U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

Overview

The USGS is a science organization that provides impartial information on the health of our ecosystems and environment, the natural hazards that threaten us, the natural resources we rely on, the impacts of climate and land-use change, and the core science systems that help us provide timely, relevant, and useable information.

The National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs) work with natural and cultural resource managers to gather the scientific information and build the tools needed to help fish, wildlife and ecosystems adapt to the impacts of climate change.

The USGS National Climate Adaptation Science Center (NCASC) is the managing entity for the eight regional Department of the Interior Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs). Climate change is creating novel challenges for our nation’s resource managers, decision-makers, and communities. Together, the National and Regional CASCs provide resource managers and other stakeholders with information and decision-making tools to respond to the effects of climate change on fish, wildlife, ecosystems, and the communities they support. Through close collaboration with managers and scientists inside and outside of government, the CASCs deliver science to address stakeholder-defined priority climate needs. 

The Regional CASCs

Our network is comprised of eight regional CASCs, formerly named the Climate Science Centers, covering the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawai'i, and U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands. Each CASC is based out of a host university in their region and most are comprised of multi-institution consortia, which include university and non-university partners. Learn more about the CASCs here.

The National CASC

NCASC, formerly named the National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center, is based at the U.S. Geological Survey headquarters in Reston, Virginia. Projects led by NCASC often cross the regional CASC boundaries to examine climate change impacts at a multi-regional or national level. Examples include a project exploring the impacts of drought on natural resources across the country and a project examining the impacts of climate change on migratory waterbirds. Learn more about NCASC projects here.