National Park Service Grant: Understanding Climate Change Impacts on Great Lakes Biodiversity

STATEMENT OF JOINT OBJECTIVES/PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN: This project will increase the ability to understand the current climate data in relation to conditions in and around national park units and allow managers to anticipate future climate change and take proactive action to protect and preserve resources. The approach will be useful to land management agencies, universities, state and local governments, non-profit organizations, gateway communities and others who wish to consider implications of climate change on biodiversity in other areas of the country.

RECIPIENT INVOLVEMENT: Design and implement data analysis/modeling aspects and interpret results. Assist in development of management tools and outreach/interpretation products for each of the 7 parks.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE INVOLVEMENT: The NPS will provide extensive scientific direction and collaboration from NPS scientists and managers in WASO, MWRO, and at each of the 7 Great Lakes parks included in the project. Resource managers and interpreters in the Great Lakes park units will also be substantially involved in 1) providing and compiling data for modeling efforts, 2) interpretation of modeling results, and 3) design and dissemination of interpretive/outreach products.

NPS did not solicit full and open competition for this award based the following criteria: The investigators at the University of Minnesota have an existing and extensive history of conducting ecological and climate-change related science in the forested regions of the Great Lakes, including in many of the NPS units involved in this project. The investigators also have an existing collaborative relationship that allows them to functionally meet all of the experiential/technical requirements for the project.