Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences co-hosted a workshop in early July to develop climate change adaptation strategies for the state of Vermont.

 

The event was organized for the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources and run in collaboration with the National Wildlife Federation.

 

“This was a good start for Vermont at tackling climate change,” said Andy Whitman, Director of Manomet’s Natural Capital Initiative. “In the early stages, adaptation is as much about understanding climate change and its unique uncertainties as it is about planning and carrying out actions that increase resilience. It was good to see over 60 agency staff and Vermont stakeholders come to grips with the issues.”

 

The workshop was held at the Statehouse Building in Montpelier, and focused on natural communities and species of special concern.

 

According to Whitman, Vermont has begun developing adaptation strategies and engaging stakeholders. The goal of the workshop was to educate agency staff and key stakeholders about climate change vulnerability and to begin to assess the vulnerability of different ecosystems.

 

More than 60 stakeholders and agency staff members attended, including Manomet alumni Sacha Pealer (Vermont Agency of Natural Resources) and Chris Rimmer (Vermont Center for Ecostudies).

 

– Dave McGlinchey