SS 17 - Natural Resources and Climate Change: Effects and Adaptation

Tuesday, August 4, 2009: 8:00 PM-10:00 PM
Brazos, Albuquerque Convention Center
Organizer:
Margaret K. Walsh, US Department of Agriculture
Co-organizer:
Michael G. Ryan, Colorado State University
Moderator:
Margaret K. Walsh, US Department of Agriculture
Climate change is a critical issue for our time. Ecosystems are changing in response to climate: fire seasons are longer and forest fires are larger and more frequent; snowmelt in the western US occurs earlier; agricultural production is approaching critical thresholds in some areas; critical habitat is lost or threatened. Recent synthesis and assessments by the US Climate Change Science Program show that the scope and magnitude of climate change impacts often exceed expectations for both the extent and rate of change. As a result, natural resource managers are adapting to climate change either intentionally or unintentionally, often without any larger framework or understanding for those actions. Management designed to adapt to climate change is rarely evaluated, and effects and adaptation are often separated when they should be linked. Maintaining ecosystem function is critical to sustainability, and will rely heavily on understanding the effects of climate change on natural resources and the potential for adaptation to those changes.
8:00 PM
 Introduction and background
Margaret K. Walsh, US Department of Agriculture
8:15 PM
 Synthesis overview
Peter Backlund, NCAR
8:30 PM
 Climate change effects
David S. Schimel, Jet Propulsion Lab, California Institute of Technology
8:45 PM
 Agriculture and climate change
Chuck Rice, Kansas State University
9:00 PM
 Forests and climate change
Michael G. Ryan, Colorado State University
9:15 PM
 Climate change and biodiversity
Anthony Janetos, Boston University
9:30 PM
 Adaptation in national parks
Jill Baron, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, United States Geological Survey
9:45 PM
 Synthesis and adaptation overview
Susan Julius, US Environmental Protection Agency
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