Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center
A regional collaboration helping fish, water, wildlife, land and people adapt to a changing climate.
Research Program
Addressing Resource Challenges in the Midwest
The Midwest is facing significant challenges related to climate change, including more frequent and more intense flooding and drought, the loss of winter and altered wildlife habitat. The Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (CASC) pursues science that state, federal, local, and Tribal decision-makers can use to effectively manage resources in a changing world.
A collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Midwest CASC is made up of a consortium of research institutions hosted by the University of Minnesota Twin Cities at the Institute on the Environment. Additional partner institutions include College of Menominee Nation, Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission, Indiana University, Michigan State University, The Nature Conservancy, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Minnesota Duluth and University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Funding
U.S. Geological Survey
Project Leads
Executive Director
Department of Environment, Sustainability & Geography
Associate Professor, Department of Forest Resources; Affiliate Faculty, Department of American Indian Studies
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology
Research Assistant
Communications Manager
Program Manager
Driven by partnership
The Midwest CASC was launched in 2021 as part of a national network of USGS Climate Adaptation Science Centers. These Centers share a broad mission – to help fish, wildlife, water, land and people adapt to a changing climate – and each works to address region-specific climate issues.
As a partnership-driven program, the Midwest CASC emphasizes the co-production of knowledge, in which researchers, practitioners and the public work together to facilitate the visioning, implementation and generation of knowledge. This approach supports that science is responsive to the needs of those on the ground and designed to be put into action.
In addition to conducting and supporting research, the Midwest CASC consortium of non-federal partners is working to catalyze adaptation capacity across the region in several ways, including by building a community of adaptation professionals who share key insights through conferences, workshops and other fora, and by connecting students and early career researchers to professional development and mentoring opportunities.
Meet the University Team
Ryan Bergstrom
Associate
Since 2017
Department of Environment, Sustainability & Geography
College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Michael Dockry
Fellow
Since 2020
Associate Professor, Department of Forest Resources; Affiliate Faculty, Department of American Indian Studies
College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences; College of Liberal Arts
Daniel Larkin
Fellow
Since 2023
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology
College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences
Since 2021, the Midwest CASC has built a regional community of scientists and practitioners to steward natural resources now and for generations to come. Together, we are smarter than the sum of our parts.
Learn more about the Midwest CASC.