Preparing Community Systems for Climate Change in the Lower Willamette Subbasin

Even if worldwide emissions of carbon dioxide are rapidly reduced, temperatures will likely rise by an average of 1° F per decade in Oregon for the next 50 years (CIG 2007). Each degree is likely to reduce the region’s snowpack by about 20%, alter vegetation and insect patterns, and increase the size and frequency of wildfires. Some of the well-known consequences of these impacts include reduced streamflows that negatively affect fish and wildlife, hydropower, and the communities and industries that rely on that water (CLI & NCCSP 2008; CLI and NCCSP 2009). A concentrated effort is urgently needed to support communities, individuals, natural resource managers, businesses, and all levels of government to develop the methods and tools needed to prepare for the consequences of changing climate conditions. Lack of preparation will lead to crisis management that will be extremely costly for ecosystems and people.

To further support preparedness efforts for the Lower Willamette Subbasin, the Climate Leadership Initiative at the University of Oregon, in partnership with local and state agencies, local governments, universities, and nonprofit organizations, will hold a series of workshops in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties in 2010 to solicit local input on climate change projections and recommendations for developing a regional preparedness framework. The three workshops will focus on the “community” systems (built, human, cultural and economic) of Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties. Each of these day-long workshops will convene participants with strong knowledge of the Lower Willamette’s resources to:

• assess basin level projections for climate change impacts;
• identify risks and vulnerabilities to the various systems; and
• provide recommendations for co-beneficial solutions to prepare ways to build resistance and
  resiliency to projected climate impacts

April 6th Workshop - 8:30AM - 5:30 PM Gresham, OR - Location TBA
April 7th Workshop - 8:30AM - 5:30 PM Portland, OR - Location TBA
April 9th Workshop - 8:30AM - 5:30 PM Cornelius, OR - Location TBA

Each of the workshops will cover the same topics, but locations and dates vary to accommodate stakeholders working in different areas of the Lower Willamette. Prior to the workshops, participants will receive local climate model data with basin-level climate change projections (provided by the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute), results from the natural systems workshop, a workshop agenda, and background documents to help focus the workshops.

The workshops will focus on assessing local climate projections (provided by the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute), identifying impacts to community systems in the Lower Willamette Subbasin, and proposing strategies for building resilience to help community systems prepare/adapt for climate change. Following the workshops, a regional, integrated report will be produced from the discussions, comments, and recommendations of participants. The report will be distributed widely within the communities and across the region.