title: Understanding Climate Adaptation on Public Lands in the Upper Midwest: Implications for Monitoring and Tracking Progress.
abstract: There are limited examples of efforts to systematically monitor and track climate change adaptation progress in the context of natural resource management, despite substantial investments in adaptation initiatives. To better understand the status of adaptation within state natural resource agencies, we utilized and problematized a rational decision-making framework to characterize adaptation at the level of public land managers in the Upper Midwest. We conducted in-depth interviews with 29 biologists and foresters to provide an understanding of managers' experiences with, and perceptions of, climate change impacts, efforts towards planning for climate change, and a full range of actions implemented to address climate change. While the majority of managers identified climate change impacts affecting their region, they expressed significant uncertainty in interpreting those signals. Just under half of managers indicated planning efforts are underway, although most planning is remote from local management. Actions already implemented include both forward-looking measures and those aimed at coping with current impacts. In addition, cross-scale dynamics emerged as an important theme related to the overall adaptation process. The results hold implications for tracking future progress on climate change adaptation. Common definitions or measures of adaptation (e.g., presence of planning documents) may need to be reassessed for applicability at the level of public land managers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA. anhaltdepies@wisc.edu.
authors.forename: Christine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Anhalt-Depies
authors.affiliation: Wildlife and Forestry Research Section, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 2801 Progress Road, Madison, WI, 53716, USA.
authors.forename: Tricia Gorby
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Knoot
authors.affiliation: Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
authors.forename: Adena R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Rissman
authors.affiliation: Wildlife and Forestry Research Section, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 2801 Progress Road, Madison, WI, 53716, USA.
authors.forename: Anthony K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Sharp
authors.affiliation: Cooperative Extension, University of Wisconsin-Extension, 432 North Lake Street, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
authors.forename: Karl J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D002980:Climate; D057231:Climate Change; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D003657:Decision Making; D065928:Forests; D006077:Government Agencies; D006801:Humans; D008910:Minnesota; D012621:Seasons
keywords: Adaptation tracking; Climate change adaptation; Cross-scale dynamics; Decision making; Public lands