U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2010–3092

January 2011 Printed on recycled paper

Upper Colorado River Basin Climate Effects Network Background

The Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) Climate Effects Network 

(CEN) is a science team established to provide information to assist land managers in future decisionmaking processes by providing a better understanding 

of how future climate change, land use, invasive species, altered fire cycles, 

human systems, and the interactions among these factors will affect ecosystems and the services they provide to human communities. The goals of this 

group are to:

1. Identify science needs and provide tools to assist land managers in 

addressing these needs.

2. Provide a Web site where users can access information pertinent to 

this region.

3. Provide managers technical assistance when needed. 

Answers to the team’s working science questions are intended to address 

how interactions among climate change, land use, and management practices 

may affect key aspects of water availability, ecosystem changes, and societal 

needs within the UCRB. 

Water

• What do climate modelers predict about future water availability (including groundwater, 

surface water, and soil moisture); what key uncertainties exist in these models, and can the 

models be improved or enhanced by known past changes in climate and water resources?

• What water availability changes will be due to regional and global factors such as climate 

variability and change, compared to local factors such as soil disturbance, impacts of 

invasive species, or wildfires; will changes be due to interactions between multiple factors?

• What water resources will be especially vulnerable to future changes?

Ecosystems

• What do climate modelers predict about future ecosystem changes; what key uncertainties 

exist in these models, and can the models be improved or enhanced by known past changes 

in ecosystems?

• What ecosystem changes will be due to regional and global factors such as climate variability 

and change, and nitrogen deposition, compared to local factors such as agriculture, recreation, 

energy development, invasive species, insect/disease outbreaks, or wildfires; will changes be 

due to interactions between multiple factors?

• What species, soils, biological communities, and ecological processes will be especially 

vulnerable to future changes?

Society

• How will science information gathered about future changes in water and ecosystems assist in 

understanding the effects on economic, social, and cultural dimensions of human communities?

• How can we apply our understanding of vulnerability and resilience of human communities 

to support human adaptation to climate change in the region?

• How can science information assist resource management agencies in providing effective 

resource policy and management practices in the future?

• What decision support tools are best suited to provide decisionmakers, resource managers, and 

the public with the information and modeling tools necessary to respond to climate change?

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UCRB Contacts:

Jayne Belnap, USGS

2290 S. West Resource Blvd. MS 9398

Moab, UT 84532

Phone: 435-719-2333

Email: jayne_belnap@usgs.gov

Jeff Kershner, Director

USGS Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center

2327 University Way, Suite 2

Bozeman, MT 59715

Phone: 406-994-7257

Email: jkershner@usgs.gov

Donald Campbell, USGS

Box 25046 MS 418

Denver Federal Center

Denver, CO 80225-0046

Phone: 303-236-5022

Email: dhcampbe@usgs.gov

The UCRB CEN science team is composed of scientists from 

multiple disciplines of the U.S. Geological Survey including 

water resources, biological sciences, geology, and geography, as well as partners from the Bureau of Reclamation, 

National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of 

Land Management, USDA Forest Service, University of Utah, 

University of Colorado-Boulder, Colorado State University, 

Utah State University, and the States of Colorado, Utah, 

and Wyoming.