Climate and Energy Action Plan (CEAP)

CLIMATE TRENDS & PRO JECTIONS | CITY OF ASHLAND, OREGON | FINAL REPORT | 9 groups, indigenous peoples, children and pregnant women, older adults, outdoor workers, persons with disabilities, and persons with chron ic medical conditions (Crimmins et al., 2016). Built Infrastructure: Urban infrastructure and transportation systems will be increasingly compr omised by climate change impacts ( Cutter et al., 2014; Schwartz et al., 2014 ). Infrastructure that is past its d esign age and interdependent on other systems is particularly vulnerable to climate extreme events (Cutter et al., 2014). A warming climate can accelerate asphalt deterior ation, cause pavement and rail line buckling, and stress expansion joints on bridges and highways (Schwartz et al., 2014). Forest Ecosystems: The combined impact of increasing wildfire, insect outbreaks, and tree diseases are already causing widespread tree die -off and are likely to cause additional forest mortality and long -term transform ation of the forest landscape (Mote et al., 2014). Forest vegetation changes , such as a shift from conifer to mixed forests (Sheehan et al., 2015), could affect the local timber economy (Mote et al., 2014). Water -Related Challenges: Changes in streamflow timing and amount related to changing snowmelt will reduce the supply of water for many competing demands , such as irrigation, municipal and industrial use, hydropower production, and aquatic habitat preservation, potentially causing ecological and socioeconom ic consequences such as water shortages, complex tradeoffs in water allocations , and threatening of salmon and other freshwater species (Mote et al., 2014). In addition, warming, increasing winter precipitation, and more extreme precipitation will likely increase flood risk (Mote et al., 2014).