—  Refugia In the NORTHCENTRAL US—

The North Central states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas, are home to a diverse range of habitat and species, all uniquely impacted by climate change.

Riparian Refugia

Riparian areas are lands that border bodies of water. Their proximity to water and the biodiversity created by vegetation and diverse landscape features make them important habitats for many species. Subsequently, these areas are becoming increasingly important in conservation efforts and are being considered as climate change refugia. 

To learn what information was most needed to help integrate climate-informed planning into their State Wildlife Action Plans, wildlife managers from 7 states met virtually in 2021 and 2022. They unanimously identified riparian areas as the most important landscape feature to obtain vulnerability and resilience information about (Szcodronski et al., 2022). Despite the prevalence of riverine areas, riparian refugia came up as a conservation priority due to water scarcity in the West and because over 80% of species in the western United States utilize riparian areas (Szcodronski et al., 2022). 

Looking to impact conservation efforts within the North Central U.S. as State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs) are being finalized,  Blake Hossack, research zoologist with the USGS Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Sarah Burton, data scientist with the North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center, and Kimberly Szcodronski, SWAP Coordinator in the Wildlife Division of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, were on the case. They mapped areas with connected riparian habitats that, based on landscape diversity and projected changes in summer temperatures and landscape runoff, were expected to serve as climate refugia (Szcodronski et al., 2024).

The Climate Futures Toolbox from North Central CASC was used to extract climate variables, and landscape diversity data were obtained from the US Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy. The resulting index of suitable areas was then used to create an ArcGIS dashboard that allows users to explore the implications of different data combinations and scenarios on demand. Through the dashboard, managers can zoom in to certain areas and evaluate the state of the refugia at different periods of time. The raw data files, including spatial files and geo databases, were also released for those who have the capacity and ability to work with the data in that form.

Though recognized for their crucial role in ecosystem function and conservation, riparian refugia are not often incorporated into climate adaptation planning. This research will help planners and managers to identify these areas and work to protect and restore them, now and into the future.