Capacity Building for Tribal Communities: An Example of a Community-Led Social-Ecological-Climate Partnership in the Northern Plains

"The Northern Plains region of the U.S. has experienced rapid swings in extreme" "climate events recently, such as the floods of 2011, drought of 2012-‐2013, and t" "he Atlas Blizzard of 2013. These high impact events have deleterious effects on communities and livelihoods in a primarily agricultural-‐based economy. In particular, the area is especially susceptible to drought given the arid climate conditions and competition for water resources. Tribal lands cover large portions of the region and the adaptive capacity for tribes is challenged as much, if not more, than other rural populations. A new effort is underway to support tribal leadership, natural resource managers, and associated communities to better prepare for and respond to extreme climatic events, with a particular focus on drought and water resources management. The work is being carried out by a consortium of partners from the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, Colorado State University/North Central Climate Science Center, National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-‐Lincoln, NOAA High Plains Regional Climate Center, NOAA National Integrated Drought Information System, NOAA National Climatic Data Center, and the USDA Northern Plains Climate Hub, among others. This initiative represents a tribal community-‐led interdisciplinary social-‐ecological-‐climate sciences collaborative effort bringing together resources and expertise at the local, regional, and national level to support tribal decision makers and enhance capacity to adapt in the face of climate" "extremes."