Abstract

The purpose of the Lummi Nation Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Plan: 2016-2026 (CCMAP) is to evaluate the potential impacts of anthropogenic climate change on the Lummi Indian Reservation (Reservation), Lummi Usual and Accustomed Grounds and Stations (U&A), and Lummi Traditional Territories and to present both mitigation strategies that may reduce the causes of climate change and adaptation strategies that may minimize climate change impacts that cannot be avoided.

The goal of the CCMAP is to identify the potential impacts of climate change on the natural, social, and built systems of the Reservation and identify actions to minimize the causes of climate change and damages from climate change impacts that cannot be avoided. This goal will be attained through the achievement of the following objectives:

1. Review existing climate change impacts assessments and scientific literature relevant to the Puget Sound region to evaluate projected climate change impacts on the Reservation.
2. Assess the vulnerability of the natural systems (i.e., water resources, coastal resources, forest resources, and fish, wildlife, and traditional use plants), social systems (i.e., human health, emergency services, and cultural resources), and built systems (i.e., land use, transportation, and utilities) on the Reservation to climate change impacts.
3. Develop a range of mitigation and adaptation strategies that may be implemented to reduce identified vulnerabilities and make the Reservation and the Lummi Nation more resilient to climate change.

The key recommendations for implementing climate mitigation and adaption actions on the Reservation that will protect public health and the environment are:

Establish and maintain a Climate Preparedness Committee with, at a minimum, one representative from the LIBC, the Natural Resources Department, the Planning and Public Works Department, and the Cultural Resources Department and two representatives from the General Council to provide guidance and oversight in climate mitigation and adaptation planning. Committee membership may be expanded to include additional tribal institutions as is deemed necessary or desirable, for instance the Police Department, the Lummi Tribal Health Center, the Lummi Tribal Sewer and Water District (LTSWD), the Lummi Commercial Company (LCC), the Lummi Housing Authority (LHA), the Northwest Indian College (NWIC), and others may also be considered.

1. Provide community education and outreach to increase awareness of and preparation for climate change impacts and engender community support for climate mitigation and adaption.
2. Focus initial efforts in climate mitigation and adaptation on the following high priority
3. items as determined from the core concepts for strategy development:
   • Improve building-, behavior-, and transportation-related energy efficiency.
   • Improve emergency preparedness planning and response capabilities.
   • Implement flood risk reduction measures.
   • Implement wildfire risk reduction measures.
   • Reduce existing stressors to salmon populations.
   • Improve water quality in shellfish harvest areas.
   • Restore and protect instream flow in the Nooksack River basin.
   • Protect the potable groundwater systems on and adjacent to the Reservation.
4. Further refine and prioritize climate mitigation and adaptation strategies for implementation based on guidance of the Climate Preparedness Planning Committee, community feedback, the recommendations of this report, and other vulnerability assessments as appropriate.
5. Identify and obtain funding to implement selected mitigation and adaptation strategies and determine which tribal entity will be responsible for implementation.