Colorado State University, the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS), the John Prince Research Forest, University of Northern British Columbia, University of Northern Arizona, and Natural Resources Canada will be hosting a virtual climate change adaptation workshop for partners working on the ecology and management of sub-boreal spruce forests in Northern B.C. This workshop will be held virtually on June 9 and 10, 2021. There will also be an opportunity for broader partner engagement on June 2, prior to the workshop. 

This workshop is part of a project titled the Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change (ASCC) Network, which is a collaborative effort between managers and scientists working to establish a series of experimental trials across a network of diverse forest ecosystem types throughout North America. Each trial is focused on understanding and evaluating management options designed to enable forests to respond to a changing climate. Site-specific treatments are developed according to local conditions and tailored to meet site-specific management objectives, while at the same time aligning under a common framework for answering questions about how different forest types will respond to future climate.

Workshop Goals:

Our workshop focused on sub-boreal spruce forests at the John Prince Research Forest will serve two primary purposes:

• Introduce natural resource managers to conceptual tools and approaches that help integrate climate change into on-the-ground planning and decision-making processes. This day of the workshop will be on Wednesday, June 2, and partners from agencies neighboring and collaborating with the John Prince Research Forest may receive an invitation for just this day. 
• Engage managers and scientists in the Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change (ASCC) co-development framework to create a suite of adaptive experimental silvicultural treatments at the John Prince Research Forest in sub-boreal spruce stands to be part of the ASCC Network, and begin defining research and monitoring questions as part of the Northern B.C. sub-boreal spruce ASCC installation. This effort will be undertaken on June 9 & 10, 2021.