Assessing Park Staff Perceptions and Use of Climate Futures
Bennett N and Carr W . 2026. Assessing Park Staff Perceptions and Use of Climate Futures. Science Report. NPS/SR—2026/427. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/2317724
As climate change continues to impact national parks across the country, park staff require resources that identify potential future climate conditions so they can plan and manage despite uncertainty. The National Park Service (NPS) Climate Change Response Program (CCRP) provides parks with downscaled, park-specific, forward-looking climate change information – called climate futures – alongside guidance on using these projections to inform planning and decision making. CCRP staff partnered with social scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder to conduct semi-structured interviews with 24 NPS staff at five different park units actively engaged in planning processes. The goal of the study was to learn what park staff thought about the climate futures information, how they used it for planning, and how CCRP can improve information delivery. Based on interview findings, this report outlines recommendations that CCRP staff and collaborators can incorporate to improve climate futures reports and presentations. The intended audience for this report includes CCRP staff, as well as climate scientists and communications staff across the NPS and our sister agencies in the Department of the Interior and beyond who utilize climate data for planning.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Bennett, Natalie; Carr, Wylie
- Date of Issue
- 2026-04
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- DOI
- 10.36967/2317724
- Units
- NRSS
- Keywords
- climate change, climate futures, science communication