Climate change adaptation, or actions taken at the individual, local, regional, and national levels to reduce risks from changing climate conditions and to prepare for impacts from future changes, is a growing priority of land management agencies like the U.S. Forest Service. Implementing climate change adaptation actions is frequently dependent on collaborative scientist-manager partnerships. Over the last decade, numerous scientist-manager partnerships have helped increase ecosystem resilience to climate change effects through the development of climate change vulnerability assessments, data analysis tools, and other resources designed to improve resource manager decision making. However, as climate change continues to affect ecosystems and natural resources, the scale and rate of adaptation efforts will need to be increased.

This special session brings a diverse panel of scientists and natural resource specialists to highlight current climate change adaptation efforts taking place across the United States and identify key concepts behind successful climate change adaptation. During this session we will initiate a broader dialogue with attendees to discuss the components of successful climate change adaptation, what challenges are encountered during the implementation of adaptation strategies and tactics, and opportunities to share knowledge and information to help increase the consideration of climate-smart management practices across scientific and resource management communities.