ECOnorthwest led an interdisciplinary team to help the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) develop a Climate Resilience Dashboard. The ECOnorthwest team has been working with TRPA and their partners to evaluate and select climate-related metrics that consider the relevancy and quality of the data, ease and cost of data collection, while ensuring the metrics are comprehensive and help to describe the potential co-benefits related to equity, health and safety, the economy, and the environment. This new and improved online climate resilience dashboard will help tell the story of climate resilience in the region. We provided a conceptual design for the dashboard, engaged stakeholders, and evaluated a set of metrics proposed for inclusion on the dashboard.
The dashboard, funded by the California Tahoe Conservancy and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), helps to monitor and record progress on climate action strategies that will help guide the long-term health of the Lake Tahoe watershed and the safety of its communities.
As Tahoe’s climate changes—and extreme weather events such as wildfire and prolonged drought become more common—regional governments, residents, and visitors to the region will need to implement and practice resilience strategies. The dashboard tracks progress across four goals and 14 outcomes, including Air Quality and Extreme Heat, Wildfire Resilience, Renewable Energy, Economic Resilience, Access to Housing, Lake Conditions, Transportation, and Equitable Protection. Clicking through the dashboard gives you access to metrics and data, recommended actions, and resilience strategies for each of the 14 outcomes.
“Lake Tahoe is already experiencing the impacts of climate change and we must keep making progress as a region to confront emerging threats to the lake and reduce the vulnerability of our communities,” TRPA Executive Director Julie Regan said. “Science, research, and data are essential for decision makers, residents, and property owners to lead the region into a more resilient climate future.”
