Implementing climate change adaptation in forested regions of the United States

Natural resource managers need concrete ways to adapt to the effects of climate change. Science-management partnerships have proven to be an effective means of facilitating climate change adaptation for natural resource management agencies. Here we describe the process and results of several science-management partnerships in different forested regions of the United States (U.S.), including the Pacific Northwest, interior West, Pacific Southwest, and Upper Midwest and Northeast. Led by U.S. Forest Service scientists, these partnerships were developed to adapt resource management in National Forests, national parks, and land managed by other federal and state agencies to climate change and typically involved vulnerability assessments and science-management workshops to develop adaptation strategies and tactics. We discuss commonalities among these efforts, specific outcomes, and applicability to other regions and adaptation efforts.