Indigenous-led climate adaptation strategies: integrating landscape condition, monitoring, and cultural fire with the north fork mono tribeindigenous peoples and nations are on the front lines of…

The University of Arizona was awarded a $248,291 cooperative agreement from the U.S. Geological Survey under the National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers program to support Indigenous-led climate adaptation strategies with the North Fork Mono Tribe. Over a two-year period ending in February 2024, the project will integrate Indigenous cultural burning practices with landscape monitoring to advance climate adaptation across jurisdictions. Deliverables include collaborative application of cultural burning and other ecosystem restoration techniques; pre- and post-burn vegetation monitoring; a climate vulnerability assessment of tribal lands; and identification of Indigenous land managers to integrate adaptation strategies. The University of California, Davis serves as a sub-awardee to support research efforts. The funding advances partnerships between tribes, communities, and the Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center to strengthen application of Indigenous approaches to climate adaptation.

Indigenous-led climate adaptation strategies: integrating landscape condition, monitoring, and cultural fire with the north fork mono tribeindigenous peoples and nations are on the front lines of climate change impacts, yet they are also leading the way in innovative adaptation action, such as in the use of traditional burning for ecosystem health and building cultural resilience. The overarching goal of this project is to understand and contribute to targeted decision-making that facilitates the application of indigenous climate adaptation strategies, including but not limited to cultural burning. Indigenous traditional burning may be applied singularly, or as a complementary approach with other ecosystem restoration practices, such as thinning and prescribed burning. Focusing on collaboration with the north fork mono tribe, this project supports the following deliverables: (1) collaborative, multi-partner efforts applying indigenous climate adaptation techniques across jurisdictions, including but not limited to cultural burning; (2) vegetation monitoring pre- and post-cultural burns; (3) a climate vulnerability and risk assessment of indigenous public domain allotment lands; and (4) a multi-stage effort to identify and support indigenous land managers of lands in diverse jurisdictions to integrate indigenous climate adaptation strategies, including but not limited to cultural burning. This project advances partnerships between the southwest climate adaptation science center (SW casc) and tribal nations and communities, particularly the north fork mono tribe, in addition to strengthening relationships between tribal members, communities, and nations that apply indigenous climate adaptation strategies. This project is a collaborative effort between the USGS, the university of arizona (SW casc), tribal communities in california, and the university of california, davis, who will lead project research efforts.