Climate Extension Services for the South Central U.S.

The South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center (CASC) has worked diligently to build new partnerships between scientists and resource managers to help address the science needs and questions of their stakeholders through actionable science. However, the growth of their stakeholder base and the loss of the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives has led to unmet demand for climate “extension services” from stakeholders.  

This project plans to establish a new scientist position at the South Central CASC focused on climate extension services and research coordination to help discover needed science solutions and to facilitate connections between the researcher and practitioner communities. The Climate Extension Specialist will collaborate with government, university, and nongovernmental researchers to conduct science, data collection, data management, visualization, and product creation related to climate change impacts and adaptation. They will provide science-based information to stakeholders as they adapt to, respond to, and plan for climate change in their local jurisdictions. The Specialist will work with partners across the South Central U.S. to identify information gaps, needs for science information, products, datasets, and tools to ensure science becomes actionable at the local level.  

In addition, the Climate Extension Specialist will work with partners and stakeholders to enable their use of monitoring, assessment, and adaptation resources. They also will disseminate research results on climate-related topics to diverse audiences, including scientists and cultural and natural resource managers, in a variety of venues, such as scientific conferences, professional meetings, and university classrooms. Finally, as time allows, they will conduct novel research and/or synthesize current research on impacts on and adaptation for ecological systems (e.g., aquatic or terrestrial, coastal or inland) in the face of climate change.