PORT ANGELES — The North Olympic Peninsula already has experienced the effects of climate change, and measures can be taken now to prepare for future changes.
That’s the conclusion of a report by the North Olympic Peninsula Resource Conservation & Development Council that will be presented to the public tonight.
The Climate Change Preparedness Plan for the North Olympic Peninsula report — some 200 pages with its appendixes — will be presented at 6 p.m. at the Port Angeles Library at 2210 S. Peabody St.
The presentation — which will cover material relevant to the commercial waterfront and urban development — will include data, strategy recommendations and time for questions.
The report, compiled with participation from a variety of experts in Clallam and Jefferson counties, tells of impacts such as sea level rise, increases in forest fires, flooding and ocean acidification effects on shellfish.
It also includes a set of recommended strategies for decision-makers to prepare for the changes.
Public presentations were made in Port Townsend at the end of October.
“The Pacific Northwest is already experiencing drier summers, reductions in snowpack and glacial mass, higher spring and lower summer river flows, and a more acidic ocean,” according to the report, which can be found at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-climatechangereport.
Not isolated incidences
“These are not isolated incidents, but part of a larger regional and global trend of changing climate conditions that is driven primarily by human activity,” the report continues, citing the 2014 National Climate Assessment by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which says the major cause of global warming is emissions of heat-trapping gases, mainly from burning coal, oil and gas.
The report on the Peninsula is the final product of a project that included input from scientists, tribes, government jurisdictions, public utility districts, ports, environmental groups, educators, private industry, state agencies and land use planners and resource managers from forestry, agriculture and fisheries from Jefferson and Clallam counties.
“The evidence supporting climate change is overwhelming, and unfortunately, the indicators are all around us,” said Project Manager Cindy Jayne, chairwoman of the Port Townsend/Jefferson County Climate Action Committee.
“Here in the North Olympic Peninsula, the long-term projections are for warmer, wetter winters and warmer, drier summers, and recent events such as the 2015 reduced snowpack and drought, with its resultant forest fires, low summer river flows and low water supplies, are consistent with this.”
The state Department of Commerce provided a $152,000 grant to the North Olympic Peninsula Resource Conservation & Development Council to manage the project in 2014-15 with the goal of creating policy recommendations for consideration in comprehensive plans and strategic planning, said Kate Dean, coordinator of the group, who wrote the grant application.
The plan compiles the most recent data from the University of Washington’s Climate Impact Group, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, the National Climate Assessment and other research, as well as local research by Ian Miller of Peninsula College/Washington Sea Grant and consultants from Adaptation International, Dean said.
Impacts on Peninsula
It says the most noticeable impacts of climate change on the Peninsula likely will include:
■ A diminishing snowpack, lowering the region’s summer river flow and extending the summer drought season.
■ Shifts in the timing and type of precipitation, creating rain-on-snow at times and unseasonably high stream flows that scour river bottoms and flood lowland areas.
■ Ongoing sea level rise, driving coastal flooding, saltwater inundation and enhanced shoreline erosion.
■ Extended warm temperatures, which result in increased river water temperatures, enhanced wildfire risk, decreased soil moisture and stressed forests through disease and insect outbreaks.
■ Increasing ocean acidification, which threatens shellfish, from the ongoing absorption of human emissions of carbon dioxide.
Jayne initiated the project by requesting the North Olympic Peninsula Resource Conservation & Development Council seek funding for preparedness planning for the region because of its vulnerability to climate change impacts, Dean said.
“We were able to pull together a divergent group of people from around the Peninsula and identify the shared vulnerabilities and values of this place,” Dean said.
“Our connections to the shorelines, the forests and farms, local businesses and landmarks were palpable, and we had people from all over the political spectrum saying that it is our responsibility to be planning now to protect them.”
For more information, contact Dean at info@noprcd.org or 360-301-1750.
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Executive Editor Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3530 or at lleach@peninsuladailynews.com.
