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Missoula, Montana Case Study

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Built on Shared Values: County Level Climate Change Planning in Missoula, Montana

missoula riverA changing climate could deeply impact Missoula County in a multitude of ways and it’s time to plan ahead. That’s the consensus of over 90 local experts and community members who gathered to identify risks and devise adaptation strategies. Missoula County Supervisor Michele Landquist attended and later acknowledged, The science behind climate change is very real and we are beginning to incorporate that element into our decision making. The Geos Institute and Headwaters Economics worked with the Clark Fork Coalition, the local convening organization, to bring the ClimateWise process to Missoula County. (photo: Clark Fork Coalition)

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ClimateWise Testimonials

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The ClimateWise process organized by the Geos Institute was marvelous in the way it brought together decision makers and citizens to share information about climate change. San Luis Obispo’s decision process toward grass roots sustainability was made a whole lot easier by this. Two aspects really gave a jump start to helping city and regional planners: getting the GEOS scientific expertise input early on; and getting the major stakeholders on board. The outcome of this process also helped fuel a successful grant for the city and region.

Jan Marx
Mayor of San Luis Obispo, CA

The Climate Change Adaptation planning effort for San Luis Obispo County was a highly informative and motivating process that combined science and the collective knowledge of community leaders and informed citizens to identify strategic actions needed to proactively address the potential impacts of climate change in our region. The resulting plan provides a comprehensive blueprint for the future and gives confidence that we can protect public health, the environment and our local economy by acting on its recommendations. I was honored to be part of such an inspiring and fruitful collaborative process.

Larry Allen
Air Pollution Control Officer
San Luis Obispo (CA) County Air Pollution Control District

 

Participant comments on ClimateWise workshops:

The workshop was instructive, informative, and beneficial. Thanks for this! Great discussions, presentations, and lunch. Fresno, CA

I feel as thought I have developed a more solid knowledge base as well as valuable agency contacts. Fresno, CA

I was encouraged by the number of fantastic people who participated today.  Sometimes facing climate change in this valley can be a bit depressing, but this workshop was a positive experience. (Fresno)

You have no idea how much this will help me in my job. The elected officials must get this info to use in local decisions… Chris Lehn, Kings County, CA

This was great! It seems really important to do this workshop here (Fresno, CA). There were a lot of people here that really benefitted, including me! Bobby Kamansky, Fresno, CA

Listening to all the different problems and possible solutions really expanded my understanding of the (climate change) impacts. Missoula, MT

I’m better informed (having attended this workshop) to go out and share this information with neighbors and friends. Betty Thisted, Missoula, MT

Good job in bringing diverse groups and a diversity of interests together. Missoula, MT

I have wanted to start taking action for a long time. I’m so glad to see this happening in Missoula and I am happy that I was asked to participate and give my opinions.  … The first step is always the hardest in a long journey. Now that the first step has been taking, do not stop; start running! Roger Marshall, Missoula, MT

ClimateWise Enews Summer 2013

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Geos Institute
 

Summer 2013 ClimateWise Enews

Lessons from the National Adaptation Forum:

  • Climate Change and Historical Injustice (Op-Ed in the Ashland Daily Tidings)
  • Amazing Adaptation Professionals and Their Work

Snapshots of ClimateWise communities with a quiz question:

  • Greetings from the Kuskokwim River Watershed, AK
  • Plus, can you name the 1948 movie with a hurricane? (See below for clues)

 
 

Historical Injustices Surface Due to Climate Change

by Marni Koopman Ph.D., climate change scientist, Geos Institute

Published in the Ashland Daily Tidings

I recently attended the first nationwide meeting on climate change adaptation, called the National Adaptation Forum, in Denver, Colorado. This was a meeting of people from diverse backgrounds, all working on the same global issue — how to plan for and respond to the accelerating and inevitable impacts of climate change. There were sessions on biodiversity, water resources, tribal lands, coastal areas, social equity issues, infrastructure, coastal property rights and many other topics.

I attended a powerful session on social equity and an eye-opening session on impacts to Native American tribes. Here is what I learned…

Read the rest of Marni’s article here.

 

 
 

Meeting Amazing Adaptation Professionals

By Keith Henty, ClimateWise Project Developer

 
More than 500 people attended the National Adaptation Forum in Denver, and I wish I could have talked to them all. I did get to chat with dozens of fascinating, super-smart people and mention a few here. Those brief conversations plus excellent workshops sparked my imagination for dream jobs and potential partnerships.

The Geos Institute participated as a sponsor, presenter, and exhibitor (see our poster Creating ClimateWise Communities).

Read more highlights from the National Adaptation Forum.

 
 

Partnering in Alaska

By Ken Margolis, Geos Institute Development Director

 
Among other services, the Kuskokwim River Watershed Council provides training for village-based technicians who are responsible for many aspects of resource and environmental management. Thanks to their new partnership with the Geos Institute, KRWC will now add preparation for climate change impacts to its training elements.

KRWC will run a pilot Discovery Voyage in 2013. Staff members and volunteers will travel the length of the river by canoe, stopping at every village to collect demographic information.  They will install water monitoring stations at selected points along the river. If this initial journey goes well, it will become the template for an annual Discovery Voyage, collecting and sharing information each year.  The voyage is also symbolic of the way the river unifies all the people who make their home along it.

Council website
Read their current newsletter

 

 
 

In a previous ClimateWise enews we mentioned the National Estuarine Research Reserves and we want to highlight them again. They are fast becoming primary movers in the adaptation field and are notable conveners and catalysts for their communities.

 

 
 

Thanks for reading!  We’d be interested in your work in adaptation—don’t hesitate to write marni@geosinstitute.org or call 541.482.4459 x303. Please keep in touch by signing up for ClimateWise News and “liking” the Geos Institute on Facebook.

 

 
      
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Our Continuing Series: Snapshots of ClimateWise Communities

By Keith Henty, ClimateWise Project Developer

 

Community #1

The Geos Institute is collaborating with planners in the Kuskokwim River Watershed in Alaska!
 
Kuskokwim River, Alaska, after the rain

Who: Our partners at the Kuskokwim River Watershed Council (KRWC) serve and are governed by the 39 indigenous communities located along the river.

Where: See the Kuskokwim River Basin map
 
Welcome from KWRC Executive Director John Oscar:

The Kuskokwim River is the longest free flowing river in the USA.  It flows through a rich region that Yup’ik and Athabaskan peoples rely on for their subsistence activities. There are few places on earth where the relationship and dependence between a river, the land that drains into it, and its residents is so intense and crucial as it is along this mysterious and beautiful river. The Kuskokwim and the people that live along this river can’t be understood separately. We are all interconnected…
-Quyana!

  

 

Community #2

Can you name the 1948 movie with a hurricane? It was directed by John Huston and starring some of the biggest stars of that time. Sound familiar?

More clues: At one point, as a hurricane outside grows stronger—the bad guy, Rocco, played by Edward G. Robinson, shows his anxiety. Humphrey Bogart does his famous sneer, and says, “You don’t like it, do you Rocco, the storm?  Show it your gun, why don’t you…?”
 
The name of this movie is the name of our project location. Click here to find out if your guess is correct and read more about the project!
 
enews 2013 07 naf 5

Meeting Amazing Adaptation Professionals

Written on . Posted in News.

Keith Henty, ClimateWise Project Developer

enews 2013 07 naf 5More than 500 people attended the National Adaptation Forum in Denver, and I wish I could have talked to them all. I did get to chat with dozens of fascinating, super-smart people and mention a few here. Those brief conversations plus excellent workshops sparked my imagination for dream jobs and potential partnerships. The Geos Institute participated as a sponsor, presenter, and exhibitor (see our poster Creating ClimateWise Communities).

Presentations included:

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SOCAN Salmon

Oregon Climate Action Day

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Thank you for supporting Oregon Climate Action Day in Salem on Wednesday, May 22, 2013.

Oregon Climate Action Day was entirely volunteer-created, and every donation made it possible for a greater number and diversity of people to participate. 

This event has now spawned a state-wide citizens network that welcomes participants to engage in the following mission:

“Oregon Climate Action Network (OCAN) exists to connect climate-concerned Oregonians, organize creative advocacy, educate on market-based climate solutions, and to empower citizens to lobby their elected officials.” 

We welcome your continued involvement.  Let’s stay in touch!

SOCAN Salmon

 

Make A Bequest

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Giving a bequest through your will or estate to Geos Institute is perhaps the most powerful way to support the work we do for communities around the world.

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Welcome to Geos Institute

Written on . Posted in Who We Are.

The Geos Institute is a nonprofit organization that uses science to help people predict, reduce, and prepare for climate change. Based in Ashland, Oregon, we bring the best available science to community and natural resource planning processes, through publications, consulting services, and bridge-building between scientists and decision makers. Our three primary initiatives include ClimateWise, Banking on Forests, and Green Solutions.

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