Fact Sheets
Scientific reticence and sea level rise
I suggest that ‘scientific reticence’, in some cases, hinders communication with the public about dangers of global warming. If I am right, it is important that policy-makers recognize the potential influence of this phenomenon. Scientific reticence may be a consequence of the scientific method. Success in science depends on objective skepticism. Caution, if not reticence, has its merits. However, in a case such as ice sheet instability and sea level rise, there is a danger in excessive caution. We may rue reticence, if it serves to lock in future disasters.Barber (1961) describes a ‘resistance by scientists to scientific discovery’, with a scholarly discussion of several sources of cultural resistance.There are aspects of the phenomenon that Barber discusses in the ‘scientific reticence’ that I describe, but additional factors come into play in the case of global climate change and sea level rise.
SC Meeting & Workshop Agenda
For Meeting on September 3-5, 2014 in Shepherdstown, WVA
Land managers to gain tools to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions
Trees take in and store a lot of carbon dioxide, or CO2, a greenhouse gas. Being able to measure forestry and agricultural intake and emissions of CO2 is critical to developing a strategy for addressing climate change by reducing greenhouse gases.
Fact Sheet: AppLCC Overview
Today a range of monumental conservation challenges confronts the Appalachians. This includes the loss and fragmentation of natural habitats; disruptions in natural disturbance regimes; and expanding major land-use changes that are occurring on a grand scale. Climate change will further exacerbate these challenges. The magnitude of these landscape-level changes requires a shift from traditional local and single-species conservation approaches toward a more comprehensive scale to protect species, habitats, and ecosystems. The Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) serves as a catalyst for conservation collaboration by providing the tools, products, and data, resource managers and partners need to address the environmental threats that are beyond the scope of any one agency.
Central Hardwoods Joint Venture Glade Conservation Assessment For the Interior Highlands and Interior Low Plateaus Of the Central Hardwoods Region
The glade conservation assessment is a collaborative effort among 8 states to document the current status and distribution of 24 distinct glade ecosystems and their associated species of conservation concern within the Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region, as well as the Ouachita Mountains to the south.
Fact Sheet: Riparian Restoration Decision Support Tool
An innovative web-based tool - funded by the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) and developed by researchers from the U.S. Forest Service and the University of Massachusetts - is allowing managers to rapidly identify high-priority riparian targets for restoration to make more resilient in preparation for changes in future climate. The Riparian Restoration Prioritization to Promote Climate Change Resilience (RPCCR) tool identifies vulnerable stream and riverbanks that lack tree cover and shade in coldwater stream habitats. By locating the best spots to plant trees in riparian zones, resource managers can provide shade that limits the amount of solar radiation heating the water and reduces the impacts from climate change. This well-established management strategy will benefit high-elevation, cold-water aquatic communities.
Vitality Index - Information Sheet
Introductory fact sheet on the Vitality Index developed by NEMAC (National Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Center) associated with NC State University in Asheville, NC.
Observed Changes in Phenology Across the United States - Northeast
Phenology — the seasonal timing of life cycle events in plants and animals such as flowering, hibernation, and migration — has been linked to shifts in the timing of allergy seasons, public visitation to National Parks, and cultural festivals. Change in phenology, recognized as a bio-indicator of climate change impacts, has also been linked to increased wildfire activity and pest outbreak, shifts in species distributions, spread of invasive species, and changes in carbon cycling in forests. Phenological information can and already is being used to identify species vulnerable to climate change, to generate computer models of carbon sequestration, to manage invasive species, to forecast seasonal allergens, and to track disease vectors, such as mosquitoes and ticks, in human population centers.
National Climate Assessement: Northeast
(Draft for public review) National Climate Assessment. Chapter 16. Northeast
IPCC: Technical Report - Climate Change and Biodiversity
Technical Report of the IPCC. 2002
USGS: Effects of Climate Change and Land Use on Water Resources in the Upper Colorado River Basin
(see Section on: Science in Support of Management Decisions). Fact sheet presents models, projected flow, paleo-climate record, system changes, Land-Use Management and Effects on Water Supply, Fish Futures and Changing Riparian Habitat.
FL: Addressing the Challenge of Climate Change in the Greater Everglades Landscape
“Addressing the Challenge of Climate Change in the Greater Everglades Landscape” is a research initiative funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and carried out by a group of researchers at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The study investigates possible trajectories of future transformation in the Greater Everglades Landscape relative to four main drivers: climate change, shifts in planning approaches and regulations, population change, and variations in financial resources. Through a systematic exploration at the landscape-scale, this research identifies some of the major challenges to future conservation efforts and illustrates a planning method which can generate conservation strategies resilient to a variety of climatic and socioeconomic conditions.
Global Climate Change Impacts in the US
Report. GCRP
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Identifies Critical Habitat for Diamond Darter
The endangered diamond darter, a tiny fish that has faced serious threats to its home, depends on 123 miles of habitat for its survival, the Service today announced. Once found along the southern Appalachians from Ohio to Tennessee, this native darter has been restricted to one stream along the Elk River by years of changes from dams, water quality degradation and other threats.
Publications & Outreach
A collection of reports, plans, and outreach products related to the activities of the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC).
NFWP Climate Adaptation Strategy - Full Report
Full Report
FWS Conservation Framework
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Conservation Framework
North Atlantic LCC
Communication Plan of the North Atlantic LCC
