The Climate Change Response Framework: Supporting Climate-Smart Conservation and Forest Management in the Great Lakes Region

Projected climate impacts in the Northwoods region include warmer temperatures, longer growing seasons, shifts in the timing and amount of precipitation, changes in soil moisture patterns, increasing pests and diseases, and more frequent storms, droughts, floods, and wildfires. These changes are likely to significantly affect the forests, ecosystems, and wildlife of the region. To help land managers and landowners prepare for and adapt to potential impacts, researchers at the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS) have led the development of the Climate Change Response Framework. This Framework walks stakeholders through vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning processes and provides users with a set of tools, partnerships, and actions to support climate-smart conservation and forest management.