The goal of this project is to identify climate-related scientific information needs in the North Central region that will support the management of key species and help avoid species declines. Researchers will work closely with state fish and wildlife agencies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, tribes, and other relevant natural resource management and conservation agencies to identify priority information needs and to design and implement studies that will address these needs.
 
Researchers will identify stakeholders, including those engaged by the North Central Climate Science Center USGS Liaisons project. Researchers will then work with stakeholders to identify priority conservation targets. Selected targets will be those that are of high priority to managers, are the subject of a pending or planned decision or action, and for which the decision would benefit from information on climate change exposure, impacts, or adaptation. The outcome will be the identification of key climate science needs that can help advance near-term conservation decision-making. As a final component of the project, researchers will initiate working groups to spearhead the development of research plans that can address these priority, stakeholder-defined climate science needs in the region. These working groups will be comprised of management representatives and researchers affiliated with the North Central Climate Science Center.
 
By working closely with resource managers to identify information gaps and initiate plans to address these gaps, this project will support the development of usable, relevant, and timely science that directly addresses on-the-ground needs.