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Minnesota
Building a "climate smart" regional landscape plan
 NIACS staff members travelled to Cloquet, Minnesota, in May to discuss potential climate change impacts on forests and landscape-level forest planning. The Minnesota Forest Resources Council (MFRC) is a state-created council designed to promote long-term sustainable forest management and encourage cooperation across all sectors of the forestry community. MFRC leads landscape-level forest planning across the state, integrating the long-term vision of forest industry, conservation groups, tribes, and public agencies. NIACS was invited to present to the Northeast Landscape Planning Committee on climate change projections, uncertainty, impacts on forests, and adaptation principles. Considering climate change will be a new challenge at this scale, but NIACS and MFRC believe it will create landscape plans that are ultimately more useful and robust. To learn more please contact Stephen Handler.
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Michigan
Heightening Intelligence on Climate Change in the UP
The Nature Conservancy, Hiawatha National Forest, and NIACS recently participated in a field tour around the Munising area to discuss potential climate change impacts on local forests. The "Heightening Intelligence on Climate Change in the UP" project, or HICCUP, is designed to encourage land managers to think about climate change in the local area and complement other on-going efforts toward climate change adaptation. The tour visited a variety of stand types, including jack pine, hemlock, spruce and cedar wetlands, and northern hardwoods. Discussions covered observed and projected climate trends, soil productivity, suitable habitat projections, and successional pathways. Have you discussed climate change standing over a soil pit or under a cedar? If so, or if you have questions about HICCUP, contact Randy Swaty.  | |
Participants in the HICCUP field tour visiting a jack pine stand. Photo by Emily Clegg. |
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Wisconsin
Shared Landscapes Initiative expands adaptation demos
 The Shared Landscapes Initiative in northern Wisconsin is working with a variety of organizations to develop local, tangible, examples of climate change adaptation in forest management. The initial demonstration sites are located in the Chequamegon Bay area of northern Wisconsin, including lands managed by The Nature Conservancy and the Natural Resources Department of the Bad River tribe. Forest managers at each site are using the Forest Adaptation Resources process to consider potential climate change impacts, identify challenges and opportunities for meeting management goals, and select actions that enhance the ability of forest to adapt to anticipated changes. For more information, contact Maria Janowiak.
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Suggested Reading
Forest Adaptation Resources: Climate Change Tools and Approaches for Land Managers
The new NIACS publication, Forest Adaptation Resources: Climate Change Tools and Approaches for Land Managers (FAR) provides information and resources to help managers incorporate climate change considerations into management. The FAR includes:
 a description of the Climate Change Response Framework- a "menu" of adaptation strategies and approaches for northern Wisconsin forests
- a workbook to help forest managers consider management goals, review climate change information, and develop adaptation tactics
- examples of the process being used in real-world situations
The FAR is designed flexibly to support climate change adaptation across a diverse range of organizations and management goals. Please contact Maria Janowiak to learn more. ______________________________________________________ |
| Upcoming Event
Minnesota Historic Climate Change and Noteworthy Weather Events 
The Sustainable Forests Education Cooperative will offer a climate change webinar on July 17. Mark Seeley, the University of Minnesota Extension Climatologist, will discuss observed climate trends and weather events across the state. You can register for the webinar online, or watch the recorded talk on the SFEC website after the 17th.
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For more information about this newsletter or to suggest an item for a future issue, email Stephen Handler.
Looking ahead:
> Forest vulnerability assessment workshop in Minnesota
> Shared Landscapes Initiative adaptation demonstration in Wisconson
> Climate change adaptation in Delta County, Michigan
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