Case Studies | U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit

Communities, businesses, and individuals are taking action to document their vulnerabilities and build resilience to climate-related impacts. Click dots on the map to preview case studies, or browse stories below the map. Use the drop-down menus above to find stories of interest. To expand your results, click the Clear Filters link.

Alaskan Tribes Join Together to Assess Harmful Algal Blooms

Tribal communities in southeastern Alaska are partnering with federal and state agencies to investigate increasing frequency, duration, and extent of harmful algal blooms—events that pose human health risks to subsistence harvesters.

Alert System Helps Strawberry Growers Reduce Costs

In Florida's humid climate, strawberry growers are in a constant battle with two kinds of fruit rot. Using a decision support system, they can save money by spraying fields only when the plant diseases are a threat.

An Integrated Plan for Water and Long-Term Ecological Resilience

Recognizing their vulnerability to drought and climate change, federal, state, tribal, and local partners in Washington’s Yakima River Basin developed a comprehensive plan to meet their diverse needs for water into the future.

Corn plants growing up through soybean stubble

Better Soil, Better Climate

The soil health management system an Ohio farmer practices increases crop productivity, reduces costs for fertilizer and pesticides, and sequesters carbon in the soil. Both locally and globally, he encourages other farmers to adopt his methods.

Cover Crop Diversity Working Toward Improving Soil Health in North Dakota

Browser-Based Tools Show Current and Historical Crop Cover and Health

To manage their businesses successfully, farmers and food production companies need to know what crops are in the ground and how well they are growing. A pair of easy-to-use online mapping tools provides this information for growing seasons in the past and present.

Building Resilience in the Face of Ocean Acidification

The Alutiiq Pride Shellfish Hatchery in Seward, Alaska, is collaborating with federal and academic partners to measure the impacts of ocean acidification on shellfish—and develop possible adaptation strategies.

A helicopter drops water on the Waldo Canyon fire in June, 2012

Charting Colorado’s Vulnerability to Climate Change

Responding to growing awareness of climate change impacts, the State of Colorado commissioned two of its universities to complete an initial study of the state's vulnerabilities.

Climate Outlooks Increase Farmer's Odds for Success

From weeks-long dry spells to extreme precipitation events, farmers face significant challenges in bringing crops to market. Here’s how one grower uses seasonal climate forecasts to increase his chances for success.

Crop Insurance Smooths Income Fluctuations for Ranchers and Forage Farmers

Raising livestock on grasses or hay depends on receiving the right amount of rain at the right time of year. When a growing season is dry, crop insurance can make the difference between ranchers’ financial success and failure.

Drought Resiliency Planning Prepares Stakeholders for New Conditions

A national project inspired stakeholders in a rural area to document changing conditions and make a plan for drought. The effort left the area better prepared to address future changes.

Early Warning Information Increases Options for Drought Mitigation

In the growing season, farmers and ranchers keep a watchful eye for any sign of drought. Early warning information can increase their range of options for dealing with the lack of water.

A worker bee returns to the colony with its load of pollen

Field, Farm, Forest, and City: Sustaining Pollinator Health to Build Ecosystem Resilience

Climate variability and change are among the many threats that pollinators such as bees, butterflies, bats, and other species face. Beekeepers and pollinator advocates are working to preserve pollinators and the ecosystem that depends upon them.

Levee holding flood waters in Fargo, North Dakota

Improving Communication of Flood Forecasts

When a flood is forecast for the Red River of the North, community leaders, emergency responders, and residents around Fargo, North Dakota, and Moorhead, Minnesota, can gauge their need for preparation by accessing visualizations showing the extent, depth, and timing of expected flooding.

Iñupiat Work to Preserve Food and Traditions on Alaska's North Slope

Residents of North Slope Borough, Alaska, look to solar-powered ice cellars and other strategies to preserve their traditional whaling lifestyle.

Keeping Toxins From Harmful Algal Blooms out of the Food Supply

Dense populations of some microscopic algae (phytoplankton) in ocean waters can contaminate seafood, resulting in serious health problems for humans. Satellite data displayed in an online tool help fishermen monitor and avoid these harmful algal blooms.

Maine's Lobster Fishing Community Confronts Their Changing Climate

Participatory planning and system dynamics modeling help fishermen in coastal Maine make decisions to improve their bottom lines.

Irrigation canal and valve outside Phoenix, Arizona.

Managing Water for Irrigated Agriculture in the Central Arizona Desert

In the Arizona desert, farmers depend on an ample supply of irrigation to grow their crops. As climate changes, irrigation managers face a host of issues to keep the water flowing.

Mescalero Apache Tribe Adapts to a Warmer and Drier Climate

In the face of a changing climate, the Tribe is building capacity—and climate resilience—through forestry management, habitat protection, and an innovative approach to healthy eating.

Motivating the Agricultural Community to Build Climate Resilience

Climate change adaptation isn’t always welcome as a topic of conversation, even among those who could benefit from it. A recent study hints at a possible path forward.

Moving Forward Together: Building Tribal Resiliency and Partnerships

The four member tribes of the Upper Snake River Tribes Foundation collaborated on a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment, resulting in a quantified assessment of their shared concerns and establishment of a common foundation for future adaptation efforts.

Oyster Growers Prepare for Changing Ocean Chemistry

As the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide, ocean acidity changes—inhibiting the growth of oysters. A new tool may be able to help oyster growers understand how they will be affected.

Precise Soil, Climate, and Weather Data Help Dairy Optimize Water Use

For irrigated crops, knowing when and how much water to apply has long been a matter of experience and guesswork. In a changing climate, new technology can reduce this uncertainty, enabling farmers to make every drop of water count.

Ranchers and researchers in Marin County discuss carbon farming

Ranchers in Marin County Consider Carbon Credits

Ranchers are participating in a pilot project to improve carbon storage and reduce net greenhouse gas emissions. After quantifying their baseline emissions and carbon storage, they implement conservation practices that may let them tap into revenue from voluntary carbon markets.

Dry, brown drought-stricken tropical vegetation

Recognizing and Responding to Drought on Pacific Islands

Compared to other extreme events, drought is a relatively quiet disaster. On Pacific Islands, where water supply depends very directly on precipitation, residents are working to recognize signs of drought and communicate them to others so that they can respond quickly.

Starting the Climate Conversation: Using Scenario Planning to Promote Resilience in Beef Production

Beef producers shared their collective experiences with past weather, and then considered the future. This engagement strategy increased producers' value for incorporating climate into their management strategies.

Homeland of the Suquamish Tribe taken from Port Madison Bay

Suquamish Build Resilience to Ocean Acidification Through Education

Coastal habitats and archeological sites in western Alaska are at risk from coastal erosion. Researchers are documenting current assets and vulnerabilities so managers can make informed decisions.

Fond du Lac Resource Management and Tribal Court Building

The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Combine Mitigation with Capacity Building

This Minnesota tribal community—which subscribes to the Seven Generations philosophy—is taking action to reduce its contributions to greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously building community capacity to adapt.

Controlled burn in the Klamath watershed

The Karuk’s Innate Relationship with Fire: Adapting to Climate Change on the Klamath

Members of the Karuk Tribe in northern California maintain that the age-old tradition of prescribed burning holds the answer to climate adaptation planning in the Klamath River range.

Cloudy sky over ocean and flat beach environment

Tribal Community Partners with Researchers to Monitor Food and Climate

Residents of a rural Alaska village are studying their environment to understand and protect their food. Their research partnership hires and trains students and local residents to contribute to high-quality research...and builds the capacity of the local workforce.

Using Climate Data, Satellite Imagery, and Local Knowledge to Prevent Famine

The Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) uses remotely sensed data from U.S. federal agencies to give decision makers in food-insecure nations a bird’s-eye view of current and upcoming food security challenges.