The Nature Conservancy plans to put its Dugout Ranch to work -- as a laboratory for understanding how climate change is affecting Utah and for solutions on easing its impacts.

The new Canyonlands Research Center would shift its focus from the discussion of whether climate change is a problem to more practical considerations: How can ranchers, water districts and other natural resource managers best cope with the changes under way -- changes that affect everything from forests, streams and range?

"We've got to act now," said Barry Baker, a climate scientist for the environmental group's Utah chapter. Baker will head up the center. "There's still time to develop land and water management strategies that will enable us to adapt and possibly delay the negative impacts of climate change and protect Utah's communities and natural resources."

The conservation group's latest project in Utah came to light Thursday, as its national office released a new analysis suggesting that Utah will be among the states to see the most dramatic temperature increases because of climate change.

The group's new "Climate Wizard" says that, with the most dramatic emissions increases projected by climate models, Utah's annual average temperature would increase 9.4 degrees over the next 100 years. Only eight other states would see greater temperature increases, says the analysis, conducted in conjunction with the University of Washington and University of Southern Mississippi.

The new center at the Dugout Ranch, the first of its kind in Utah, will eventually include a building that will focus on education and practical research. Kennecott Utah Copper and Kennecott Land Co. have chipped in $210,000 for the project.

The Nature Conservancy acquired the ranch in 1997. It includes 5,200 acres of private land and 300,000 acres of public grazing allotments, including 42 miles of cottonwood and willow riparian areas valuable to wildlife and rare wildflowers.

The center will make use of several critical tools for addressing climate change, including its location on an important monsoonal boundary, a database of climate data for past years and a partnership with rancher Heidi Redd. Other partners include the U.S. Geological Survey, Utah State University, the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and the Indian Creek Cattle Co.

The work already has begun, with the Nature Conservancy's Utah Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment. The first-of-its-kind project in the state involves identifying and mapping plants, animals and ecological systems thought to be most vulnerable to changes in climate

"Land managers are eager for science-based data about how to help Utah's species adapt to climate change," said Baker. "This study could provide our first meaningful local answers."

David Nimkin, director of the Salt Lake City office of the National Parks and Conservation Association, noted that U.S. Sens. Mark Udall, D-Colo., and John McCain, R-Ariz., toured Rocky Mountain National Park last week and agreed that climate change is already having an impact. Nimkin applauded the Nature Conservancy for using the new center to find practical solutions.

"We have so many data points and the research is so overwhelming," he said. "What does that mean on the ground?" is one of the questions the center can help answer for those who manage national parks and other natural resources.

fahys@sltrib.com