

• Reagans quote

• No regulatory role

• Working with ARS, NRCS, and FS

• Must be useful to both extension and land owner

Vision: Agricultural production and natural resources maintaind and strengthened under increasing climate variability and environmental change

Mission: To develop and deliver science-based, region-specific information and technologies to agricultural and natural resource managers that enable climate-smart decision-making and provide assistance to enable land managers to implement those decisions.

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USDA Regional Climate Hubs will provide:

• Technical & Program Support

• Assessments and Forecasts

• Outreach and Education

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Where are the Climate Hubs?

Revised USDA Climate Hub Regions

Sub - Hub Locations

ARS / Forest Service

Forest Service Lead

Forest Service Lead

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How the hubs work

• find or develop tools or information that could be of use to the manager for increasing resiliency and sustainability of land during times of environmental stress

• share information with extension/NRCS/private consultants to assess interest and usefulness

• If useful, train the trainers and increase tool access and use

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How the hubs work (cont.)

• listen to feedback on tool from land managers and report needs for improvement or gaps to WO funding sources.

• Promote new funding to fill gaps in tool or information directly useful to land managers

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An example tool

USDA Forest Service – Threat Assessment Centers

Steve McNulty (PI)Emrys Treasure

Lisa JenningsJennifer Moore Myers

Robert HerringNancy GrulkeLisa Balduman

www.forestthreats.org/taccimotool

USDA Forest Service – Southern Region

Chris Liggett (PI)David Meriwether

Paul Arndt USDA Forest Service –

Pacific Southwest RegionBruce GoinesLara Polansky

Bradley Burmark

SCIENCE AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

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TACCIMO is a web-based application integrating climate change science with management and planning options through search and reporting tools that connect land managers with peer-reviewed information they can trust.

Inputs

Outputs

Science: Geospatial Science: Literature USDA FS Forest Planning

Coastal Ecosystems

Invasive Species

Vegetation ManagementAnimal Communities

Water Resources

Recreation

Air Quality

General Biodiversity

Land Use & Planning

Soil & Geologic Resources

Climate Trends

Extreme Weather

Fire

Forest HealthFreshwater Ecosystems

Plant Communities

Photo credits from Bugwood.org: Climate Trends—Petr Kapitola, State Phytosanitary Administration; Fire—Region 2, USFS; Freshwater Ecosystems—Chris Evans, River to River CWMA; Invasive Species—Kerry Britton, USFS; Animal Communities—Alfred Viola, Northeastern University; Vegetation Mgt.—John D. Hodges, MS State Univ.; Plant Communities—Jason Sharman, Vitalitree; General Biodiversity—David Cappaert, MI State Univ.; Water Resources—Chris Evans, River to River CWMA; Soils—Howard F. Schwartz, CO State Univ.; Land Use—James Denny Ward, USFS; Disturbance—Ronald F. Billings, Texas FS

Human Dimensions

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TACCIMO Project History2009: Concept and prototype development2010: Web application development

– Implementation of basic reporting and explore functionality• Version 1.0 released: June 2010

– Review and refinement of web application• Version 2.0 released: October 2010

2011: Content development and web application redesign– Forest plan and literature development

• Version 2.1 released: April 2011

– Implementation of enhanced reporting and explore functionality• Version 2.2 released: October 2011

2012-2014: Continuing development through user support– Expanded partnerships– Intensive literature and geospatial content

development• Version 3.0 expected release: Fall 2013

Who is using TACCIMO?• NEPA Analysis and Responding to Public Comments

– NEPA coordinators in the Southern region are using TACCIMO to respond to public comments regarding climate change and carbon sequestration.

• Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments– TACCIMO is working with the California Landscape Conservation Cooperative

and non-profit partners EcoAdapt and the Geos Institute to provide the scientific basis for a vulnerability assessment for the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

• State and Private-Level Forest Management– Forest managers from the North Carolina Forest Service, Southern Regional

Extension Forestry, and the PINEMAP project used TACCIMO to craft climate change materials for state level managers and private landowners.

• Everyday Use– TACCIMO is used for every day climate change needs by federal, state, and

private natural resource professionals, and provides a valuable teaching aid for climate change education.

Describing the bounds of future climate

TACCIMO Climate Report

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Describing the bounds of future climateTACCIMO Climate Report

Investigating Effects of Climate Change

TACCIMO Literature Explorer

Investigating Effects of Climate Change

TACCIMO Literature Report

Investigating Effects of Climate ChangeTACCIMO Literature

Report

Emerging Forest Threats:Management Options For Healthy Forests

• Pamphlet created in collaboration with the NC Forest Service Forest Management Division with reviews from NCSU Extension Forestry

• Targeted at private forest landowners engaged in stewardship plans

• Does not explicitly mention Climate Change or Global Warming

• Summarized from over 300 peer-reviewed sources in TACCIMO

• Available at ncforestservice.gov

Visit our Case Studies Page

•For more examples of TACCIMO applications, visit our case studies page:

http://www.taccimo.sgcp.ncsu.edu/casestudy

28http://globalchange.ncsu.edu/

Keep on SERCHing!

So, If you are interested in seeing your climate impacts adaptation work make it into the hands of those folks who can really use it, please contact me at

steve_mcnulty@ncsu.edu

or call my office number

919 515-9489

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