EUGENE, Ore. -- (Oct. 2, 2013) -- University of Oregon researcher Kathy Lynn is a lead author for a first-ever peer-reviewed scientific journal devoted exclusively to climate change and its impacts on indigenous communities across the United States.

The newly released special issue of Climatic Change brings together more than 50 authors representing tribal communities, academia, government agencies and non-governmental organizations. They explore issues currently experienced by indigenous communities in the U.S. due to climate change, including loss of traditional knowledge, forests and ecosystems; food security and traditional foods; and water, Arctic sea ice loss, permafrost thaw and relocation.

Lynn, an adjunct research faculty with the Environmental Studies Program who directs the Tribal Climate Change Project, is lead author of an article on the impacts of climate change on tribal traditional foods. She also co-authors a chapter on the impacts of climate change on tribal, indigenous and native lands and resources in the 2014 National Climate Assessment.

The assessment, which will inform national decision-makers on climate change status and trends throughout the United States, “brings together the voices of native leaders, scholars and organizations working closely with tribes around the country,” Lynn said. “It illustrates the innovative approaches that tribes across the U.S. are engaging in to address the impacts of climate change on tribal culture, sovereignty and traditional ways of life.”

About the University of Oregon

The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.

MEDIA CONTACT: Matt Cooper, UO media relations, 541-346-8875, mattc@uoregon.edu

SOURCE: Kathy Lynn, Environmental Studies, 541-346-5777, kathy@uoregon.edu