The National Climate Assessment (NCA), under the auspices of the US Global Change Research Program, synthesizes scientific observations made across the country, evaluates observations in relation to predictions from climate system models, and assesses the state of the current and future climate. In its next quadrennial report, due in 2013, the NCA will integrate scientific information from multiple sources and highlight key findings and significant gaps in our knowledge. The work of the NCA demonstrates how the federal government can engage effectively with partners at all levels of government, in universities, in the private sector, and with NGOs and professional societies such as the ESA. At this symposium, NCA staff and scientific author teams will provide the audience with an overview of the NCA and discuss the latest ecological science that will be informing products of the NCA. The audience at ESA, ecologists at all stages in their careers, will be essential to building strong scientific networks, and their input will be valuable to the continuing development of the NCA process and products. This special session will both inform the audience about the process and science of the assessment and provide time for participants to ask questions about and discuss the NCA, including how to develop a sustained and ongoing assessment process, how to tailor this process according to the needs of various geographic regions and societal sectors, and how to assess the relevancy and breadth of science covered by the NCA report.