Alaska
Regional scoping workshop held June 3-6, 1997. A web site is available, and the final report is posted. The principal regional investigators are in the process of planning the regional assessment and have produced a brochure explaining global change in Alaska. Sectors in which impacts may have an important impact include: fisheries, coastal zones, sea level rise, permafrost thawing, socio-economic impacts, and construction and infrastructure.

Appalachians
Regional scoping workshop held May 26-29, 1998 in Morgantown, West Virginia. The web site has been established, and workshop organizers are currently working on the workshop report. Some of the main issues in this region include: impacts of global change on forests, air quality, energy, agriculture, water resources, commerce, and human health and communities.

California
Regional scoping workshop held March 9-11, 1998 in Santa Barbara, California. Sectors of principal importance in the region include water resources, coastal impacts, urban centers, and agriculture. The principal investigators would like to hold a meeting on each of these sectors to further explore impacts. They are also interested in researching the following topics in the assessment: integrated regional impacts modeling, ecological systems impacts assessment, communities and infrastructure impacts assessment, and business and economic impacts.

Southern Atlantic Coast/Caribbean
Regional scoping workshop held from July 21-23, 1998 in Miami, Florida. A web site is available. The principal investigators are expecting a minimum of 75 participants from Southern Florida, coastal Georgia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and coastal South and North Carolina. They are working to attract a diversity of stakeholders from many industries and communities. Key issues include sea level rise and coastal impacts, water resources, climate variability and extreme weather events, impacts on marine ecosystems, human health impacts and climate change and islands.

Eastern Midwest
Regional scoping workshop was held June 29-30, 1998 in Indianapolis, Indiana. A web site is available. Agriculture, forestry, energy and manufacturing and construction are some of the most important industries in the region and were the focus of the workshop breakout groups.

Great Lakes
Regional scoping workshop held May 5-7, 1998 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Issues addressed in workshop breakout groups included: agriculture, water resources, land and water ecology, human health, governance and education, economy, commerce, and infrastructure. Details of the workshop may be viewed via the workshop web site.

Great Plains-Central
Building upon the regional scoping workshop held May 27-29, 1997, the Central Great Plains principal regional investigators have submitted an assessment work plan which details a quantitative assessment covering all of the Great Plains and Great Basin regions. They have also established an Advisory Executive Committee and plan to establish a regional assessment synthesis team. The principal regional investigators are also supporting the NIGEC assessment efforts that will build information bases for the Great Plains, Midwest, Southeast, and south central regions. Main issues in the region which the assessment will focus on include water resources, agricultural land use and adaptation, ranching and rangeland production systems, and conservation.

Great Plains-Northern
Regional scoping workshop was held November 5-7, 1997 in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The final report is now available on the web site. Main issues in the region include agriculture, water resources, extreme weather events
such as the flooding of the Red River in 1997, and the impact of climate change on protected lands.

Great Plains-Southern
Regional scoping workshop will be held September 14-16, 1998 in Austin, Texas. A proposed agenda has been submitted and distributed to the USDA Global Change Task Force members for consideration
and a steering team has been established. The workshop will focus strongly on agriculture.

Gulf Coast
Regional scoping workshop held February 25-27, 1998 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A web site is available. The principal regional investigators are in the early stages of planning the assessment, which will be based at Southern University. Main issues in the region include sea level rise and wetlands, fisheries, ecosystems, human health, socio-economic impacts, and agriculture.

Hawaii and Pacific Islands
Regional scoping workshop held March 3-6, 1998 in Honolulu, Hawaii. A web site is available. Representatives from Guam, the Samoan Islands, the Fiji Islands, and the Micronesia Islands attended as well as those in the Hawaiian Islands. Breakout groups focused on fisheries, tourism and recreation, biodiversity, water resources, infrastructure, agriculture, and public health and safety.

Metropolitan East Coast
Regional scoping meeting held March 23-24, 1998 in New York City. This workshop was unique in focusing on an urban perspective. Breakout groups included resource demands, infrastructure, ecosystem services effects, and
institutions, policies and regulations.

Middle-Atlantic
Regional scoping workshop held September 9-11, 1998 in State College, Pennsylvania. The workshop report is available on the web site. An Assessment Steering Committee meeting was held June 8-9, 1998, and the assessment team has begun a quantitative assessment which will include some original research. Important issues in the region include: impacts on water resources, impacts on ecosystems, and socio-economic implications and responses.

New England
Regional scoping workshop held September 3-5, 1997. The final report is available on the web site, and the principal investigators are developing a newsletter. The regional participants are also planning a series of follow-on seminars on forestry, the ski industry, and insurance. Main issues of focus in the region include: forests and biodiversity, tourism and recreation, water quality and fisheries, and health and air quality.

Pacific Northwest
Regional scoping workshop held July 14-16, 1997, and the final report is available on the web site. The principal regional investigators are now formulating an assessment plan and will be using a range of climate scenarios. Key issues in the region include water quality and supply, coasts, forests, and marine ecosystems.

Rocky Mountains and Great Basin
Regional scoping workshop held February 16-18, 1998. They plan to complete the proceedings from the workshop within the next two months. Principal regional investigators are currently forming the Regional Assessment Team. Important issues in the region include water, agriculture, energy, and recreation and tourism.

Southeast
Regional scoping workshop held June 25-27, 1997, and the workshop report is available on the web site. Three sectors have been chosen for in-depth assessment in this region: agriculture, forests and forest products, and
the economic consequences of coastal hazards such as storm surges, excessive flooding, and landfall hurricanes. Along with the these three sectors, principal regional investigators will also focus on two cross-cutting sectors: air quality and water.

Southwest-Colorado River Basin
Regional scoping workshop held September 3-5, 1997. The final report for this workshop can be accessed on the web page. The principal regional investigators are in the process of contacting candidate assessment team members and steering committee members. Key sectors in this region include the impacts on water resources, natural ecosystems, ranching, agriculture, environmental health, disaster management, transboundary issues, and Native
American lands as well as education.

Southwest-Rio Grande River Basin
Regional scoping workshop held March 2-4, 1998. A web site is available. The principal investigators in this region are in the process of submitting a proposal to NASA to complete its assessment activities, and plan to coordinate with the other regions in its area. Main impacts issues include: agriculture, water resources, drought preparedness and management, environmental education, regional and urban air quality, and human health.

Native Peoples/Native Homelands
The Workshop is scheduled for October 29-November 1, 1998 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Workshop coordinators are working to include a diversity of Native American stakeholders from throughout the U.S.

Agriculture
The scope of this sector includes how the rate and volume of food production will be affected through increased or decreased rainfall, climate variability and change, including changes in pest extent, as well as the socioeconomic effects of agriculture impacts. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will sponsor this sector, which will focus on the sustainability of U.S. agriculture, while also recognizing impacts on local producers.

Coastal Areas/Marine Resources
The coastal sector will assess a wide range of impacts of climate variability and change on the shorelines of the United States including the impacts of sea level rise, salt water intrusion, and coastal erosion. These impacts will be considered in relation to the heavy and rapid development and population influxes into coastal areas. NOAA is sponsoring this sectoral study.

Forests
The forest sector covers public and private forested lands and will focus on forest ecosystems as well as ecosystem goods and services. The U. S. Forest Service is sponsoring this sectoral study.

Health
Human health may be affected both directly and indirectly by climate variability and change. EPA and NIH will be sponsoring this sectoral study. The assessment will be quantitative with some original research and is expected to begin in early July. Formal letters of invitation have been sent to perspective sectoral assessment team members. The team is tentatively planning a meeting for November to solicit stakeholder input.

Water
Water is a cross-cutting sector which affects many other sectors. DOI is serving as the agency sponsor. Sectoral assessment members have been identified and formal letters of invitation have been sent to members. An implementation plan has been drafted. The first meeting of the team was held July 2 in Reston, Virginia. The team will hold a workshop September 14-16 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Representatives from the regions will be asked to participate as well as team members from other sectors.

Also available: Contact information and regional and sector web sites.

Sector Notes