U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Grant: Promoting Climate Change Resiliency through Community Education in Great Lakes Region

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) plans to enter into a new cooperative agreement with Chicago Wilderness Trust to provide financial support for community education relevant to increasing climate change resiliency in the Great Lakes. This project is outlined in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Interagency Agreement Scope of Work FY 2014 developed between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes National Program Office and the U.S. fish and Wildlife Service, which describes the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) funding allocated to the Service by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Increasing Climate Change resiliency is extremely important to communities around the Great Lakes in attempting to cope with drought, increased storm events, flooding and other effects of a changing climate. This project will bring the right science to local GLRI partners, including the public and other stakeholders, so as to ensure smart conservation investments for the future.

Substantial involvement on the part of the Service is anticipated for the successful completion of the activities to be funded. In particular, the Service will partner with Chicago Wilderness to implement a series of at least 10 public events around the Great Lakes basin on climate change resiliency at the local level. These ‘climate clinics’ will identify strategies to help GLRI practitioners respond and adapt to changes to our climate. The Chicago Wilderness strategy, “Climate Action Plan for Nature”, includes five Community Action Strategies: Climate Change Education; Stewardship; Monitoring; Water Conservation; and Climate friendly gardens and landscapes. This funding would provide the opportunity to implement these Community Action Strategies in multiple urban areas. FWS Staff will help identify relevant land managers and will participate in workshops providing their expertise in habitat restoration and wildlife vulnerability to climate change.