Building Habitat and Climate Resiliency: The Science Behind the Chehalis Basin ASRP

The Chehalis Basin Aquatic Species Restoration Plan, an integral part of the Chehalis Basin Strategy, aims to fund habitat restoration and protection at the scale and pace necessary to promote basin wide ecosystem resiliency to climate change impacts. A key component of the ASRP is transparent priorities for the program to focus funding on projects that will have the greatest positive impact. To develop these priorities, a collaborative team of scientists and policy leaders have teamed up to incorporate cutting edge climate science in habitat modeling and analyses, leading to a roadmap of proposed actions to curtail the effects of climate change while supporting native species viability. This talk will explore the scientific considerations to incorporating climate science in restoration planning and share lessons for other large scale landscape planning initiatives.