Incorporating climate change into conservation and resource management planning is rapidly becoming a standard of practice, both because of mandates from above (e.g. court cases) and because planners and managers want to do a good job and avoid nasty surprises. There is much of guidance out there for climate smart conservation and planning, both generic and sector-specific. This quick guide is not intended to replicate those, nor to provide everything you need to do a climate smart HCP. The intent is to help users to:1. Understand why it’s important to “ask the climate question” when it comes to HCPs.2. Make users informed consumers of climate change information and expertise. 3. Provide a logic users can follow to justify decisions about handling climate change in the HCP package.The Guide includes screening tools to help users decide on the appropriate level of climate analysis as well as worksheets to assist with climate analyses should they be needed.
