The Science to Action Fellowship program supports graduate students in developing a product that puts science into action, directly applying scientific research related to climate change impacts on fish, wildlife, or ecosystems to decision making about natural resources.
Current Opportunities
The Statement of Interest submission period for the 2023 Fellowship year has closed. Applications for the 2024 Fellowship year will open in December 2023.
About the Fellowship
The Science to Action (S2A) Fellowship was developed to:
- Expose graduate students to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) through the USGS National Climate Adaptation Science Center (NCASC), whose mission is to provide scientific information, tools, and techniques to help natural and cultural resource managers anticipate and adapt to the impacts of climate change on fish, wildlife, and ecosystems.
- Support graduate students in developing policy-relevant product(s) related to the impacts of, and adaptation strategies for, climate change on fish, wildlife, their habitats, and users. This work should put science into action, applying scientific research directly to natural resource decision making. It may be related to the graduate student’s own research, and if so, may present a unique opportunity to share research with a broader community of decision makers.
- Provide students the opportunity to interact with the USGS community and others outside of academia.
During the fellowship year and beyond, Fellows benefit from collaborations with university and USGS mentors, from interactions with other colleagues and partners of USGS, and from exposure to high priority, real-world challenges in the natural resources policy arena.
Eligibility: This opportunity is open to graduate students at any Climate Adaptation Science Center (CASC) Consortium Institutions (see map above) who are students for the entire fellowship year (justified exceptions will be considered in special cases). Applicants may be master’s or doctoral students at any stages of their research program. Preference will be given to applicants with a clear research - management/policy link.
Financial Award: Up to two fellows will be selected, annually, to receive a financial award of $10,0001 each. The financial award is intended to support the additional efforts undertaken by the Fellow for the S2A project, not as a graduate stipend, tuition, or other university funding.
Mentoring Experience: Each Fellow will work closely with his/her/their university mentor (typically, the applicant’s graduate program advisor) and a mentor from the CASCs (matched to applicants by the CASCs after the Statement of Interest (SOI) stage; see below for more).
Fellowship Duration and Location: The fellowship experience will last one year (start date is flexible within funded year, starting May at the earliest). During this time, the Fellow will be expected to work at a CASC with a CASC mentor for two months (typically summer; specific dates are flexible; virtual options considered as appropriate) but may remain at his/her/their host institution for the rest of the term.
1All grant funds are required to be used for direct fellowship expenses (e.g., travel and lodging for two months at a CASC, supplies, travel to conferences).
Fellowship Requirements
- Update Meetings. The Fellow, the Fellow’s Mentors, and the Review Committee will participate in three virtual meetings spaced throughout the fellowship year. For example, if a fellowship year starts in the spring, one meeting would be held in the spring, as the student is beginning the fellowship and planning for the summer, one in the summer while the student is working at a CASC, and one in the fall as the fellowship is nearing completion. The Fellow will be responsible for scheduling meetings, developing an agenda, and providing a short (1 page maximum) progress report to all attendees for each meeting.
- Formal Presentations. Fellows must present a CASC staff webinar at the end of the fellowship and are encouraged to present the project results at their home institutions and in other formal venues.
- Final Report by the Fellow. The Fellow will be required to submit a formal project report within three months of completing the fellowship to USGS and Michigan State University. The final report should include:
- A description of the fellowship project in detail, description of the Fellow’s experience as a Fellow, lessons learned, and advice for future fellows.
- A section written by the University and CASC mentors briefly describing the mentoring experience and provide advice for future mentors.
Questions? Please direct questions about the fellowship program to Dr. Abigail Lynch, NCASC Research Fish Biologist, ajlynch@usgs.gov.
For full description of application materials and evaluation criteria, view the 2023 Fellowship Application Requirements>>
Meet Our Fellows
Current Fellows
Sean Lewandoski, Michigan State University, Fellowship Year: 2022
Mentor: Abby Lynch
Linking Great Lakes Fishery Management with Regional Climate Modeling
Lake whitefish fisheries are vital to livelihoods, food, and culture of the Great Lakes Region. Fishers, resource managers, and policy
makers are vested in identifying and enacting policies and actions that cultivate sustainable fisheries. However, climate change is complicating these efforts as the present and future fisheries may not resemble those of the past. Few decision-support tools are currently available that link regional climate forecasts with fisheries management outcomes, a key consideration for evaluating long-term sustainability of management alternatives. This project will help stakeholders evaluate ‘what if’ scenarios that consider alternative fishery management policies and actions with respect to possible climate-driven changes to fish population dynamics. A product of this project will be a mathematical model that couples lake whitefish reproduction, survival, and movement rates to forecasts of Great Lakes water temperature, ice cover, and dominant current patterns, as predicted by a regional climate model. A web-based application will allow stakeholders to use this model to investigate if fisheries management policies, which are intended to maintain long-term sustainability of Great Lakes fisheries, perform as expected given a range of possible climate-driven changes to fish populations. Overall, this project will build capacity for fisheries managers and stakeholders to include climate science in their evaluation of alternative fisheries policies and actions.
Lauren Lyon, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Fellowship Year: 2022
Mentor: Toni Lyn Morelli
Climate Change Refugia for Appalachian Mammals of Conservation Concern: Identifying High Priority Areas and Creating an Open Access Dashboard for the Management and Integration of Private Land into the Protected Area Network
The Appalachian Mountains have a long history of providing refuge to animals in adverse conditions. With warming temperatures and increasing urban growth, we once again look to these mountains for conserving our regional biodiversity. Through my dissertation work, I identified areas within the Appalachians that are estimated to be climatically suitable both now and in the future for the highest number of mammal species of conservation concern. These climatically suitable areas will likely serve as climate change refugia for many taxa. Many of these climate change refugia fall outside of the current network of protected areas, and overlap with privately owned land, making it essential to foster collaborations among researchers, landowners, tribal liaisons, and state agencies. Through this project, I will create resources for landowners, specifically a website that provides free access to information regarding location of possible mammalian climate change refugia, state-by-state and at the county level. Additionally, in collaboration with local state agencies across the 13 Appalachian ecoregion states, several outreach events will be held to raise awareness about the impacts of climate change on local mammals, as well as provide tips for private landowners for creating and maintaining suitable habitat for these threatened species.
Past Fellows
Megan Johnson, North Carolina State University, Fellowship Year: 2021
Mentor: Jeremy Littell
Shifting impacts of wildland fire smoke and land management practices in the Southeast under climate change
Fire is historically important in Southeastern landscapes. In this region, prescribed fire (or controlled burning) is often used to reduce wildfire risk, maintain wildlife habitat, and support fire-dependent species. However, smoke from prescribed fire is a significant source of particulate air pollution in the region, so managers who use it are required to minimize smoke impacts to protect public health. This requirement is often seen as a barrier to using the technique, and climate change is expected to pose further barriers as days with acceptable burning conditions are expected to decrease. With expected increases in wildfire risk and human populations who are particularly vulnerable to health impacts from smoke, balancing the social impacts with the ecological benefits of prescribed fire in the Southeast will become increasingly difficult. This project will describe Southeastern managers’ concerns and needs regarding the future of prescribed fire use, while also comparing future wildfire and prescribed fire smoke contributions to air pollution in the Southeast based on projected changes in fire activity. Sharing managers’ concerns and needs with science and policymaking communities, alongside estimates of possible future smoke impacts, will be essential to effectively addressing the future of prescribed fire in the Southeast.
Read an interview with Megan>>
Anthony Ciocco, Oregon State University, Fellowship Year: 2021
Mentor: Mike Langston
Structured decision making for Navajo rangelands through co-produced computer simulation state and transition modeling
This project will work with local managers to co-produce a scientific analysis of management strategies for rangelands in the Navajo Partitioned Lands. Final products will include a small field guide for tribal ranchers, a computer simulation model of management scenarios for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Navajo Nation natural resource managers, and a policy analysis for the Navajo Nation Council. The field guide will provide tribal grazing permit holders with a conceptual framework for identifying rangelands states and stewarding their lands to avoid undesirable transitions. The computer simulation will be modeled in the ST-sim software. This model will draw from existing data and local knowledge on historical and current ecological states and transitions. Scenarios including climate change, wild horse round-ups, livestock reductions, livestock rest, and water infrastructure development will be modeled. Simulation outcomes will be assessed for multiple objectives including livestock production, wildlife habitat, and cultural uses. The results will inform a structured decision making approach utilizing a Bayesian decision network that will convey social and ecological tradeoffs to decision makers, presented in the form of a policy analysis.
Read Anthony's Final Report>>
Kyle Lunneberg, University of California, Davis, Fellowship Year: 2020
Mentor: Nicole DeCrappeo
Developing a Fire-Risk Web Map and Monitoring Methodology for Southern California Chaparral using Multispectral Drone Imagery
Increased fire in Southern California chaparral ecosystems is a projected detriment of changing climate. Planning for increased risk to wildlands and human interfaces requires policy-relevant, understandable representations of current chaparral fuel dynamics. Kyle’s project uses drone-based multispectral cameras to characterize sub-communities of chaparral. He focuses on relating these high-resolution measurements to larger state-wide databases and communicating projections to local land managers. Through a web map, this tool assists fire-enforcement staff in selecting monitoring areas or planning future studies. The cost-effective drone methodology will also become publicly available during his Fellowship year. This methodology is intended for small reserves or students who need high-resolution multispectral measurements but cannot access aerial platforms.
Read Kyle's Final Report>>
View Slides on Kyle's Project>>
Lise Montefiore, North Carolina State University, Fellowship Year: 2020
Mentor: Michelle Staudinger
Mapping Estuarine Vulnerability to Water Quality Change Under Future Climate and Land Use Conditions
Estuaries are bodies of water located where rivers meet the sea. These unique ecosystems are among the most productive systems on Earth and provide ecological (e.g., species habitat), cultural (e.g., recreation), and economic (e.g., fisheries, tourism) benefits. However, these systems are facing many adverse impacts. In particular, land use and climate change can alter the quantity and quality of riverine discharges to estuaries, thereby contributing to shifts in estuarine ecosystem health. For example, climate-driven shifts in precipitation patterns in agricultural watersheds can result in an abundance of fertilizer runoff being delivered to downstream estuaries, leading to eutrophication. Lise will develop a national-scale, interactive, web-based data visualization application displaying the vulnerability of U.S. estuarine systems to projected water quality change. The vulnerability map will produce critical information to identify estuarine systems at higher risk of degradation in the future. The product generated from the project and underlying dataset will be made publicly available. The work will be performed over a two-month period at the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center.
Read Lise's Final Report>>
Read Lise's Earth's Future publication>>
Read an interview with Lise>>
Lauren Hunt, Boise State University, Fellowship Year: 2019
Mentor: Laura Thompson
Mapping Climate Change Vulnerability of Rangelands in the West Using Social-Ecological Indicators
As a fellow, Lauren will develop a novel vulnerability mapping tool to inform policy and improve climate change adaptation in the West. Such a map will reveal ecosystem and community vulnerabilities to help policy-makers prioritize their efforts. Lauren will use publicly available data, social-ecological science, and data science training to develop a publicly-available, web-based, and interactive product. Lauren’s work will focus on building adaptation capacity and understanding climate vulnerability. Lauren plans to publish the products of this research, including interactive maps and datasets, on the Climate Registry for the Assessment of Vulnerability as a web-based community resource. Laruen will be in the Reston office for two months during the summer of 2019.
Read Lauren's Final Report>>
View Slides on Lauren's Project>>
Read Lauren's Environmental Research Letters publication>>
Sean Wineland, University of Oklahoma, Fellowship Year: 2019
Mentor: Abby Lynch
Reaches of Opportunity: Boosting Environmental Flows and Fish Conservation at Low Societal Water Cost in the Southern Great Plains
Intensifying conflicts between societal water needs and environmental flows in drought-prone river basins highlights a need for decision-support tools to aid decision makers in choosing where and when to invest scarce resources. However, uncertainty across future climate scenarios complicates decision making processes. Sean aims to help guide decision makers through this process by identifying locations in the Red River in the southern Great Plains where environmental flows can be boosted to benefit fish populations while not impeding societal water resources. Sean’s project will gauge the perspectives of water resource and fisheries managers on the impacts of climate change on water resource and fisheries management and produce a decision-support tool that aids water resource and fisheries managers in prioritizing the best locations and times to boost environmental flows or perform fisheries management actions. Sean will be in the Reston office for two months during the summer of 2019.
Read Sean's Final Report >>
Read Sean's Journal of Environmental Management publication >>
View a webinar on Sean's project >>
Rachel Owen, University of Missouri - Columbia, Fellowship Year: 2018
Mentor: Shawn Carter
Playa Ecosystem Vulnerability in Future Climates: Taking Science to Stakeholders in the Great Plains
Playas are shallow, rain-fed wetlands found throughout the Great Plains. When wet, playas provide crucial habitat for many wildlife species that depend on water to survive. When dry, playas also support several other Great Plains wildlife species because they are often the only natural lands in a region dominated by agricultural production. Playas also recharge water to the underlying aquifer, filter nutrients and chemicals from the surrounding watershed, and add recreational value to the region. While several conservation incentive programs are offered for landowners, playas are continually being degraded and converted to other land uses. Climate change poses an additional threat to the already vulnerable playa ecosystems. In an effort to assist existing outreach efforts in the Great Plains, the objective of this project is to develop educational materials and plan field visits in the playa region to describe playa sensitivities to climate change and suggest conservation efforts that may help to lessen further degradation.
Read Rachel's Final Report >>
Tunde Ojewola, University of Missouri - Columbia, Fellowship Year: 2017
Mentor: Zeenatul Basher
Climate Change Perceptions of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Employees
The impact of climate change on natural resources ranges form habitat degradation to an ongoing alteration in the structure and functioning of the ecosystems. Federal agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) are responsible for the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. FWS managers play an important role in not only planning for and responding to climate change impact on these natural resources, but also providing information to private groups and other stakeholders. This project will examine FWS managers’ perceptions, knowledge of, and attitudes toward climate change in the Midwest. Understanding managers perceptions of climate change are important determinants of environmental decision-making behavior, policy formation, and communication. Tunde will also develop a decision-support tool and story maps describing climate change impacts on fish and wildlife within the region. These tools can be used by FWS managers to educate stakeholders about the changing landscape.
Read Tunde's Final Report >>
Andrew Carlson, Michigan State University, Fellowship Year: 2016
Mentor: Doug Beard
Stream Science to Action: A Decision-Support Tool for Trout Management Amidst Climate Change
Brook trout, brown trout, and rainbow trout are distributed throughout streams in Michigan and support valuable recreational fisheries. Streams are projected to become warmer in the future due to climate change, but the effects of warming on growth, reproduction, and survival of these trout species are largely unknown. Understanding and predicting climate change impacts is important for developing management strategies that sustain healthy, fishable trout populations. The goal of this project is to design a user-friendly, map-based decision-support tool that combines stream-specific information on resource availability (e.g., money, time, personnel), temperature patterns, and other biological conditions to assist fisheries professionals in planning management programs that promote resilient streams and fish populations. In addition, case studies will be written for the public to illustrate the actions that fisheries professionals and stakeholders can perform to protect Michigan’s streams and trout populations amidst climate change.
Read Andrew's final report >>
Tracy Swem, Michigan State University, Fellowship Year: 2015
Mentor: Laura Thompson
Climate Smart Conservation in Practice: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Climate adaptation case studies can help state and federal managers understand reasonable conservation approaches and integrate climate change into existing wildlife management plans. There is a growing need for a method to evaluate and compile recent adaptation studies in a user-friendly manner. This is especially true in light of the development of recent climate and land-management tools, namely, the Climate Smart Conservation Cycle. The objective of this project was to synthesize recent case studies involving wildlife management and climate change adaptation. Project researchers (a) identified key data and current knowledge related to wildlife management adaptation strategies, (b) performed a meta-analysis on these existing strategies, (c) analyzed the results for differences and similarities to the existing framework of the “Climate Smart Conservation Cycle,” (d) produced a synthesis of adaptation strategies by region and species, and (e) produced a regional map of adaptation case studies in North America.
Read Tracy's Final Report >>
Ralph Tingley, Michigan State University, Fellowship Year: 2015
Mentor: Shawn Carter
Conserving Streams in a Changing Climate: Turning Ecological Stream Classifications into Actionable Science
Climate change will influence freshwater ecosystems worldwide, in many cases leading to species loss. Conservationists must proactively manage waterways to ensure species persistence. To understand the influences of climate on Hawaiian stream species, such as snails, fish and freshwater shrimp, Ralph developed a stream classification based on relationships between organisms and rainfall (along with landscape factors). This system groups streams into similar types and identifies those that may be most influenced by climate change. The goal of Ralph’s project was to incorporate the stream classification into products that facilitate proactive management and to demonstrate the potential for the application of the approach in other regions. He worked with stakeholders in Hawai’i to develop products that utilize the classification, such as identifying conservation or restoration areas based on their current ability to support species and projected changes in climate.
Read Ralph's final report >>