SOUTHWEST FIRE AND CLIMATE ADAPTATION PARTNERSHIP (SWFireCAP)

SWFireCAP is an open and inclusive group of partners with a shared vision for working together to advance fire and climate adaptation in the southwestern US. We believe that the monumental task of effective climate adaptation requires cross-organization collaboration and leveraging of people, time, resources, and funding. Initiated by the Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center and the Southwest Fire Science Consortium, the SWFireCAP now has several partner organizations and is open to anyone interested in the intersection of climate change and fire in the Southwest.

Vision

Working together to advance fire and climate adaptation in the Southwest.

Guiding Principles

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Ecological processes and disturbances occur at the landscape scale, extending across multiple ownerships. To facilitate climate adaptation planning and implementation for southwestern ecosystems and the human communities they support, we need new and existing collaborative partnerships that extend across jurisdictions working towards similar goals. It is now more important than ever to build and maintain partnerships, engage, and learn how to effectively collaborate with state and federal agencies, tribes, and the public. By working together, sharing Indigenous and western knowledge perspectives, being inclusive, and building trust, we can co-develop consistent and effective fire-adapted climate adaptation practices and develop consistent and effective adaptation strategies across our southwestern landscapes.

SWFireCAP Brief

Rapid climate changes are altering ecosystems in the southwestern U.S. Climate change is already resulting in dramatic shifts in many ecosystems including mismatches in the timing of plant and wildlife lifecycle events, changes in species distributions and interactions between different species in a community, and alteration of fire and other disturbance regimes...

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ROUNDTABLES

SWFireCAP operates with self-governing roundtable teams, which are action-focused groups with the capacity to tackle one or multiple objectives and endure as long as there is energy, interest, and relevance.

On-the-ground Adaptation

This roundtable is focused on developing case study examples of on-the-ground fire and climate adaptation projects that are being implemented by practitioners. These case studies describe the project goals, team members, successes and challenges, and lessons learned. To develop these case studies, the roundtable has partnered with the Collaborative Conservation and Adaptation Strategy Toolbox. The group has also convened workshops (both virtual and in-person) to network with practitioners and learn what information they find to be most useful for their work.

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Cultural Burning

Cultural burning roundtable members are working towards expanding knowledge and the practice of cultural burning in the interior Southwest. The reincorporation of the traditional use of fire on the land can foster reconnection for Tribes to their lands and genuinely apply the “best available science” to guide management. Among other things, roundtable members have given presentations at events, convened sessions at conferences, and are working to coordinate workshops and webinars.

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SWAF 2021

Some roundtables are created for a specific purpose, then disband when the purpose is achieved. For example, the SWAF 2021 roundtable was created in anticipation of the all-virtual 2021 Southwest Adaptation Forum. The group planned activities for Day 3, creating opportunities for attendees to actively engage with practitioners, leaders, and researchers across topics related to fire management, cultural burning, and emerging initiatives throughout the region.