May 13, 2019 - Clackamas County Development Services Building Auditorium

This multi-phase applied team workshop developed from a research partnership with local community partners, PSU faculty, and graduate students to inform local understanding of Clackamas watershed resilience to climate variability and change.

The Clackamas Watershed Resilience workshop was focused on communicating and engaging with research conducted in 2018-2019 by PSU faculty and graduate students. The research was conducted as Phase 2 of the Clackamas Watershed Resilience workshop, which aimed at developing and evaluating climate change impact models for the watershed, and simulating and assessing future conditions in Clackamas hydro-climate system. Ultimately, the project goal is to make statements about temperature, snowfall, wildfire, and water quality such as, “The frequency of extreme events is projected to increase/decrease/remain the same by the mid/late 21^st century,” while also fostering dialogue among stakeholders and resource management about how to adapt to those changes.

Towards that end, 48 water and natural resource managers, elected officials, scientists, and other engaged stakeholders met for 3 hours to:

• Learn about the latest climate impact science for the Clackamas River watershed, including a focus on temperature, precipitation and snowpack, water quality and quantity, wildfire, and stakeholder perspectives on adaptation.
• Identify priorities to best build on the assets within the Clackamas River watershed to address the vulnerabilities and risks faced by the watershed.

The workshop was organized to maximize engagement between project scientists and stakeholders. First, participants engaged in a round robin poster session on the latest climate impact science specific to the watershed with posters on:

1. Temperature & precipitation/snowpack
2. Hydrology and water quality
3. Wildfire
4. Stakeholders

Second, groups of 10-12 engaged in breakout discussions addressing the following questions:

1. How is this research important to you and/or your organization?
2. What actions are already occurring to address these challenges?
3. What opportunities exist in current initiatives or do you think would be important to pursue in the future?
4. What are the priorities for addressing these future climate risks?

Results from the poster session and discussions included

1. Participants noted the importance of translating scientific data to interpretable narratives for stakeholders and broader audiences to help communicate the potential impacts from climate change and relevant adaptation options.
2. Existing activities and future opportunities focused around the themes of infrastructure considerations, environmental conservation efforts, planning and management initiatives, community and professional engagement, and investment in science and research.
3. Discussion about priorities for the future focused on (1) maintaining ecosystem health for the CRW (including the river, tributaries and forested areas), (2) focusing on education and outreach efforts, (3) increasing organizational collaboration and program efficiency, and (4) establishing management and research priorities.
4. Adaptation strategies will likely fall into one of four categories:
   • Alternative, bigger, or new green and grey infrastructure for drinking, storm, and wastewater management,
   • Alternative sources of drinking water,
   • Alternative land management strategies that impact watershed health and function, and
   • Water conservation strategies implemented by water consumers.
5. Next steps should focus on continued convening around climate adaptation planning, including incorporating climate impact research into current and near future projects and initiatives in the watershed, such as the Clackamas County Climate Action Plan and the Clackamas County Watershed Health Plan, local cities’ climate action plans, and US Forest Service climate vulnerability assessments.

This multi-phase applied team research project developed in partnership with local community partners, PSU faculty, and graduate students to inform local understanding of Clackamas watershed resilience to climate variability and change. Phase 1 of the project occurred in 2017-2018 and was focused on establishing a baseline understanding of historically observed data about hydro-climatological relationships in the watershed. The report to the left focuses on stakeholder interests in resilience, as well as historical changes in climate, hydrology, fire, and resource management in the Clackamas watershed. The objectives of the project were to:

1. Help clarify the extent to which the quantity, quality, and timing of water resources provided by the Clackamas have changed in recent history and
2. Build a framework for understanding how susceptible Clackamas water resources are to impacts from climate change into the mid and late 21st century.

Our findings focus on the following:

1. Stakeholders are interested in more engagement around climate resilience and adaptation. Locally relevant scientific information is needed to help facilitate further stakeholder engagement on resilience.
2. The timing and amount of snow impacts water quantity, and extreme precipitation events have an impact on water quality.
3. Urbanization in the Clackamas impacts water quality by reducing the response time between precipitation and increased turbidity.
4. Wildfire in the Clackamas is driven by extreme drought conditions observed up to one month before fires tend to start, but a humid august can be an important control limiting wildfire growth.

TBA...