Southwestern Colorado is already experiencing the effects of climate change in the form of larger and more severe wildfires, prolonged severe droughts, tree mortality from insect outbreaks, and earlier snowmelt. Climate scientists expect the region to experience more frequent summer heat waves, longer-lasting and more frequent droughts, and decreased river flow in the future (Lukas et al. 2014). These changes will ultimately impact local communities and challenge natural resource managers in allocating water and range for livestock grazing under unpredictable drought conditions, managing forests in the face of changing fire regimes, and managing threatened species under shifting ecological conditions.

Considering the wide-ranging potential impacts of climate change in the region, the goal of this project was to collaborate with decision-makers to develop strategies to reduce those impacts on people and nature. Scientists, land managers, and local communities worked together to identify actions to reduce the negative effects of climate change. Known as “adaptation strategies,” these actions are expected to facilitate effective planning and management under shifting climate conditions. To inform strategy development, researchers and planners provided information on the vulnerability of ecosystems, modeled plausible future climate conditions, and identified the social contexts in which adaptation decisions are made.

The project focused on the San Juan River Basin and Upper Gunnison River Basin of southwestern Colorado, though one of the objectives of the project was to develop an adaptation toolkit that can be applied to other landscapes. By identifying appropriate adaptation strategies and actions, this project will help improve the resilience of local communities and ecosystems elsewhere in the face of an uncertain future.