Mountain West Climate Services Partnership

Climate change is driving common threats across the Mountain West, the large and diverse expanse between the Sierras and the Rockies. Embedded within all or part of 11 US states, the region is home to more than 2,000 communities, each with distinctive social and environmental characteristics. Yet few of these communities are immune from the risks of drought, extreme heat, and fire–to name just a few. By supporting collaboration across the region, the Mountain West Climate Services Partnership aims to turn these shared risks into shared opportunities. 

The Mountain West Climate Services Partnership informs and supports communities preparing for climate change. We do this by convening climate services providers across the region, building connections across communities with shared challenges. Over time, this connected capacity can accelerate learning, improve approaches, and reduce costs.

If you are from a Mountain West community seeking climate services or a climate service provider working in the region, explore below for ways to connect and resources to support your resilience and adaptation efforts.

Communities Seeking Support

Whether you are looking to get started or searching for more advanced support to prepare for climate change in your community, the Mountain West Climate Services Partnership provides several ways to engage:            

• Ask for help (climateservices@agci.org)
• Join fellow community leaders in regular conversation and collaboration via the Western Adaptation Alliance. (Looking to participate? Inquire at climateservices@agci.org).
• Get started on your own (Geos institute Climate Ready Communities program: www.ClimateReadyCommunities.org)
• Explore further (see our Resources below)

Our goal is to expand access to existing knowledge, tools, and peers you can learn from. By listening to what you need, we also strengthen how we better serve communities region-wide. In some cases, we might suggest connecting with a Partnership member or another consulting service provider, depending on needs and resources required.

To contact us, email climateservices@agci.org.

Climate Service Providers:

A growing number of communities across the region are beginning to prepare for climate risks. While each community faces unique challenges and vulnerabilities, there are opportunities to share the costs and the benefits of that work. This is why the Mountain West Climate Services Partnership formed in 2017. Rather than create a new organization or program, the Partnership links and shares climate services capacity and resources across the region.

The Partnership has a broad goal to identify, (co-)produce, and exchange information, strategies, and other resources that communities can utilize to reduce climate risk. In particular, the Partnership aims to expand access to and use of climate services, particularly in small- to medium-sized communities.

The Partnership focuses on three main areas:

1. Expanding access to and use of existing scientific information and tools that can help communities prepare for climate change impacts, such as changes to snowpack and water availability, aridification, and wildfire risk.
2. Providing guidance on the processes and strategies that can help leaders and practitioners in Mountain West communities assess vulnerabilities, prepare action plans in response, and communicate and engage on these efforts with diverse stakeholders, decision makers, and the public.
3. Leveraging our network of organizations and individuals to identify and mobilize financial and other resources to support climate adaptation planning and implementation.

Each of these areas involves one or more types of activity, including:

• Seeking Opportunities: Partner members work in collaboration with each other and with communities to anticipate and fulfill needs that may not yet be widely perceived or in demand.
• Responding to Requests: Partnership members respond to, or forward on to other service providers or networks, requests for technical assistance or other forms of support.
• Fostering Peer Learning: Periodic virtual and in-person exchanges between researchers, service providers, and local community leaders build region-wide capacity by fostering coordination and knowledge-sharing.

Planning for climate change does not require starting from scratch since many researchers and organizations with expertise in climate change planning are already informing or assisting Mountain West communities. The aim of the Partnership is to foster coordination and collaboration across these efforts while helping to institutionalize innovative approaches that can rise to the overall challenge at speed and scale. We invite you to get involved. Reach us at climateservices@agci.org.

Contact Us

Resources

Members of the Partnership have produced or recommend the following resources for accessing and using climate information for climate change planning in the Mountain West region:

• User Guide to Climate Change Portals (AGCI)
• Intermountain West Climate Dashboard  (Western Water Assessment)
• Snowpack Monitoring in the Mountain West: User Guide (Western Water Assessment)
• Climate Toolbox (UC Merced)
• Climate Engine (Desert Research Institute)
• Climate Ready Communities Getting Started Guide (GEOS Institute)
• Tribal Climate Tool (Climate Impacts Group)
• Heavy Precipitation Projections for Use in Stormwater Planning (Climate Impacts Group)
• Sea Level Rise in Washington State (Climate Impacts Group)
• Northwest Climate Trends Tool (Climate Impacts Group)
• Hydrology and Climate Datasets for the Northwest (Climate Impacts Group)