The Climate Adaptation Leadership Award (CALA), established in 2016, recognizes exemplary leadership by individuals, agencies, businesses and other organizations to reduce impacts and advance adaptation of the Nation’s vital natural resources. The Northeast and Southeast CASC Tribal Liaison and a Northwest CASC-funded project were among those honored by the 2020 CALA presented by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

The Northeast and Southeast CASC Tribal Liaison and his United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) Office of Environmental Resource Management Colleagues were recognized for their climate related work with Tribes.

Read the original announcement posted by the Northeast CASC here and the Southeast CASC here.

Northeast and Southeast CASC Tribal Climate Science Liaison Casey Thornbrugh and his colleagues at the USET Office of Environmental Resource Management, were recognized for their work in providing climate science resources and tools to Tribal Nations in addition to building important bridges with universities, NGOs, and state and federal agencies.  

"It has been an honor to work with the Northeast and Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Centers, the Bureau of Indian Affairs Tribal Resilience Program, and the USET Office of Environmental Resource Management  for the past three years," said award recipient Casey Thornbrugh. "I am grateful to have collaborated with many colleagues who have been instrumental in helping Tribes develop adaptation plans that will better position them to adjust to a changing climate."

Northwest CASC research was recognized for their contributions to Washington State’s plans for climate-resilient fish passages.

Read the original announcement posted by the Northwest CASC here.

Washington State is home to several threatened species of salmon and trout, including bull trout, and recovery plans for these fish include repairing or replacing culverts that currently block the passage of these migratory fish through streams. Northwest CASC-funded research is part of a larger effort by the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife to design climate-resilient culverts to aid Washington state’s fish habitat restoration work.  This collaboration has resulted in an online tool that enables engineers to obtain site-specific information for designing climate-adapted culverts.

The 2020 Climate Adaptation Leadership Awards virtual ceremony recording is available here. A video of the Southeast CASC spotlighting Thornbrugh and the USET team’s work can be found here. Information regarding the Northwest CASC’s work on climate-resilient culverts can be found under the project, “Supporting Climate-Resilient Design for In-Stream Restoration and Fish Passage Projects”. The full list of 2020 CALA awardees is available here.