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Description We all depend upon rural resources for food, water, fiber, and our economy. Extreme weather impacts rural lands and small towns but often is not addressed due to a lack of resources. Climate change accelerates the frequency and intensity of many extreme events. In the last few years, raging wildfires in the West and unprecedented flooding in the heartland have devastated forests, farms, fisheries, and watersheds. It is vital to meet the unique challenges and opportunities in rural, underserved jurisdictions. Complicating this challenge, political interests often do not align with addressing climate change per se. 

The Resilient Rural America Project (RRAP) is creating a series of training modules in partnership with rural leaders to serve their needs. In recent surveys, rural leaders identified extreme weather as their primary concern; the surveys also show existing planning processes as their preferred means to prepare for extreme weather. This webinar reviews RRAP’s approach to integrating extreme weather resilience into local comprehensive planning through risk assessment and implementation of practical resilience strategies. 

The training mainstreams the Steps to Resilience into rural planning using selected resources from the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit, EcoAdapt, Geos Institute, and the Model Forest Policy Program. Webinar participants will gain a greater understanding of the importance of rural resilience, the barriers rural communities face, and new ways to advance rural resilience strategies. 

 Speakers:Gwen Griffith, Model Forest Policy Program Ned Gardiner, NOAA Climate Program Office

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