The primary goals of this ongoing project are to obtain information regarding past catastrophic events, such as tsunamis, and TEK through oral history interviews with Tolowa elders regarding the effects of climate change and tsunamis on traditional smelt fishing camps; generate a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) model of coastal inundation due to sea level rise and overlay that with known archaeological and ethnographic resources; and generate a final report with detailed information of past tsunami events, and modeling the potential effects of climate change and sea level rise on archaeological and ethnographic Tolowa sites using TEK and GIS based upon the results of this study.

The project incorporates Heiltsuk Traditional Knowledge and Values into ecosystem-based management planning within Strategic Landscape Reserve Design (SLRD) Landscape Units. The SLRD process seeks to identify areas to set aside from logging (harvesting) over short and long term timeframes. Heiltsuk Traditional Use Studies (HTUS) identify harvesting and other types of cultural sites that are important to Heiltsuk well-being. HTUS data has been incorporated into GIS so that it can inform a wide range of spatial analyses. The base-line study, Map Biography, also identifies knowledge holders who will be engaged in identifying management principles.

For Tribes where significant knowledge of traditional management practices is intact, but where all or part of ancestral lands are managed by other agencies, it is important that the sharing of TEK and implementation of management take place in a manner that promotes rather than hinders Tribal sovereignty and self-determination. This project will identify existing institutional and cultural barriers to the sharing of Tribal TEK and expansion of Tribal management and provide recommendations for their resolution at local, regional and national levels.

This project will utilize traditional ecological knowledge to establish traditional gathering practices. Interviews will be conducted with “traditional gatherers” (a.k.a. subsistence) over the last two generations to get baseline data. The project will have a direct focus on the four (4) federally recognized Tribes on Prince of Wales Island (Craig, Hydaburg, Kasaan and Klawock).

The overarching goal of the project is to develop overlapping conceptual models of environmental and community health indicators in reference to climate forecasts. The sensitivity of species and habitats to climate will be cross-walked with recently developed Coast Salish community health indicators (e.g. ceremonial use, knowledge exchange, and physiological well-being) in order to demonstrate how Indigenous Knowledge can be used in conjunction with established landscape-level conservation indicators (e.g. shellfish and water-quality) and employed to identify resource management priorities. While results will be unique to study participants, no Indigenous community in the coastal Pacific Northwest is immune to the impending threats of climate change and land-use policies; the methods developed through this proposal will be applicable for other First Nations and Tribes across the region.

This project will initiate the first large‐scale Tribal government discussions on the relationship of scientific research and traditional knowledge in the activities of the NPLCC. The project will: 1. Review existing approaches and protocols related to scientific research and traditional knowledge in the Pacific Northwest, characterizing different types of traditional knowledge and the contexts in which these are encountered; 2. Initiate discussions among the 21 member Tribes of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (all other Tribes are welcome to join); 3. Report on their views; 4. Propose a framework for the use of TK based on discussions and present it for a possible consensus by all participants; and 5. Outreach with the products to other Tribes.

The Yurok Tribe will conduct a two phase study on Climate change impacts on Yurok Ancestral and Reservation Lands and resources, specific to impacts on wildlife and habitats that support culturally significant species. The first phase will be the collection and documentation of TEK through community scoping and structured interviews that will be recorded, transcribed, and entered into a GIS (mapped). The second phase will consist of analyzing the data collected in order to identify scientific information needs, data gaps and priority resources of concern specific to Climate change impacts that will be summarized in a final report to inform future funding, management and research efforts.

The Province of British Columbia, Ministry of Forests, Lands, & Natural Resource Operations, in partnership with Simon Fraser University and the Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center, will lead a third workshop to develop cross-boundary geospatial and climate data sets in support of regional conservation applications across NPLCC international boundaries. The workshop will provide opportunities for communicating and discussing priorities for the exchange, development and unification of geospatial and climate datasets.

Three complementary transboundary climate adaptation and habitat connectivity activities work in the Cascadia region will be supported 1) Transboundary Climate Analysis by the Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group, 2) WildLinks workshop, and 3) Cascadia Partner Forum.

A combination of focus groups and usability tests will be used to explore the needs and preferences of a variety of NPLCC stakeholders as regards data management platform content, format, and features. This information can be used to inform NPLCC decisions about how best to meet needs not currently met by LC MAP through adjustments or enhancements to LC MAP itself or by connecting stakeholders with other platforms or portals.

This project builds on work currently underway by NWF for marine/ coastal and freshwater ecosystems throughout the range of the NPLCC. NWF conducted five web-based focus groups and two workshops with experts working at the nexus of climate change, conservation, and sustainable resource management to identify challenges and information needs associated with managing terrestrial ecosystems, habitats, and species in light of current and project climate change impacts. A comprehensive compilation of climate impacts in terrestrial ecosystems will be conducted similar to the effort for the coastal/marine and freshwater ecosystems. Marine/coastal and freshwater ecosystem synthesises funded beginning FY2010 will be finalized in FY 2013 (drafts available on NPLCC website)

The NPLCC is preparing for implementing components of its forthcoming Strategy for Science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (2013-2017) and associated Annual Work Plans. This project advances that goal by convening two workshops (likely Victoria and Portland in April 2013) focusing on one or more strategic priorities identified by those plans. This project would build on and leverage NWF’s existing work in the region that has convened key experts and partners, articulated potential science and TEK priorities, and informed NPLCC planning and priority-setting efforts.

Objectives of this project are to produce a base layer of riparian area and condition and to prioritize riparian areas likely to increase biological resilience to climate change. Ultimately, this project is intended to act as a pilot for developing riparian area data layers for the WGA Crucial Habitat Assessment Tool.

Formation of a Technical Team and inventory of available foundational GIS data throughout rannge of NPLCC. Primary foundation layers being explored include basic climate information, predicted climate models (Regional models), Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), hydrology, land cover/vegetation, satellite or aerial imagery, roads/transportation, estuarine/near-shore data, geology/geomorphology, and ownership and land management.

LC MAP is built on the USGS ScienceBase project. ScienceBase is an experimental approach to data management and integration that provides a secure collaborative virtual workspace that allows diverse partnerships to securely share, access, and analyze datasets. The application anticipates the Digital Government Strategy by generating service endpoints for every item, allowing search across multiple remote nodes, and allowing projects to interact with remote web portals and mobile devices.