Climate and Energy Action Plan (CEAP)

Strategies and Actions Strategy NS-1. Promote ecosystem resilience. Climate change has the potential to significantly disrupt local ecosystems by altering precipitation patterns, increasing average temperatures, and making extreme weather events more frequent and severe. These changes can affect a wide range of ecosystem features and functions, from causing fish die-offs to disrupting pollinators. Local government policies and actions will play a key role in protecting ecosystem elements from climate- related threats. PRIORITY ACTIONS NS-1-1. Manage forests to retain biodiversity, resilience, and ecosystem function and services in the face of climate change. Use best available science to inform fire management and planning to manage ecosystem health, community safety, and carbon storage. Responsible management of existing natural areas within and surrounding Ashland will bolster ecosystem health and prevent the breakdown of important ecosystem functions. The 2016 Ashland Forest Plan discusses these critical needs and considerations for City- owned forests in the context of a changing climate, and presents management approaches for balancing forest resilience, climate mitiga - tion, and other priorities. The Ashland Forest Resiliency Stewardship Project addresses forest resilience beyond City-owned properties through a plan that includes thinning smaller trees, reducing flammable fuels, and conduct - ing controlled burns. Through these activities and close monitoring, adaptive management, and incorporation of future climate change projections into forest management and planning, the City will address climate change threats ecosystem stability and public health and safety. NS-1-2. Use green infrastructure such as bioswales, permeable pavement, other pervious surfaces to reduce flood risk and minimize sediment entry into creeks from trails and roads. Runoff from rainwater and snowmelt can carry pollutants and sediment into ecologically sensitive waterways. Pollution due to runoff and flooding in urban areas will likely become a more common—and more serious—problem for Ashland as climate change alters precipitation patterns and increases the frequency of severe rainstorms. Green infrastructure allows water to infiltrate into the soil, reducing the amount of polluted runoff that flows into sensitive creeks, wetlands, and other waterways. The City should continue to promote green infra - structure where possible and consider green infrastructure as a default option for on-site stormwater management.C AdC Ad 84 ASHLAND CLIMATE & ENERGY ACTION PLANNATURAL SYSTEMS