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.

Battling Blazes Across Borders

Wildfire is a naturally occurring phenomenon that doesn’t recognize political boundaries. When large fires rage in parts of North America, the countries of Canada, the United States, and Mexico strive to work together to share firefighting resources.

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.

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.

Protecting People from Sweltering City Summers

Federal, state, and local agencies are working to provide more advanced warnings and services to help people better prepare for—and respond to—extreme heat events

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.