The Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (NW CASC) is hosted by the University of Washington on behalf of a multi-university consortium, enabling the federal government and Northwest natural and cultural resource managers to leverage the research capacity, expertise and infrastructure of public agencies and universities across Washington, Oregon, Idaho and western Montana.
Each NW CASC Consortium partner (listed below) brings unique expertise in promoting regional climate resilience and is dedicated to building capacity within resource management agencies and among the next generation of researchers for addressing climate impacts.
University of Washington
The NW CASC is hosted by the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group, the lead applied climate science enterprise in the Northwest. With over twenty-five years’ experience developing, delivering and supporting the use of climate information, the Climate Impacts Group provides insights to NW CASC leadership about regional science needs and effective strategies for connecting climate science and decision making. The University of Washington provides the NW CASC access to world-class natural and social science research programs and to the largest College of the Environment in the country.
Boise State University
Boise State University (BSU) provides the NW CASC with a network of faculty, collaborators and stakeholders developing actionable climate science across the interior Northwest. Its research strengths lie in hydrologic science, terrestrial and avian global change ecology, socio-ecological systems science, land management policy and soil and critical zone processes. BSU’s expertise in the sensitivity of regional ecohydrology to climate change and land management, along with its novel water resource management strategies and interagency coordination of water resource information and data, is crucial in helping the NW CASC better understand and address water management challenges in the interior Northwest.
Oregon State University
Oregon State University (OSU) provides expertise in forestry, freshwater ecology and habitat restoration, wildlife and fisheries conservation science and management, coastal resource management and management strategy modeling. Several of its colleges, including its College of Agricultural Sciences, College of Forestry and College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, are positioned as leaders in climate change research. With strong collaborations across institutions, agencies and Pacific Northwest communities, OSU provides the NW CASC with a network of partners for promoting regional resilience in a changing climate.
University of Montana
The University of Montana (UM) hosts top-rated applied natural and social science programs focused on natural resource management at both local and landscape scales. Its wildlife biology program is a leader in conservation genetics and the study of large carnivores and ungulates, while its more than 100-year-old forestry program is a leader in bioenergy and climate adaptation silviculture. UM provides expertise in drought impacts and fire ecology and connects NW CASC to strong partnerships with the Rocky Mountain Research Station and Montana Climate Office.
Washington State University
Washington State University (WSU) is home to the Center for Environmental Research, Education, and Outreach (CEREO), an active network of faculty, staff and students working to resolve environmental issues through collaborative partnerships. CEREO supports transdisciplinary research projects that use stakeholder engagement to produce actionable science for climate adaptation, focusing on water and agriculture; fire, insect outbreaks, drought and erosion; and resource allocation for food, energy and water. As part of the NW CASC consortium, WSU connects the NW CASC with opportunities for collaborating with a network of organizations, scientists and conservation practitioners working together to advance regional climate resilience.
Western Washington University
Western Washington University (WWU) has one of the country’s oldest environmental colleges, long recognized for its practical and collaborative approaches to solving complex environmental challenges. WWU brings expertise in sea level rise, coastal processes, geomorphology and estuarine ecology, as well as connections to partnerships such as the Skagit Climate Change Consortium, which brings together scientists, residents and managers to reduce the vulnerability of human communities and ecosystems in the Skagit River basin to climate change impacts.
To learn more about NW CASC’s federal-university partnership, visit:
https://nwcasc.uw.edu/about/
https://nwcasc.uw.edu/partners/academic-and-research-partners
