Mount Hamilton Project
Climate Adaptive Strategies Workshop

April 7-9, 2010
Golden Gate University, San Francisco, California

Workshop Summary

In the face of a changing climate, species will have to adapt or go extinct.  Similarly, conservation organizations will have to adapt our strategies in order to meet our goals and conserve the biodiversity we value.  In order to do this, The Nature Conservancy, California held a Climate Adaptive Strategies workshop focusing on the unique and vulnerable biodiversity of the Mount Hamilton Range (ConPro record), where TNC has been engaged for over a decade to protect this platform landscape.  The goals ofthe workshop were:

• Identify adaptation objectives and management strategies that will help the plants, animals and ecosystems of Mount Hamilton and surrounding landscapes adapt to a changing climate.
• Document and communicate best practices for identifying climate adaptive strategies for The Nature Conservancy and other conservation organizations.

The idea for this workshop came from the Climate Adaptation Clinic held in Salt Lake City in September 2009.  The Mount Hamilton team was one of 20 projects selected to attend the clinic, during which we learned various methods for developing climate adaptive strategies and generated a list of strategies to help blue oaks regenerate in a hotter and drier future.  We wanted to repeat the methods from the clinic for a broader range of species and systems, so we decided to hold our own workshop.  We invited top conservation researchers and strategists for an intensive 2-day workshop on April 7-8, 2010, in San Francisco. The participants were organized in 5 teams and asked to focus on 1-2 species or systems:

• California Tiger Salamander
• Matrix (Blue Oak Woodlands and American Badger)
• Plant Communities (Sycamore Alluvial Woodlands and Serpentine Plants)
• Steelhead
• Human Response (Ranching, Development, and Water Use)

The workshop was a resounding success and resulted in a list of strategies designed specifically to help these species and systems adapt to a changing and uncertain future. 

Workspace Purpose

The purpose of this ConserveOnline workspace is to:

• Disseminate information from the workshop to participants
• Provide a space for ongoing collaboration and coordination
• Provide a resource to other groups who wish to hold a similar workshop for other areas

Documents and Reference Pages

1. Pre-Workshop Materials
   1. Workshop Invitation (html)
   2. Mount Hamilton Project Background (html)
   3. Project Map (.pdf)
   4. Review Guidelines for Hypotheses of Change (.doc)
      1. Target Selection Criteria (html)
      2. Projected Climate Changes (html)
      3. Climate Change Charts (html)
   5. Draft Hypotheses of Change for All Groups (.doc)
   6. Climate Change Definitions (.pdf)
2. Workshop Materials and Results
   1. Workshop Participants (html)
   2. Workshop Structure (html)
   3. Agenda (.doc)
   4. Annotated Agenda (.doc)
   5. Posters (designed to be printed on 36x48 inch paper)
      1. Land Ownership and Management (.pdf)
      2. Vegetation (.pdf)
      3. Species and Community Targets (.pdf)
      4. Human Systems (.pdf)
   6. Presentations
      1. Introduction to the Targets and Strategies of the Mount Hamilton's Project by Dan Olsein (.ppt)
      2. Blue Oak Ranch Reserve by Mike Hamilton (.pdf)
   7. Revised Hypotheses of Change for All Groups (.doc)
   8. Ecological / Situation Diagrams (.html)
   9. Climate Adaptive Strategies -- DRAFT (.ppt) [summary table (.doc)]
   10. Workshop Innovations (coming soon)
3. Post Workshop Materials
   1. Summary and Lessons Learned Presentation (.pdf)
   2. Methods and Lessons Learned Document (Version 1.1) (.pdf)

Photos and Links

1. Photo Album:

   Mount Hamilton Climate Workshop April 2010

2. Climate Clinic -- 2009
3. Climate Adaptation Workspace