Climate Adaptation Services for New Mexico

The South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center (CASC) has worked diligently to build new partnerships between scientists and resource managers to help address stakeholders’ science needs and questions through actionable science. However, the growth of the stakeholder base has led to an unmet demand for climate adaptation services. These services focus on sharing data, tools, research knowledge, and scientific guidance with communities and stakeholders. To meet this need, the South Central CASC will establish a new scientist position focused on climate adaptation services and research coordination to identify critically needed science solutions and to bridge the researcher and practitioner communities in the south-central United States. 

The New Mexico Climate Adaptation Specialist will collaborate with government, university, and non-governmental researchers to conduct science; collect and manage data; and create visualizations and products related to climate, climate impacts, and climate adaptation. They will provide science-based information to stakeholders as they adapt, respond, and plan for climate change in their local jurisdictions. The Specialist will work with partners in New Mexico to identify information gaps, needs for science information, products, datasets, and tools to ensure science becomes actionable at the local level. Additionally, the New Mexico Climate Adaptation Specialist will work with partners and stakeholders to enable their use of monitoring, assessment, and adaptation tools, resources, and datasets to inform their management decisions. They will share research results about climate and climate-related topics to diverse audiences, including scientists and cultural and natural resource managers, in a variety of venues, including scientific conferences, professional meetings, and university classrooms. The Specialist also may conduct novel research or synthesize current research on climate change impacts and adaptative responses from a variety of ecological systems.