{
"@context": "http://schema.org/", "@type": "WebPage", "additionalType": "Project", "url": "https://www.usgs.gov/centers/fort-collins-science-center/science/developing-science-syntheses-facilitate-climate", "headline": "Developing science syntheses to facilitate climate-informed land management decisions and NEPA analyses on rangelands in the sagebrush biome", "datePublished": "December 12, 2023", "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Carter, PhD", "url": "https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/sarah-carter", "identifier": { "@type": "PropertyValue", "propertyID": "orcid", "value": "0000-0003-3778-8615" } }, { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Whipple, PhD", "url": "https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/sarah-whipple", "identifier": { "@type": "PropertyValue", "propertyID": "orcid", "value": "0000-0001-9280-1195" } }, { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tait K Rutherford", "url": "https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/tait-k-rutherford", "identifier": { "@type": "PropertyValue", "propertyID": "orcid", "value": "0000-0003-4314-1519" } }, { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven E Hanser", "url": "https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/steven-e-hanser", "identifier": { "@type": "PropertyValue", "propertyID": "orcid", "value": "0000-0002-4430-2073" } }, { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nathan Kleist, PhD", "url": "https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/nathan-kleist", "identifier": { "@type": "PropertyValue", "propertyID": "orcid", "value": "0000-0002-2468-4318" } } ], "description": [ { "@type": "TextObject", "text": "The USGS, BLM, and US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) are partnering to coproduce practical, actionable science that informs planning, policy, and management decisions on public lands managed by the BLM (see Beier and others, 2017, and BLM\u2019s Coproduction Toolkit for more information on coproduction). This project is also in collaboration with researchers from the Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship at Colorado State University and the North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center." }, { "@type": "TextObject", "text": "USGS, BLM, and USFWS have co-developed a new type of science product, the structured science synthesis, to inform NEPA analyses. Each synthesis centers on a specific issue, which typically arises from the combination of a proposed action considered by land management agencies and a specific type of resource, and the science and structure of each synthesis is tailored for easy use in NEPA analyses." }, { "@type": "TextObject", "text": "The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is the largest public land management agency in the United States and manages those lands for diverse and sometimes conflicting resources, uses, and values. As a result, decision making on BLM lands is complex. The use of science information \u2013 including climate change science \u2013 in decision making can help public land managers to balance different desired uses and values across public landscapes and achieve long-term resource management goals." }, { "@type": "TextObject", "text": "Both the syntheses and analysis examples include climate sections to help land managers more quickly understand and assess the influence of changing climate conditions on resources. These products are designed to provide information and analyses required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The BLM conducts comprehensive NEPA analyses each year to analyze and disclose to the public the potential environmental impacts of each of their decisions. Thus, the products produced in this project have the potential to strengthen science use in public lands decisions each year." }, { "@type": "TextObject", "text": "Our goal is to evaluate and facilitate the use of climate change science in agency NEPA analyses. We are 1) developing a suite of climate-informed science syntheses, 2) developing worked examples of environmental impact analyses to accompany those syntheses, and 3) evaluating the utility of using both in facilitating the incorporation of science, including climate science, into agency NEPA analyses." }, { "@type": "TextObject", "text": "The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal public land managers to assess potential environmental impacts of proposed actions. The USGS, Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Colorado State University, and North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center are working together to develop science syntheses that can facilitate considerations of climate change in these NEPA analyses." }, { "@type": "TextObject", "text": "Strengthening the use of science and climate information in federal decision making is a priority for the current administration and for federal agencies. Recent policies from the Department of the Interior (DOI) present a suite of actions for DOI agencies to foster climate change adaptation and resilience on public lands. The USGS is committed to developing climate science that is relevant to decision making through programs such as the National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs). However, conducting a comprehensive review of available climate science can be challenging for BLM and other DOI land managers due to the volume, complexity, and evolving nature of available science." } ], "funder": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Fort Collins Science Center", "url": "https://www.usgs.gov/centers/fort-collins-science-center" }, "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Weather and Climate" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Landscape Science" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Sagebrush and Sage Grouse" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Landscapes" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Wildlife and Plants" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Research-implementation gap" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ecosystems" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Drought, Fire and Extreme Weather" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Energy" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Policy Analysis and Decision Support" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ecosystem Change and Disturbance" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Water" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Land management planning" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Sage-Grouse" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "NEPA" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Climate Change" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Methods and Analysis" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Science Technology" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Science Tools for Managers" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Public lands management" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "National Environmental Policy Act" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Tools for Landscape Assessment" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Habitat Management" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Coproduction" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bureau of Land Management" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ecosystems We Research" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Sagebrush Ecosystems" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Land Management" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grassland" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fire" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Science-management gap" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Multiple use" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Infrastructure and Other Land Uses" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Extreme Weather" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Drought" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Information Systems" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Sagebrush" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grasslands and Plains" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Other Landscapes" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adaptive Management" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Science-management interface" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "rangeland management" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Quantitative Modeling" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Sagebrush-Associated Species" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "science syntheses" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Environmental impact analysis" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Environmental Health" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "North Central" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Environmental effects analysis" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Geology" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Climate" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Land Management Practices" }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "US Fish and Wildlife Service" } ]
}