The Central Appalachians Climate Change Response Framework

The Central Appalachians Climate Change Response Framework is a highly collaborative approach to helping land managers understand the potential effects of climate change on forest ecosystems and integrating climate change considerations into management. It covers almost 26 million acres in eastern Ohio, West Virginia, and western Maryland within Ecological Provinces M221 (Central Appalachian Broadleaf Forest) and 221 (Eastern Broadleaf Forest – Oceanic) of the National Hierarchical Framework of Ecological Units. Understanding and managing the impacts of climate change on the Central Appalachians’ diverse forests will help us maintain their many environmental, cultural, and economic benefits. A team representing federal and state land management agencies, private forest owners, conservation organizations and others from Ohio, Maryland, and West Virginia have come together to accomplish three objectives:

i. Provide a forum in which the experiences and lessons learned of those working across the Central Appalachians can be effectively and efficiently shared with all.

ii. Develop new user-friendly tools that can help public and private land managers to factor climate change considerations into their decision making, including a forest ecosystem vulnerability assessment and a forest adaptation resources document.

iii. Support efforts by public land managers, private landowners, and others to implement adaptive responses to climate change impacts in the Central Appalachians.