Report from the Tenth Annual Northwest Climate Conference:
Researchers Discussed Climate Impacts in the Pacific Northwest
Report by: Rick Nunno
The tenth annual Northwest Climate Conference was held October 9 and 10 in Portland, Oregon, and hosted by Portland State University. The conference included a wide range of research topics presented by participants from academic, industry, government, and nonprofit sectors, and included 90 presentations and 465 attendees. Each year, the scope and diversity of topics discussed has expanded as the conference venue has rotated between locations in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Topics this year included water quality impacts, agriculture, wildlife ecology, drought, hydrology, wildfires, forest ecology, coastal and marine science, public perception of climate change, tribal communities concerns, public health concerns, and climate resilience and adaptation (for a full agenda, click here).
Perhaps the most interesting and moving part of the conference were the talks by native Americans and tribal leaders, who provided a broader perspective on why we should be concerned for the environment, and a more spiritual, long-term view. For example, Don Sampson, the chief of the Walla Walla Tribe (and representing the 57 Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, ATNI), talked about how his tribes have become involved in climate change monitoring and mitigation efforts through coordination with federal, state, and local government programs, and ATNI's participation in regional, national and international climate change policy adaptation and mitigation efforts (more information about ATNI's climate change project can be found here). Native Americans, with close ties to nature and the land, are more engaged than many may realize in efforts to combat climate change and other environmental problems.
Other highlights from the conference included the following:
● An overview by University of Idaho Associate Professor John Abatzoglou of climate trends in the Pacific Northwest in 2019 (the region experienced fewer droughts or wildfires than in recent years, but is following a general upward trend in temperatures).
● A forecast by David Pilliod of the U.S. Geological Survey of how squamates (i.e., snakes and lizards) will migrate in response to the changes in climate across the western United States as well as across international borders. The species will generally shift to higher latitudes and higher elevations, resulting in an overall loss of terrain and a possible decrease in population.
● An evaluation by Caroline Walls (Western Washington University) of the effectiveness of engineered log jam projects at improving salmon habitat. Building artificial log pools and jams may alleviate the loss of the salmon population due to logging in riparian forests.
● An analysis by Dongmei Chen (University of Oregon) of the effects of climate change and forest governance on infestations of the Mountain Pine Beetle in Western Oregon. This insect has adapted (through mutations) to tolerate colder climates and higher drought conditions over the past 25 years, and climate change and fire suppression have contributed to increased outbreaks in infestations, killing several species of pine throughout the Western United States and Canada.
● A presentation by Chas Jones (Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians) of the annual Tribal Climate Camps designed to help tribes build a common knowledge base to cope with climate change and facilitate communication among tribes on climate-related issues.
● A presentation by Laura Nelson (University of Washington) on climate change impacts on the nutritional benefits of the Makah Tribe’s traditional seafood species on the Olympic Peninsula. A survey of tribal members’ diets compared to a similar survey conducted in the late 1990s revealed a decrease in the rates of consumption of traditional subsistence seafood due to climate impacts on key species of fish and shellfish. The researcher concluded that nutritional security and sovereignty are being compromised.
● An overview by Viccy Salazar of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the ability of tribes to adapt to climate change. EPA’s Adaptation Resource Center (ARC-X) has developed an interactive online tool to help local governments (including tribal governments) across the country deliver services to their communities even as the climate changes. Users can select their areas of interest and find out about the risks posed by climate change to those areas. They can also read about how other communities have adapted to those risks and find tools to replicate their success along with EPA funding opportunities.
● Stories by four indigenous people about community-led, justice-based approaches to climate resilience. Jill Mangalliman spoke about Got Green, promoting green jobs, healthy food, energy efficiency, public transit, and healthy homes in the Seattle area; Lucy Lopez spoke about the Community to Community (C2C) program, promoting farm workers’ rights and transforming the food system to small-scale organic farms; Lilli Allala spoke about the Equity and Environment Initiative in the Seattle area; and Adrienne Sebastian spoke about the International Migrants Rights Alliance.
● A panel discussion on building climate resilience and adaptation at the municipal level, with case studies from the city of Portland. The presentation focused on the city’s efforts to prepare its water supply system for the next 50 years, and its recent release of a Resiliency Master Plan for Climate Change, which considers issues of adaptation and seismic vulnerability. With expectations of warmer winters, hotter and drier summers, stresses on vegetation, urban heat, landslides, erosion, water quality impacts, and other problems, the report provides a narrative to help structure future discussions about how to respond. Presenters also provided an overview of Portland’s Crystal Springs adaptation project, which used natural solutions to build climate resilience. The plan made provisions for salmon and other fish to re-enter the local watershed by removing culverts and other remediations. The project was recently recognized as a finalist for the 2019 C40 Bloomberg Philanthropies Award for its innovative solution to a climate-related problem at a local level.
● A presentation by four researchers at Oregon State University on envisioning coastal resilience through alternative futures modeling. Looking at potential environmental catastrophes such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and flooding, the group attempted to identify the risks on property values and propose equity planning measures for coastal communities.
● A panel discussion of emerging climate risks and liability and risk exposure in the insurance, legal, and water sectors. The panel explained how recent climate events have led the insurance industry to minimize its exposure by excluding climate disasters from their coverage. In the near future, public and private entities will have to demonstrate that they have prepared for climate change to obtain insurance policies. Furthermore, the difficulty of foreseeing climate impacts and attributing harm to any single entity has made it very difficult to prove negligence in courtrooms. This means that property owners will be liable for damages rather than the corporations that caused the rise in temperatures through their greenhouse gas emissions.
Throughout the conference, speakers acknowledged that continued research in all of these fields is essential for making progress on climate and environmental problems, as the information obtained will provide the tools to argue for public support for climate programs and for the development of effective policies and laws to cope with the climate crisis.