Projects By Category: Decision Support

Alaska’s freshwater resources, vitally important for salmon and other species, are vulnerable to changes resulting from climate change.

This project is focused on establishing a statewide framework to improve the hydrography mapping and stewardship in Alaska.

Water temperature influences all biological and physicochemical interactions within aquaticsystems. Water temperature monitoring is an essential part of lake management capable of providing early warning signs of climate change using straight-forward, low-cost techniques.

Western Alaska is one of the fastest warming regions on the globe and recent trends are expected to continue into the next century, likely having substantial effects on the aquatic resources of this region.

Mid-winter icing events have the potential to lead to population declines of grazing caribou and to some species of small mammals due to reduced survival and reproduction associated with restricted access or lack of forage.

This project will produce an existing vegetation type map at 30m resolution for the entire Western Alaska LCC region. The lack of a consistently mapped vegetation data layer for Alaska has been identified as a primary road block for many conservation and management entities across the state.

This project evaluates the connections between climate change impacts and health in Bristol Bay communities. Climate change impacts were assessed through the lens of public health, with an eye towards the potential effects on disease, injury, food and water security, and mental health.

The western coastline of Alaska is highly susceptible to coastal storms, which can cause coastal erosion, flooding, and have other pernicious effects to the environment and commercial efforts.

The purpose of the research is to develop a storm surge model for the YK Delta area and to apply it to determine biological impacts of storm surges in the current and future climates.

One of the major challenges in understanding changes in coastal processes in western Alaska is the lack of measured ocean data in the region.

Climate change is expected to alter the distributions and community composition of stream fishes in the Great Lakes region in the 21st century, in part as a result of altered hydrological systems (stream temperature, streamflow, and habitat).

Nearshore bathymetry is a vital link that joins offshore water depths to coastal topography.

The compilation of an accurate and contemporary digital shoreline for Alaska is an important step in understanding coastal processes and measuring changes in coastal storm characteristics.

This project analyzies projected changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events across the Great Lakes region, namely heat waves, cold spells, heavy precipitation events, and droughts, using a statistically downscaled climate product produced by the Climate Working Group of the

This project uses previously collected ShoreZone imagery to map nearly 1,600 km of coastline between Wales and Kotzebue.

Ecological connectivity between the Great Lakes and their tributaries is widely impaired, and many agencies and organizations are currently investing in restoring these connections to enhance target fish and wildlife populations.

This project uses existing ShoreZone coastal imagery to map 719 km of shoreline in Bristol Bay, from Cape Constantine to Cape Newenham. This section of coastline is an extremely important herring spawning area and an important component of the Bristol Bay fisheries.

This scenario planning decision support tool for the Kankakee River basin as a first case study/proof-of concept.

Great Lakes coastal wetlands provide critical habitat for many species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, and provide essential spawning and nursery habitat for many fish species of ecologic and economic importance.

Permafrost thaw can be a major driver of landscape change.

Thermokarst lakes (lakes formed in a depression by meltwater from thawing permafrost) are common features and important ecosystems in Alaska.

We propose to support the revision and implementation of the South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative’s Conservation Blueprint by integrating its Ecosystem Indicators into a structured decision support system that makes explicit how the Indicators are interrelated and how these will resp

Sea-level rise (SLR) is one of the biggest threats to the Hawaiian coastline, and resource managers of coastal wetlands in Hawai‘i must begin planning now for future impacts. The majority of these impacts are expected to occur from 2040 – 2100.

In the tropics, ample freshwater is the primary resource supporting thriving human and ecological communities. In the Pacific Islands, many watersheds are threatened by climate change, urban encroachment, and invasion by water-demanding exotic plant species like strawberry guava (SG).

Changes in future wave climates in the tropical Pacific Ocean from global climate change are not well understood. Spatially and temporally varying waves dominate coastal morphology and ecosystem structure of the islands throughout the tropical Pacific.

The specific objectives of this contract are to identify and categorize key differences and similarities between islands and continental systems that are relevant to achieving sustainable landscapes/seascapes at regional scales; to develop a conservation framework that integrates planning process

The Invasion of native communities by cool-season introduced grasses, especially smooth brome and Kentucky bluegrass in upland prairies, reed canary grass in wetlands, is on one of the most important management issues on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service)-owned lands.

Will downscale climate data using statistical and dynamical approaches and project future climate at an 8-km grid resolution.

A conservation and restoration priorities tool was developed that provides online access to regional information including: climate change projections, watershed condition, freshwater and terrestrial species, forest ecosystem information and invasive species information.

A conservation and restoration priorities tool was developed that provides online access to regional information including: climate change projections, watershed condition, freshwater and terrestrial species, forest ecosystem information and invasive species information.

The North Pacific Forest Landscape Corridor and Connectivity Project utilized a landscape connectivity simulator (UNICOR) and a genetic simulation program (CDPOP) to model the functional (dispersal and genetic) connectivity in the North Pacific Landscape.

This project developed a soil vulnerability index and map indicating where forest cover will be most affected by climate change. Using this map, researchers developed a greater understanding of potential changes in soil moisture and temperature regimes under future climate conditions.

This project initiated the first large-scale Tribal government discussions on the relationship of scientific research and traditional knowledge in the activities of the NPLCC. The project: 1.

Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (Central Council) assisted the Organized Village of Kasaan (OVK) in their NPLCC grant, Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Climate Change project.

This project will create a targeted and easily understandable guide to tools that support landscape-level planning in the face of climate change for NPLCC partners. The guide will build on previous NPLCC research on decision support needs with an emphasis on tools currently in use in the region.

A sea level rise vulnerability assessment has been completed for the shorelines of San Juan County Washington.

A "gateway" using Data Basin technology has been developed to serve the data integration, collaboration and outreach needs of the NPLCC.

In-person workshops will be conducted to bring the results from the USGS Program on Coastal Ecosystems Response to Climate Change's study on projected climate change effects on coastal environments (funded by NPLCC and NW CSC) to managers in their communities.

This project builds upon existing data and collaborations to incorporate climate change and economic considerations into a decision support framework for prioritizing restoration of passage.

This project will assess impacts of climate change on stream resources by considering the role of thermal heterogeneity and altered hydrologic regimes.

This project will look at how climate change has altered hydrologic systems, Pacific salmon habitat, and survival of salmon in the Nooksack River watershed. It will develop an adaptation plan that can be adopted and integrated into management plans.

We will translate existing modeled hydroclimatic data into metrics used for water crossing design and replacement.

This project aims to support dry forest and savannah habitats in The Georgia Basin. Management objectives are to synthesize existing data into GIS tools that will prioritize land acquisition and conservation investment.

Accurate, high-resolution, spatially consistent information on water quality and aquatic biotas for rivers and streams is needed nationally to improve strategic coordination among agencies and the effectiveness of management and conservation efforts.

Classifying estuarine and marine habitats was identified as a priority need for a variety of purposes in the Northeast.

Fishery and aquatic scientists often assess habitats to understand the distribution, status, threats, and relative abundance of aquatic resources. Due to the spatial nature of habitats and associated temporal changes, using traditional analytical methods is often difficult.

Vernal or seasonal pools are small, temporary bodies of water that can serve as critical habitat for frogs, salamanders, reptiles, invertebrates, and other species.

The Open Space Institute (OSI) disseminated knowledge and tools across the northeast U.S. and the Canadian Maritimes to advance the application of NA LCC data sets for land conservation.