The Climate Change Response Framework provides landowners with adaptation options to address climate change risks to forests. 

Climate change increases uncertainty about future conditions affecting land and natural resources, creating new challenges for land managers working to sustain healthy ecosystems and ecosystem services. In 2020, the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS) and the USDA Northern Forests Climate Hub worked side-by-side with land managers to advance regionally specific climate change adaptation strategies. The NIACS Climate Change Response Framework was used to provide landowners with regional forest vulnerability assessments and adaptation options to address climate change risks and sensitivities. The Framework is a collaborative effort among scientists, managers, and landowners to address the major challenges that U.S. land managers face when considering how to integrate climate change considerations into their planning and management. Recent work includes development of new menus of adaptation strategies and approaches for areas including forest carbon management, recreation, and health.

NIACS is a collaborative initiative among the USDA Forest Service, universities, conservation organizations, and forest industry to provide information on managing forests for climate change adaptation and carbon sequestration. NIACS’s Federal partners include the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.