Among the many effects of human-driven climate change is rising seas. Warmer water takes up more space, and melting or receding polar ice sheets add water to the oceans. Meanwhile, a warmer atmosphere also leads to more destructive coastal storms. Communities worldwide are adapting by moving away from vulnerable shores.
Many Tribes in Washington and Oregon call coastal areas home, meaning they are especially affected by climate change. They also face changes in wildfire risk and in changes to fisheries that are economically and culturally important.
A report led by the University of Washington's Climate Impacts Group, the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, and Washington Sea Grant compiles the experiences of Washington and Oregon coastal Tribes as they prepare for climate change. The report aims to build on successes and identify common barriers to progress.
"Every year the climate crisis continues to elevate and accelerate. The lack of a coordinated federal response is what causes Northwest coastal Tribes - and other coastal communities - to suffer from hazards which are imminently impacting life, property, Tribal rights and resources," said project co-lead Amelia Marchand of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians. "With direct quotes from Tribal citizens and staff with lived personal and professional experiences, [this report] describes the immediate urgency of the federal government to take coordinated climate action."
"Climate adaptation barriers and needs experienced by Northwest coastal Tribes: Key findings from Tribal listening sessions" is freely available online
Related: "Pacific Northwest tribes are battered by climate change but fight to get money meant to help them" – The Associated Press
Results will be shared with Northwest coastal Tribes and other governmental and nongovernmental entities.
"The report is based on listening sessions with Northwest coastal Tribes, and summarizes the barriers and unmet needs they face in their efforts to prepare for climate change," said project co-lead Meade Krosby, who is director of the UW-based Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center and senior scientist at the UW Climate Impacts Group.
The project team held six Tribal listening sessions, each 2.5 hours long, in varying formats. Three listening sessions took place during Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians conferences already attended by many Northwest coastal Tribal members. Two sessions were held virtually, and one was hosted by an individual Tribal Nation. Participants in each session met in small groups and shared information with each other and with a moderator.
All participants had the choice of making their comments public or not, and of contributing anonymously or under their name. Researchers later coded all the contributions and summarized the overall findings. Contributions represented 13 Tribal nations, roughly half of the federally recognized Tribes within the study's coastal regions. The overall findings include:
- Despite being national leaders in climate adaptation, Northwest coastal Tribes face significant needs in realizing their adaptation goals
- Key barriers and unmet needs centered in five areas: funding, staffing, technical expertise, partnerships and communications
- Successful efforts noted strengths in many of these same areas, such as securing external funding, the dedication of Tribal staff, and building robust partnerships
Participants described specific situations and frustrations, including the piecemeal nature of federal funding; challenges recruiting and retaining key staff; potential partners' lack of familiarity with Tribal processes and priorities; and establishing stable support for long-term initiatives.
This map shows federally recognized Tribes located on Washington and Oregon's coasts, as well as Washington's inland marine waters. The dots are located on the Tribes' administrative centers. Forty participants representing 13 coastal Tribes, roughly half the total number of Tribes within the study area, participated in Tribal listening sessions.Meade Krosby/University of Washington
Participants' quotes included:
"If you just looked at the total amount of Tribal land, you'd say: 'Well, there's lots of places that the Tribe can move,' but if you take away all the places that are sacred or culturally significant, or habitat for important species, or landslide hazard, or some other hazard, the options are diminished. We must also be careful not to move away from one hazard into another. How bad would it be if we move away from the shoreline, and we put ourselves in harm's way for fire?"
- Robert Knapp, environmental planning manager and climate resilience lead, Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe
"Some of the challenges that we face on the coast are due to the magnitude of some of the projects that we need to undertake. For example, we are in the midst of relocating our two main Quinault villages on the Washington coast. That's a multimillion-dollar, multi-agency effort … It's very difficult to integrate our plans and priorities for village relocation with those of the agencies and constrains on available funding."
- Gary Morishima, natural resources technical advisor, Quinault Indian Nation
"To build capacity we need funding sources that are long-term, that we can say to Tribal leadership: 'We know we're going to have funding for five or six years, so we want to hire this person who's an engineer, who's a project manager, who can take on these projects, talk to other [external] engineers, and who can make these projects happen.'"
- Rochelle Blankenship, Tribal council member and executive director, Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe
The report concludes: "While these findings do not fully represent the depth and breadth of [the challenges faced by Northwest coastal Tribes] and what is required to address them, we hope they will help build awareness among funders, policymakers, climate service providers and others to mobilize necessary action in support of the climate adaptation efforts of Northwest coastal Tribes."
In related upcoming work, the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative's Tribal Coastal Resilience effort at the UW was awarded $3.4 million as part of a $75.6 million NOAA award to support coastal readiness in Washington state.
The grant will support hiring a full-time climate adaptation specialist to provide technical assistance to Northwest coastal Tribes, Krosby said. That person will also coordinate a small grants program that will distribute most of the funds to Tribes to support their adaptation efforts. The grants program was designed to respond to Tribal priorities without imposing barriers that often make funds difficult to apply for and administer. Awards will be made starting in 2025.
"We're really excited that this is happening at the same time our report is coming out," Krosby said. "So it's not just describing the problem. It's also: Here, let's bring some resources to bear based on what we learned."
The listening sessions and report were also funded by NOAA. Other co-authors are Ryan Hasert at the UW Climate Impacts Group; Kylie Avery at the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians; and Chandler Countryman and Melissa Poe at Washington Sea Grant. The project's Tribal advisory group and report reviewers include representatives from the Makah, Tulalip, Coquille, Squaxin Island, Swinomish and Quinault Tribes and the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.
