Three of Alaska’s Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) – the Arctic, Western Alaska, and Aleutian and Bering Sea LCCs – initiated a collaborative effort to develop tools, information and strategies to help resource managers, local decision-makers and communities better respond to the changes and challenges facing coastal Alaska communities in the face of climate change. Agnew::Beck was hired to facilitate and help coordinate this effort. The project included four regional workshops in Nome (Bering Strait), Kotzebue (Northwest Arctic), King Salmon (Bristol Bay), and Unalaska (Aleutian and Pribilof Islands) that brought a mix of resource managers, local decision-makers, researchers and agency representatives to discuss the changes that are currently happening in each region and strategies for adapting to those changes. An adaptation toolbox was created with curated information about climate change relevant to Alaska as well as response strategies, tools, and resources identified through the project. This effort grew into Adapt Alaska, which began with a two-day work session in which a group of tribal, state, and federal agency representatives gathered to determine ways to continue the momentum built during the four workshops. The initial work-session led to working groups that explored topics such as streamlined adaptation planning and communication standards for maintaining a greater balance between indigenous and scientific knowledge. A website (www.adaptalaska.org) was created to house the information curated through the effort, share successful adaptation stories, and continue to build momentum throughout the state for resilience and adaptation to climate change.
