Climate Project Screening Tool

Abstract

Climate change poses a challenge for resource managers as they review current management practices. Adaptation is a critical means of addressing climate change in the near future because, due to inherent time lags in climate impacts, the effects of increased atmospheric greenhouse gases will be felt for decades even if effective mitigation begins now. To address the impacts of climate change, land managers need techniques for incorporating adaptation into ongoing or pending projects. Here we present a new tool for integrating climate change considerations into project planning. We designed the Climate Project Screening Tool (CPST) as part of the Westwide Climate Initiative (WWCI), a joint project of the three western Forest Service research stations whose goal was to cultivate science/management partnerships that would develop adaptation options for addressing climate change.

Citation

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 2011. Climate Project Screening Tool. Short Subjects from SAP 4.4 National Forests, No. 4. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 4 p.