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TNC’s Knowledge Base for Climate Change Adaptation

DOI U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS)

The mission of the FWS is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. FWS is both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. The Agency manages 150 million acres of wildlife refuges, fish hatcheries and conservation wetlands. It also determines whether to list species as endangered or threatened and works with local governments to enforce laws.

Global climate change is an international priority directly relevant to the mission of FWS. The Agency recently released a final strategic plan addressing the threat posed by global warming that complements the Department of the Interior's Secretarial Order. The plan calls for the creation of regional climate science partnerships and Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) with universities, tribes, states, federal agencies and other partners and stakeholders. LCCs are integral to the Agency's climate adaptation efforts, providing scientific and technical support to managers and partnerships responsible for developing and implementing conservation strategies at landscape scales in a changing climate.

  • http://www.fws.gov/, for FWS homepage; go to 1) ‘About USFWS" at page bottom for FWS Operational Plan and DOI Strategic Plan; 2) "Regional' window at page top and "Programs/Resources' field for link to information on resources/activities addressing climate change and potential impacts in the eight FWS regions
  • http://www.fws.gov/home/climatechange/, for FWS Conservation in a Changing Climate homepage; climate change effects on wildlife and habitat, FWS management response, working with partners, and other

The eight FWS regions and resources/activities addressing climate change:

 

> Strategic Plan for Responding to Climate Change

In September 2010 FWS released a final strategic plan addressing the threat posed by global warming that is an integral part of an overarching Department of Interior (DOI) strategy. The plan is both a call to arms and a clear roadmap for action and establishes a basic framework within which the Service will work. It is firmly rooted in sound science, an adaptive, landscape-scale conservation approach, and collaboration with partners. Three key elements of the strategic plan include adaptation, mitigation and engagement with activities to facilitate wildlife adaptation the centerpiece of the plan. Goals and objectives of the plan are nested under these three major elements or strategies.

The FWS strategic plan commits the agency to be a leader in addressing the conservation challenges of a changing climate through some significant commitments. The plan calls for capacity building within the agency to address climate change, increases in scientific capacity including ecological monitoring, assessment of species and ecosystem vulnerabilities to the impacts of climate change, and integration of climate change into all agency planning and budgeting.

Specific steps FWS is taking now and during the next five years to implement the plan include (1) leading efforts to develop a National Fish and Wildlife Climate Adaptation Strategy to serve as the conservation community's shared blueprint to guide wildlife adaptation partnerships during the next 50 years; (2) creating a National Biological Inventory and Monitoring Partnership that strategically deploys the conservation community's monitoring resources; (3) helping establish a network of Landscape Conservation Cooperatives that develop regional and field technical capacity by working with partners to provide cutting edge science and information. Strategic habitat conservation (SHC) is the Agency's framework for landscape conservation.

 

> Strategic Plan for Fish, Wildlife and Plant Climate Adaptation

FWS is leading a collaborative effort for the DOI and White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to develop a national climate adaptation plan to safeguard fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitat from the impacts of climate change. The FWS has convened multiple federal, state, and NGO stakeholders in an ongoing dialogue to facilitate the development of the strategy, and has organized listening sessions at numerous scientific and wildlife-professional venues to solicit further input about what should be included in such a strategy. A draft of the strategy is targeted for the summer of 2011, with a final issued by the summer of 2012.

 

> Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs)

LCCs are applied, self-directed conservation partnerships among DOI agencies (FWS, U.S. Geological Survey), other federal agencies, states, tribes, non-governmental organizations, universities and others to address the challenges of climate change and other stressors across broad areas in an integrated fashion. LCCs link science and management and are fundamental units of planning and science capacity in carrying out the functional elements of FWS strategic habitat conservation (SHC). They provide scientific and technical support for on-the-ground strategic, landscape-scale conservation in an adaptive management framework that emphasizes science-based biological planning, conservation design, research, inventory and monitoring. The products that LCCs develop help to inform and improve conservation delivery efforts on the ground. They will coordinate conservation science support for addressing stressor impacts to fish and wildlife.

Guided by DOI's newly created Energy and Climate Change Council (formerly Climate Change Response Council), LCCs will be the primary vehicle through which FWS and partners acquire and apply the best climate change science to inform fish and wildlife management decisions and actions. LCCs will provide new science capacity for FWS and partners, and will complement the USGS Climate Science Centers (CSCs) or Hubs from a FWS mission and partner-based perspective. Regional CSCs and a LCC network were established by DOI Secretary Ken Salazar via Secretarial Order 3289 to develop strategies for managing climate change and other impacts on natural resources. Together, the CSCs and LCCs will assess the impacts that typically extend beyond traditional jurisdictional boundaries, such as the effects of climate change on wildlife migration patterns, wildfire risk, drought, or invasive species.

FWS is a primary lead on LCCs and has invested the most resources into establishing and staffing them. In September 2010 FWS announced $2 million in funding for 14 projects nationwide to increase adaptive science capacity in support of LCCs. Each of the eight FWS regions are responsible for leading development efforts of at least one LCC but most regions will be involved in more than one LCC, sharing that responsibility. DOI has established 21 (22?) LCCs encompassing all 50 States and U.S. Pacific Islands.

The eight FWS regions and information on LCCs within each region:

 

> FWS Programs, Products, Tools

FWS Division of Fisheries and Habitat Conservation

FWS Branch of Resource Mapping and Support, National Wetlands Inventory

FWS National Conservation Training Center

Resources below address ‘climate change vulnerability assessment' and related topics

 

FWS Refuge System Inventory and Monitoring Program

As part of the Agency's climate change initiative, the president's budget included, and Congress appropriated, funding to develop and expand a biological inventory and monitoring program on the National Wildlife Refuge System. FWS has created a national office for inventory and monitoring based in Colorado with close ties to the National Park Service "Vital Signs" program to allow for sharing of data and methodologies. FWS also is adding biologists throughout the refuge system to develop inventory and monitoring programs on the ground to better detect ecological changes associated with climate change and other issues and to facilitate adaptive management.

 

Endangered Species Program

FWS has responded to petitions to list species under the Endangered Species Act due to the impacts of climate change, most notably polar bears. One objective guideline of the 2010 strategic plan states the need for timely identification of climate-vulnerable species and habitats so that proactive conservation and recovery measures can be designed and implemented. Indications are that efforts to date have been minimal to more proactively address climate change throughout the endangered species program. 

 

Multistate Conservation Grant Program

FWS and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) cooperatively administer the federally funded Multistate Conservation Grant Program that addresses regional or national level priorities of state fish and wildlife agencies. In 2010, some of the program funds will be for climate change workshops for state fish and wildlife managers on current information and tools for management.

 

FWS State Wildlife Grants Program

In spring 2009, the FWS State Wildlife Grants (SWG) program awarded a grant to the New Hampshire Fish & Game Department for a project that will focus on maintaining, enhancing, and restoring habitat connectivity for 41 species of concern to help mitigate the impacts of habitat fragmentation and climate change.

 

> Other Programs, Products, Tools

U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) and Synthesis and Assessment Products (SAPs)        

USGCRP is a Congressionally-authorized consortium of 13 federal agencies responsible for various aspects of global change research, including coordinating climate change research activities of the agencies. It has produced important products related to climate adaptation for wildlife and ecosystems and maintains a comprehensive website with a variety of climate change science resources and publications.

 

U.S. Fire Learning Network (USFLN)

The USFLN is a joint effort of The Nature Conservancy, the  U. S. Forest Service and several DOI agencies, including FWS, with a goal of accelerating the implementation of ecologically appropriate and culturally acceptable fuels reduction and fire regime restoration in high-priority habitats and landscapes. It fosters innovation and transfers knowledge acquired from numerous multi-agency, community-based projects to other landscape projects, scientists and decision makers.

 

Connected Habitat Analysis  

A multi-agency team including representatives from The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Forest Service and FWS is analyzing connected wildlife habitats in Washington and other states and including data about the expected effects of climate change in the analysis. Interconnected corridors of undeveloped land throughout the West are necessary for the survival of migratory wild animals.

 

Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) Network

The CESU national network has been established with an overarching goal of improving the scientific base for managing federal lands by providing high-quality scientific research, technical assistance, and education to resource and environmental managers. It is a nationwide consortium of federal agencies, universities, conservation organizations, and other partners working together to support agency missions and informed public trust resource stewardship. One objective is to build capacity and enhance coordination of climate change management and adaptation efforts among management agencies.

CESUs are based at host universities and focused on biogeographic regions of the country. To date the nation had been divided into 17 biogeographic regions, each served by a distinct CESU that is structured as a working collaboration among partners. Each regional unit operates independently and in association with one national network and is directed by specific mission, vision, goals and objectives and a strategic plan.

 

Technical Report, "The State of the Birds: 2010 Report on Climate Change"

The U.S. Committee of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) has released a systematic analysis (3/2010) of the effects of climate change on bird populations of the United States. FWS was the lead agency in creating the report through a partnership with other organizations and government agencies, including The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Geological Survey.

This 2010 report is the nation's first comprehensive assessment of the vulnerability of nearly 800 bird species to climate change. The report shows that climate change will have an increasingly disruptive effect on bird species in all habitats and outlines conservation actions that will be important as biological planning and design of large-scale conservation efforts are advanced. The Migratory Bird Joint Ventures, Land Conservation Cooperatives, and public/private partnerships for the conservation of birds, and the actions outlined in every state's State Wildlife Action Plan will be important tools as additional threats climate change will place on the birds of the nation are addressed.

 

Guidance Document, "Scanning the Conservation Horizon: A Guide to Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment"

This 2011 document is a product of an expert workgroup on climate change vulnerability assessment convened by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) in collaboration with FWS. The workgroup draws from state and federal agencies, including FWS, non-governmental conservation organizations, and universities. Financial support for the publication was provided by Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, DoD Legacy Resource Management Program, and several other organizations and agencies, including FWS.

Vulnerability to climate change, as the term is used in the guide, has three principle components: sensitivity, exposure, and adaptive capacity. The document focuses on providing practical guidance to practitioners for assessing climate change vulnerability of species, habitats and ecosystems in the U.S. It includes 1) an overview and basics of climate change vulnerability assessment; 2) methods and tools available for combining climate change exposure and species/system sensitivity in developing an assessment of climate change vulnerability (incl. types of data and models that can be used for vulnerability assessments); 3) measures to deal with uncertainty in these assessments; 4) specific case studies of vulnerability assessments; and 5) a reference section on climate change vulnerability assessment resources (publications, web-base tools).

Currently sufficient guidance is available on the likely physical change that will occur due to climate change and on developing climate change adaptation strategies and actions. However, little guidance is available on assessing the vulnerability and sensitivity of biological systems to the physical changes. This document fills a gap in available guidance, will be useful to TNC and its partners, and will nicely complement the TNC "Climate Change Project-Level Guidance" document.

 

Guidance Document, Climate Change Wildlife Action Plan

This 2009 document, "Voluntary Guidance for States to Incorporate Climate Change into State Wildlife Action Plans and Other Management Plans", was produced by the Climate Change Wildlife Action Plan Work Group which was created as a joint work group by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Climate Change and Teaming with Wildlife Committees in September 2008. The workgroup draws from state and federal agencies, including FWS, and non-governmental conservation organizations. Financial contributors include the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

The guidance document provides voluntary guidance for state fish and wildlife agencies wanting to better incorporate the impacts of climate change on wildlife and their habitats into Wildlife Action Plans. The approaches and techniques described in this document also will be useful in modifying other wildlife plans (e.g. big game/upland game/migratory bird plans, joint venture implementation plans, national fish habitat action plan, etc.) to address climate change. The document provides an overview of the information currently available on climate change, tools that can be used to plan for and implement climate change adaptation, voluntary guidance and case studies.

The document consists of the three major chapters that provide information and resources that could be used to update Wildlife Action Plans to incorporate climate change impacts. Chapter 1 provides guidance on how to develop climate change adaptation strategies for fish and wildlife management. Chapter 2 describes tools that may be useful in developing, implementing and monitoring for these plans. Chapter 3 provides more detail on the process of updating Wildlife Action Plans, summarizes existing guidance and discusses how addressing climate change might affect the plan revision process. The references section and appendices to the document are a source of additional information on climate change.

 

 
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