Workshop Report: Conserving Climate Change Refugia for the Mojave Ecosystem
Dates
Publication Date
2021-12-10
Citation
Toni Lyn Morelli, 2021-12-10, Workshop Report: Conserving Climate Change Refugia for the Mojave Ecosystem: .
Summary
The Conserving Climate Change Refugia for the Mojave Ecosystem workshop was held virtually via zoom on Wednesday, December 9, 2019, using funding from the Southwest Climate and the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Centers (SW and NE CASCs). The objectives of this workshop were to bring together natural resource managers and researchers to 1) learn about current work in the Mojave ecoregion related to climate adaptation, 2) prioritize focal species/ecosystems for climate change refugia conservation/funding, and 3) identify research gaps, all in service of operationalizing climate change adaptation strategies in the Mojave ecoregion. The meeting began with presentations by researchers and resource managers who have been working on [...]
Summary
The Conserving Climate Change Refugia for the Mojave Ecosystem workshop was held virtually via zoom on Wednesday, December 9, 2019, using funding from the Southwest Climate and the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Centers (SW and NE CASCs). The objectives of this workshop were to bring together natural resource managers and researchers to 1) learn about current work in the Mojave ecoregion related to climate adaptation, 2) prioritize focal species/ecosystems for climate change refugia conservation/funding, and 3) identify research gaps, all in service of operationalizing climate change adaptation strategies in the Mojave ecoregion. The meeting began with presentations by researchers and resource managers who have been working on key resources in the Mojave ecoregion. The function of these presentations was to provide background on climate change refugia conservation and existing data and projects relevant to climate change adaptation in the Mojave ecoregion (see Appendix 1). Prior to the meeting, workshop participants were polled for their opinions about which Mojave ecoregion resources should be conserved using a climate change refugia strategy. Based on participant responses, workshop facilitators arranged several potential discussion groups around proposed priority resources. These results were shared with the workshop group during the meeting, and participants provided feedback to refine the priority resources. The group settled on the following 4 resources for further discussion (riparian systems, desert dry wash woodland, and birds were also proposed as categories but ultimately not pursued for focused discussion during the workshop): • Springs (including pupfish, spring snails) • Desert scrub (including Joshua Tree, Black Brush) • Desert tortoise • Bighorn sheep
