The document reports on a survey of federal land managers in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah on climate change adaptation efforts, finding that while there is a mandate for considering climate change in planning, few have actual adaptation plans due to barriers like lack of funding and information as well as conflicting priorities; the managers said species and habitat management was their top challenge and they need local-scale climate impact information the most to aid decision-making.

1. Lisa Dilling
Research Roundup
University of Colorado Boulder
Adaptation Forum at
North Central Climate Science Center
April 5, 2013

2. What factors shape
the adaptive capacity
of organizations?
How do decision
processes incorporate
climate-related risk
and opportunity?
How can
information be
more usable in
decision making?
Overarching Motivation:
How can we improve societal outcomes with respect to
climate-related risks?
SPARC/NSF:
- RSD Carbon science
- Science policies for usable
science
- Public lands adaptation
Nat’l climate assessment SH
needs/WWA
CBRFC stakeholder vulnerability
and needs assessment/WWA
USDA:
Public lands and C decision
support tools
Characterizing the carbon
stewardship
landscape/NOAA
Drivers of
Adaptation/NOAA/WWA
SPARC/NSF:
- State governance of
water as adaptive
capacity?
- Public lands management
and adaptation (with
WWA)
Interactions of Drought
and Climate Adaptation –
urban water
management/NOAA

3. slide 3
Mission: To identify and characterize regional vulnerabilities to climate
variability and change and to develop information, products, and processes to
assist decision makers throughout the Intermountain West.
What is the Western Water Assessment?
• Established in 1999 at University of Colorado-
Boulder; one of 11 NOAA-funded RISAs
• Serves stakeholders in Colorado, Wyoming, and
Utah
• Gained particular credibility during focusing event
of 2002 drought
• 20+ researchers with expertise in hydrology,
climate modeling, social science, policy, and law
Current projects include: Snowmelt and Runoff
Processes, Coupled Climate Change-Hydrology
Modeling, Beetles, CBRFC Flow Forecasts, Tribal
Climate Preparedness, adaptation and
cities, ranchers, farmers, TNC

4. slide 4
Federal land manager climate change
adaptation survey
Archie KM, Dilling L, Milford JB, Pampel FC (2012) Climate Change and
Western Public Lands: a Survey of U.S. Federal Land Managers on the
Status of Adaptation Efforts. Ecology and Society 17:art20.
doi:10.5751/ES-05187-170420.
4

5. slide 5
Research Questions
• There is a national federal mandate to consider climate in
federal lands planning, but what does this translate to in
practice in local offices “on the ground”?
• What challenges do Western public lands managers
currently face regarding climate change adaptation?
• What tools / resources do they currently use to obtain
information about climate change? And where do they get
these resources?
• Does demand for information vary among agencies?
5

6. slide 6
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7. slide 7
Online Survey in 2011
 4 agencies: BLM, NPS, USFS, USFWS in three
states, CO WY and UT
 Decision Makers – managers, planners etc.
Methods
7

8. slide 8
• 3,100 : 676 responses: 22%
• 58% male, 94% white, 95% bachelor’s degree
• 47% graduate / professional
• 58% Biological sciences
• 47 % work in a field office
• 62% spend more than half their time each week dealing with
land management issues
• 73% say climate change is real and already happening now
• 85% are moderately or well informed about climate change
Demographics
8

9. slide 9
Management Challenges
Top 5
 Funding
 Species and Habitat Management
 Stakeholder Conflicts
 Personnel Constraints
 Conflicting Mandates
Across Agencies
 Species and Habitat Management
 Lack of Funding
 All say Severe
9

10. slide 10
Reported adaptation planning
Archie et al. 2012

11. slide 11
Adaptation Planning by Federal Agency
Archie et al. 2012
* Only significant correlation with planning status was agency

12. slide 12
Planning Constraints
12
Archie et al. 2012

13. slide 13
Barriers to Planning by Federal Agency
BLM USFS
NPS FWS
13

14. slide 14
Usefulness of types of climate information
14
Archie et al. 2012

15. slide 15
Hurdles to implementation of adaptation
15Archie et al. 2012

16. slide 16
Conclusions
 Little current planning for adaptation
 Lack of information is a barrier to planning across public
land agencies,
– but it is not necessarily more important than other barriers i.e.
lack of funding
 The scale of useful information is consistent across
agencies,
– but the need for additional information that these scales varies
across agencies.
 Lack of public education is seen as a barrier to
implementation
 Significance of differences across agencies?