Plan

Missoula, MT Regional Adaptation Strategy

Summary

The focus of Climate Ready Missoula is adaptation, not mitigation. Missoula County, the City of Missoula, Climate Smart Missoula, and numerous other local organizations also have mitigation efforts underway, and commitments to carbon reduction are strong. Those efforts are not the focus of this plan, though some of the adaptation strategies identified in this plan also support our mitigation efforts, and that alignment is noted where it occurs.

Year

2024

Details

Hazards Addressed

Assets

Agriculture and Food Supply

Energy and Utilities

Forestry

Natural Areas and Wildlife

Property

Transportation and Mobility

View the Plan

Equity Insights

The impacts we face have the potential to increase inequity, erode community ties and cultural identities, and divert local funding and resources. It will be essential that we address these threats to our social fabric and the most vulnerable among us during implementation, frequently referencing the guiding principles for this effort (page ES-1), which emphasize equity, inclusiveness, and cultural values.

Lessons Learned

Collaborate and think holistically. Climate change touches all aspects of our lives, requiring us to collaborate in new ways, to work across sectors and silos, and to think beyond our geographic boundaries.
Prioritize equity. Adaptation actions should not increase inequity. Prioritize actions that build resilience while focusing on underrepresented and vulnerable groups and increasing equity.
Act with, not for. Maximize transparency and inclusivity in planning and implementation. Empower people with knowledge and tools to participate and take ownership of climate resiliency actions.
Draw on tradition and culture. Honor cultural values and draw on traditional ecological knowledge through collaborative partnerships. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are key partners, especially given that Missoula County falls within the ancestral homelands of these tribes.
Use science. Make decisions based on the best available science while explicitly considering uncertainty.
Value natural processes. Learn from nature and protect and restore naturally resilient ecological processes.
Don’t exacerbate the problem. Adaptation actions should avoid increasing our contribution to climate change or undermining the ability of other sectors or regions to adapt. Prioritize actions that reduce our contribution to climate change while building resilience.
Build on past work. Recognize, value, and integrate prior and ongoing work. Don’t reinvent the wheel.
Balance immediate and long-term needs. When prioritizing actions, select a combination of easy, quick wins and critical but challenging longer-term initiatives.
Consider costs and benefits. Adaptation actions should be evaluated by considering their long-term costs and benefits alongside the costs of not taking action.
Focus on prevention. When possible, prioritize actions aimed at avoiding problems rather than addressing them after they occur.
Innovate and adapt. Monitor and evaluate actions to learn what’s actually working. Experiment with emerging solutions, be creative, maintain flexibility as conditions change, and build capacity to respond to the unexpected.

These 12 principles were developed to guide the process of prioritizing and implementing the climate adaptation goals and actions that are presented in this plan. While all of these principles should be considered with respect to each adaptation goal or action, there will be some cases of tradeoffs among the principles.