Climate Impacts on the Locations and Availability of Traditional Food Sources from Native Northwestern Shrubs

Start Date

2017-08-01

End Date

2019-09-30

Release Date

2017

Recent work has predicted that climate warming may have significant effects on timing of budburst of many native tree species, however, very limited work has focused on how changes in future climate would impact the flowering and fruiting of shrubs used by many tribes as traditional foods in the Pacific Northwest. Current information sources such as general ecological summaries or county-level range maps are not sufficient to assess the current and projected future impact that climate change will have on traditional foods, nor provide the specificity to develop tools to pinpoint or reduce vulnerability to potential changes. Traditional foods are key to the sense of place in Native American culture and strong traditions exist for the collection, storage, and consumption of these foods as well as, in some cases, plant culture. Shrubs such as native huckleberries, salal, and hazelnut are also important for wildlife and non-tribal food gathering. This project will synthesize location and life history data from multiple inventory and scientific data sources to develop range maps, climate-envelope models, and phenological models for focal shrub species of the Northwest. We will provide a web-platform for users to explore information on the life history and traditional uses of native shrub foods, and observe how possible climate change scenarios may alter shrub species ranges and the timing of their flowering and fruiting in the future. We will work with Northwestern tribes to identify shrubs of significant cultural interest to focus on and interact with them frequently to ensure the products we are producing are relevant to them. We will create the project products in collaboration with personnel from a minimum of 4 tribes, two National Forests, the Cedar River Watershed, the Conservation Biology Institute, and the University of Idaho.

ScienceBase WMS

• National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers
• Northwest CASC