USING CLIMATE EXTENSION TO ASSIST COASTAL DECISION-MAKERS WITH CLIMATE ADAPTATION Jessica C. Whitehead,* Robert H. Bacon, John F. Thigpen, Greg Carbone, Kirstin Dow, Daniel Tufford Introduction Coastal managers need accessible, trusted, tailored resources to help them interpret climate information, identify vulnerabilities, and apply climate information to decisions about adaptation on regional and local levels. For decades, climate scientists have studied the impacts that short term natural climate variability and long term climate change will have on coastal systems. For example, recent estimates based on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warming scenarios suggest that global sea levels may rise 0.5 to 1.4 meters above 1990 levels by 2100 (Rahmstorf 2007; Grinsted, Moore, and Jevrejeva 2009). Many low-lying coastal ecosystems and communities will experience more frequent salt water intrusion events, more frequent coastal flooding, and accelerated erosion rates before they experience significant inundation. These changes will affect the ways coastal managers make decisions, such as timing surface and groundwater withdrawals, replacing infrastructure, and planning for changing land use on local and regional levels. Despite the advantages, managers’ use of scientific information about climate variability and change remains limited in environmental decision-making (Dow and Carbone 2007). Traditional methods scientists use to disseminate climate information, like peer-reviewed journal articles and presentations at conferences, are inappropriate to fill decision-makers’ needs for applying accessible, relevant climate information to decision-making. General guides that help managers scope out vulnerabilities and risks are becoming more common; for example, Snover et al. (2007) outlines a basic process for local and state governments to assess climate change vulnerability and preparedness. However, there are few tools available to support more specific decision-making needs. A recent survey of coastal managers in California suggests that boundary institutions can help to fill the gaps between climate science and coastal decision-making community (Tribbia and Moser 2008). The National Sea Grant College Program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) university-based program for supporting research and outreach on coastal resource use and conservation, is one such institution working to bridge these gaps through outreach. Over 80% of Sea Grant’s 32 programs are addressing climate issues, and over 60% of programs increased their climate outreach programming between 2006 and 2008 (National Sea Grant Office 2008). One way that Sea Grant is working to assist coastal decision-makers with using climate information is by developing effective methods for coastal climate extension. The purpose of this paper is to discuss climate extension methodologies on regional scales, using the Carolinas Coastal Climate Outreach Initiative (CCCOI) as an example of Sea Grant’s growing capacities for climate outreach and extension. Climate extension Climate outreach involves communicating information on climate variability and change in ways that increase public understanding of climate science and assisting stakeholders with integrating climate information into decision-making processes. Outreach strategies may include, but are not limited to, communication through traditional and new media, formal and informal education efforts, and decision support. In practice, climate extension involves all of these activities, but extension is distinguished by a focus on applying knowledge of climate variability and change to help stakeholders improve their decision-making processes and quality of life. Common extension methodologies include reports, newsletters, workshops, demonstration projects, decision support tools, and applied research. To date, much of the focus in climate extension has been on agriculture (Fraisse et al. 2009). However, climate either directly or indirectly affects nearly all sectors and segments of coastal economies, warranting a broader application of climate extension strategies. With roughly one third of Americans living in coastal counties (Karl, Melillo, and Peterson 2009), coastal climate extension has the potential to provide significant benefits. Climate extension along the Carolina coasts The coasts of North and South Carolina are vulnerable to the effects of natural climate variability and long term climate change. Recent stressors, such as the droughts of 1998-2002 and 2006-2009 and flooding events associated with hurricanes and coastal storms, have had significant impacts on water management, infrastructure, and coastal erosion. Expressions of climate variability, like El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phases, and longer term climate change, like sea level rise, interest managers in the region. These stressors make the Carolinas an ideal