The Climate Crisis will have a signficant impact on communities across the West and around the world. Over the last few years, policy makers at the local, state and federal levels have begun to tackle this issue in earnest. 

Much of the focus has been on urban areas -- locations where opportunities for dramatic reductions in energy use exist. But, both urban and rural communities have a role to play if we are to effectively address the climate crisis.   

As illustrated in these power maps from the Ecosystem Workforce Program at the University of Oregon, navigating the policy environment related to climate change decision making is incredibly complex. Without dedicated staff or signficant support, many rural communities in the West will be excluded inadvertently from contributing solutions that address climate change.  

In February 2009, Sustainable Northwest and the Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition hosted a climate change policy training for participants in the Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition.  

We are excited to share that we recently partnered with the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, the University of Oregon's Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program, the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics to expand on this effort and create a training and forum focused on the needs and opportunities for Native American tribes in the Pacific Northwest to engage in climate change policy, planning and action.

The Tribal Climate Change Policy Training is designed to bring together tribal decision makers and staff from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Northern California who have an interest in learning about the technical aspects of climate change policy, as well as the opportunities that tribes have to engage in climate change policy and action at tribal, national, and international levels.

We hope this effort will compliment existing web-based resources to help identify and understand the opportunities for rural communities related to climate change.