People and Programs
Focused on Climate Science and Innovation
October 2012
Climate change has become one of the most important and contentiously debated global issues facing society today.
Research and innovation hub
As a hub of climate science research and innovation, Colorado State University was selected as the base for the North Central Climate Science Center, one of eight U.S. Department of the Interior Climate Science Centers established across the nation.
The new facility location is the latest addition to a growing and well-established legacy of ecological research leadership at CSU, including the Warner College of Natural Resources, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Center for Collaborative Conservation, School of Global and Environmental Sustainability, and other programs and initiatives in areas of water, soils, energy, and ecosystem sciences.
National effort focused on regional issues
Department of the Interior Deputy Secretary David Hayes spoke at the center's opening about the importance of natural and cultural resource conservation in the West and the impact of climate science research. The new center is dedicated to providing scientific information and resources to help natural resource managers understand, anticipate and adapt to impacts of climate change on critical natural, cultural, wildlife and agricultural resources.
"The center is a collaborative initiative to research and address some of the most important ecological issues related to climate change that are facing our region: the pine beetle infestation; habitat and behavior change of endangered species, such as the grey wolf or sage grouse; and energy, land and water sustainability,” said Dennis Ojima, NC CSC university director and professor and researcher at CSU’s Warner College of Natural Resources. “NC CSC is one part of a national effort to develop resource management strategies that are climate responsive and sustainable.”
