North-Central California Coast and Ocean Climate Adaptation Project

The approximately 200 miles of coast and ocean centered around San Francisco, California, is home to extraordinarily diverse wildlife and habitats, two national marine sanctuaries, two national parks, and supports valuable fisheries and tourism economies. Effective climate adaptation in large landscapes such as this requires coordination of disparate scientific information, local expert knowledge, and development of appropriate adaptation strategies. In 2009, a working group of 16 agencies, organizations, and institutions responded for a call to understand and plan for climate change impacts in this treasured landscape. A resulting Climate Change Impacts Report culls climate science relevant to this landscape. The California Landscape Conservation Cooperative is supporting this diverse partnership to develop prioritized climate change adaptation actions. The scientists and managers with local expert knowledge are being brought together in workshops to collaboratively develop adaptation actions for the landscape. These adaptation actions will have been generated from the bottom-up ensuring integration into local management practices.