Episode #61: Climate Resiliency & Conservation in Tennessee

The Climbing Advocate

Today’s episode features multiple guests who all bring a unique perspective and area of expertise to the topic of climbing and climate resiliency. The first half of the episode features Brian Tickle, Access Fund’s National Acquisitions & Texas Regional Director and Joel Houser, Director of Capital Grants with the Open Space Institute. Together, Brian and Joel break down some of the basics of what climate resiliency is and how it influences the climbing landscape and beyond. In our second conversation, Daniel Dunn, Access Fund’s Eastern Regional Access Director & Policy Analyst and Charlie Mix, GIS Director at the University of Tennessee - Chattanooga, take a deeper dive into how future climbing conservation opportunities are being identified around Tennessee through a lens of climate resiliency. Through comprehensive mapping and analysis looking at a variety of different environmental, social and economic factors, Access Fund has a guide to accelerate climbing access in Tennessee. 4:10- Brian’s intro 5:04- Joel’s intro 5:58- What is the Open Space Institute? 8:57- Defining “climate resiliency” 11:43- Open Space Institute & Access Fund working together 16:10- Joel's experience visiting North Carolina post-hurricanes 21:37- Adaptation vs. Mitigation 23:34- Does climbing matter? 25:22- When Access Fund started looking at climate resiliency 28:56- Acquisitions that rank high in climate resiliency 30:26- Does climbing matter from Brian's perspective 33:15- Why should climbers care about climate resiliency? 38:27- Daniel's intro 39:11- Charlie's intro 42:09- Recap of the Tennessee Accelerator Report 43:54- Charlie's involvement with the Accelerator Report 48:43- Describing The Nature Conservancy's Resilient Landscape Mapping Tool 58:26- Areas that don't score high in climate resiliency 1:00:55- Denny Cove: the poster child for climate resiliency 1:10:25- Results of the analysis: the 3 primary priority areas 1:17:25- Where to find the Tennessee Accelerator Report Tennessee Accelerator Report: https://www.accessfund.org/tennessee-access-accelerator Does Climbing Matter?: https://www.accessfund.org/latest-news/does-climbing-matter GIS Program at UT-Chattanooga: https://www.utc.edu/research/interdisciplinary-geospatial-technology-lab/igtlab-faculty-and-staff Open Space Institute: https://www.openspaceinstitute.org/