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.

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.

Skyline of highrise buildings and shipping cranes with mountains in the background

Creating a Model Climate Resilient City

The City of Long Beach, California, sees signs of climate change on land and in the ocean. After compiling the City's official climate assessment report, local stakeholders also produced a more accessible and user-friendly summary version and shared it broadly to stimulate informed discussion and decision making across the city.

How Vulnerable Are Salmon to a Changing Climate?

Researchers in Washington's South Fork Nooksack River are seeking to better understand the potential impacts of climate change on water quality and salmon recovery—a process they hope can be replicated and scaled in other watersheds across the country.

Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa with fuel tanks in foreground.

The Pacific Islands Climate Storybook

To empower community climate adaptation in the Pacific Islands, a multi-island coalition expanded upon a 2015 comprehensive template for writing climate stories and the collection of case studies. The new Storybook is a roadmap to predict, prepare, and adapt, to a changing climate.

Water Utility Plans for Climate Uncertainty

Managers and staff at Denver Water in Colorado are taking climate change seriously. To be sure they can continue serving their customers into the future, they're learning from climate scientists, hydrologists, and other water utilities.