OAP was a Forest Service science-management collaboration with the goals of:
- Increasing climate change awareness;
- Assessing vulnerability of cultural and natural resources; and
- Developing science-based adaptation strategies and incorporating them into management of federal lands on the Olympic Peninsula.
Products
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2011: The final report for this project was peer reviewed and published:
Halofsky, Jessica E.; Peterson, David L.; O Halloran, Kathy A.; Hawkins Hoffman, Catherine, eds. 2011. Adapting to climate change at Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-844. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 130 p. https://doi.org/10.2737/PNW-GTR-844 Additional documentation:
Littell, J.S., D.L. Peterson, C.I. Millar, and K. O’Halloran. 2012. U.S. national forests adapt to climate change through science-management partnerships. Climatic Change 110: 269-296. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-011-0066-0 [PDF]-
More details at the Climate Change Resource Center's website:
Climate change adaptation in Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park
Overview
The Olympic Adaptation Partnership was a science-management collaboration between Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park to determine how to adapt management of federal lands on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington to climate change. This project, which was led by the Pacific Northwest Research Station and University of Washington, began in 2008 and continued for two years. The Olympic Adaptation Partnership was the first Adaptation Partners project and the first multi-resource climate change project in a national forest. It provided a proof of concept for subsequent climate change projects in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
Vulnerability Assessment
Educational sessions for resource management staff and leadership were conducted in Olympia, Washington. The vulnerability assessment synthesized available climate model projections to determine levels of exposure to climate change on the Olympic Peninsula. Then, climate change sensitivities were identified for the following focal areas: hydrology and roads, fish, vegetation, and wildlife. Vulnerability assessment findings were presented at workshops for each focal area, in which scientists and managers worked together to develop adaptation strategies and tactics, as well as priorities for species protection, habitat protection, and monitoring.
