CLIMATE CHANGE POSES SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES FOR FOREST OWNERS IN THE NORTHWEST

Recent analyses indicate that western Oregon and Washington will likely experience warmer temperatures, higher winter precipitation, reduced snowpack, and less precipitation in summer months. This means changes to the core conditions in which current forests thrive, heightened stress on fish and wildlife, and increased risks from insects, disease, and wildfire.

NNRG has developed a suite of resources for foresters and land managers to use in planning for the future of their forests. See below for video presentations, a guide, and other resources as part of this grant-funded project. 

For a look at our ongoing climate research projects for planting trials, snow monitoring, and longer stand rotations, please click the links below.

Climate Adaptation Resources

Video series

In Fall 2019 NNRG hosted three workshops on Climate Adaptation Strategies for Pacific Northwest Forests to help foresters and land managers make informed decisions about adapting their management practices to meet their goals and sustain forests into the future. The video recordings of these lectures with presentation slides included are available via the two links below, sorted by state. You can also download a PDF of the slides associated with each presentation by clicking “Download presentation (PDF)” below each video.

Presentations Focused on Washington Forests

Climate Change: Current Understanding and What to Expect

Jessica Halofsky, USFS PNW Research Station
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Climate Change Effects on Forests in the Pacific Northwest
David L. Peterson, USFS PNW Research Station
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Planting Forest Hydrology for Climate Adaptation in the Pacific Northwest

Rolf Gersonde, Seattle Public Utilities
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Planting Our Future Forests: Species & Seed Source Considerations

Andy Bower & Brad St. Clair, USFS PNW Research Station
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Western Washington Wildfires: Managing the Risk

Dan Donato & Josh Halofsky, WA Dept. of Natural Resources
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Silvicultural Strategies for Climate Change Adaptation

Derek Churchill, WA Dept. of Natural Resources
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Climate Change Effects on Forest Insects & Diseases
Glenn Kohler, WA Dept of Natural Resources
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Presentations Focused on Oregon Forests

Climate Change in the Northwest
Holly Prendeville, USDA Northwest Climate Hub
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Climate Adaptation Tactics for Northwest Forests
Holly Prendeville, USDA Northwest Climate Hub
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Forest Hydrology for Climate Adaptation

Ashley Coble, NCASI
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Climate Change & Insect Pests of Trees
Christine Buhl, OR Department of Forestry
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Fire Ecology in Westside Forests of the PNW
Matt Reilly, Humboldt State University
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Silvicultural Strategies for Climate Change Adaptation
Derek Churchill, Washington DNR
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Planting Our Future Forests: Species & Seed Source Considerations
Andy Bower & Brad St. Clair, USFS PNW Research Station
Download presentation slides

Forest Adaptation Guide

NNRG and partners produced a white paper called Climate Adaptation Strategies for Pacific Northwest Forests.

The objective of this paper is to help natural resource professionals and forest owners understand climate change projections for western Oregon and Washington, the likely effects on forest ecosystems at lower elevations, and forest management strategies and tools you can use to help Pacific Northwest forests adapt to changing climate conditions.

View the illustrated overview

View the full guide

Listen to the radio interview

Forest management template

The best forest management plans take future climatic changes into account. This publication provides recommended additions to Northwest Oregon and Western Washington forest management plans to address the impacts of climate change. It includes sections of a management plan that are relevant to climate change, and represents a subset of the content in a standard forest management plan. 
View the forest management plan template.

 Case studies

Below you’ll find three case studies describing how NNRG member forests are making changes in their forests to adapt to a changing climate. 

The Not-So-Open Road: Road Decommissioning at Ellsworth Creek

Out With the Fir, In With the Oak: Oak Restoration at Zena Forest

Stossel Creek: Adaptive Forest Restoration Project

List of resources

The following are helpful sources of information for addressing the effects of climate change on Pacific Northwest forests:

• Adaptation Partners – http://adaptationpartners.org/ – Researchers and resource managers provide scientific information on climate change effects and adaptation for specific Northwest and Intermountain West regions. 
• Adaptation Workbook – https://adaptationworkbook.org/
• AdaptWest – https://adaptwest.databasin.org/ – AdaptWest is a spatial database designed to help land management agencies and other organizations implement strategies that promote resilience, protect biodiversity, and conserve and enhance the adaptation potential of natural systems in the face of a changing climate.
• Climate Resilience Guide for Small Forest Landowners in Western Washington – https://cig.uw.edu/projects/small-forest-landowner-adaptation-guidance/ – A western Washington-specific guides for small forest landowners that describes the most immediate climate impacts on forests and potential actions landowners can take to increase climate resilience.
• Climate Change Resource Center (CCRC) – https://www.fs.usda.gov/ccrc/ – US Forest Service collection of resources and tools.
• Climate Impact Groups at UW (CIG) – https://cig.uw.edu/ – Leading researchers and providers of primary science and decision making tools.
• Climate Impact Research Consortium at OSU (CIRC) – https://pnwcirc.org/ – A climate science-to-action team providing research, decision making tools for communities, and developer of analytic tools resource managers and land use planners.
• Data Science – www.datascienceprograms.com/learn/how-data-science-can-help-fight-climate-change
• NW Climate Hub – https://www.climatehubs.oce.usda.gov/hubs/northwest – USDA portal for science-based Northwest-specific information and technologies to assist with climate-informed decision making.
• NW Climate Toolbox – https://climatetoolbox.org/ – Suite of online tools to put a variety of climate data and information in reach of organizations and people for site specific locations, including: historical climate variability, temperature and precipitation normal, streamflow projections, climate projections, and data for Tribal Lands.
• Seedlot Selection Tool – https://seedlotselectiontool.org/sst/ – Web-based mapping application that can be used to map current or future climates based on different climate change scenarios to inform the selection of seedlings for tree planting as part of reforestation and restoration efforts.
• U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit – https://toolkit.climate.gov/ – Portal for general information about change for many audiences. 

Funding & Support

Funding and support for this project come from Western Sustainable Agriculture and Education (Western SARE).

Western Sustainable Agriculture and Education is supporting the research and training provided through this project with grant #EW16-021 – Climate Adaptation Training for Foresters.

Additional resources on climate adaptation and other topics are available in the NNRG Resource Library.