Frequently Asked Questions

Climate Change: Questions and Answers

1. How is climate change affecting wildlife and the ecosystems upon which they depend?

2. What are some of the global impacts of climate change to wildlife and ecosystems?

3. How is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service responding to climate change?

4. What is the Climate Change Action Program?

5. How is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service building on its previous climate change work?

6. How is climate change affecting National Wildlife Refuges?

7. What actions are being taken to address the impacts of climate change on Refuges?

8. How does the Endangered Species Act account for and address the impacts of climate change to wildlife and ecosystems?

9. How is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service working with partners to address climate change?

10. How is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service working with Tribes?

11. What is the Resist-Accept-Direct framework developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and partners and how is it being used?

12. What are “nature-based solutions” to climate change and how do they work?

13. What are examples of nature-based solutions the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is employing?

14. How can I help or get involved?

1. How is climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change affecting wildlife and the ecosystems upon which they depend?  

Climate change poses profound and growing threats to the planet’s wildlife and ecosystems through increasing land and water temperatures, altering growing seasons, increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, and causing earlier snowmelt and changes to precipitation patterns. These impacts also serve as “threat multipliers” that exacerbate existing threats to wildlife and ecosystems such as habitat loss, disease and invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.

Learn more about invasive species . Scientists have already observed some species shifting their range due to the effects of climate change (Pecl et al., 2017). For many species, habitat will be further lost or constricted as climate-induced migrations come up against man-made and natural barriers, such as roads, development and mountaintops.  

Plants and animals vary greatly in their ability to adapt to climate change impacts, with many already facing increased risk of extinction as ecosystems change faster than those species can adapt. For instance, fish species that depend on cold water are particularly sensitive to changes in temperature, while many corals also live at the edge of their tolerance to warmer waters (Sully et al., 2019). For alpine species, increasing temperatures and altered precipitation, snowfall and snowmelt patterns are causing both habitat loss and reduced connectivity between populations.  

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2. What are some of the global impacts of climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change to wildlife and ecosystems?  

Global temperature extremes and changes in precipitation patterns are increasing; glaciers and snow cover are shrinking; sea ice is retreating; seas are warming, rising, and becoming more acidic; species are shifting their ranges, habitat, and distributions; coastal flooding and erosion are becoming more frequent; low-lying island ecosystems and communities are at risk of disappearing; growing seasons are lengthening; and wildfires are increasing in frequency and severity.  

Climate change is impacting some places around the world more than others, such as the Arctic, where temperatures are rising faster than elsewhere. This is causing the rapid melting of glaciers, a reduction in sea ice cover and thickness, thawing of permafrost and many other impacts. Available data from Alaska and western Canada indicate that winter temperatures in this area have increased as much as 5 to 7°F in the past 50 years.  Ongoing threats to wildlife such as invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.

Learn more about invasive species , habitat loss and the spread of new pathogens are further exacerbated by climate change.  

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3. How is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service responding to climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change ?  

Through our Climate Change Action Program, we are leading and facilitating responses to climate change with federal, state, Tribal and local partners. Together, we are applying the best science and fostering partnerships to address complex conservation challenges at both species and landscape scales.  

We are working with diverse partners to develop and employ the latest conservation science and tools to conserve species and landscapes in the face of climate change. For example, we are working closely with U.S. Geological Survey Climate Adaptation Science Centers across the nation. We are working with partners to develop new conservation decision-making frameworks, such as Resist-Accept-Direct Framework (see question 11), and more comprehensive adaptation approaches, such as nature-based solutions, (see question 12), that conserve ecosystems and wildlife while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

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4. What is the Climate Change Action Program?  

The Climate Change Action Program (CCAP) is our unified approach to climate adaptation and mitigation. Through it, we are building a strong, science-based foundation that accelerates our response to climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change impacts on wildlife, ecosystems and trust resources. The CCAP has seven key priority areas:  

• adaptation and resilience
• climate science
• national adaptation strategy
• partnerships
• policy
• staff capacity 

These priority areas will evolve over time as we gain experience, knowledge and engagement across the programs and regions.  

Through this effort, we are ensuring that science addresses the most urgent conservation needs.   

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5. How is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service building on its previous climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change work?  

We are working with diverse partners to conduct risk and vulnerability assessments on our lands and waters, facilities and imperiled species.  

We are improving the integration of climate science into our conservation planning and implementation. For example, we have developed tools and resources for better integration of climate considerations and climate science into Habitat Conservation Plans. 

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6. How is climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change affecting National Wildlife Refuges?  

Climate change poses historic challenges to wildlife and ecosystems on the 568 national wildlife refuges. National wildlife refuges are experiencing climate change impacts such as: longer and more intense droughts; increased frequency of floods, hurricanes and catastrophic wildfires; and loss of coastal wetlands and shorelines from sea level rise. 

Together, these impacts are causing more damage on refuges than at any time in recorded history. Learn more about how climate change is impacting specific refuges and wildlife. Because the environmental changes underway at many refuges are so rapid and happening much faster than species can adapt, new approaches and tools will be necessary to assist species.  

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7. What actions are being taken to address the impacts of climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change on Refuges?  

The National Wildlife Refuge System is using the best-available science to decide where and how to adapt to the impacts of climate change on refuges, and what tools will be needed. In the past, wildlife habitats and movements on refuges were relatively stable and predictable, with scientists generally knowing what conditions to expect and manage for. Today across the entire National Wildlife Refuge System, particularly in the far north and along the East Coast, warming-induced changes are so marked that the past is often no longer predictive of the future.  

Federal natural resource agencies met in 2018 to develop a framework to address ecological transformations, which is a change in the historically predictable patterns of wildlife movement and habitat stability. Participating agencies included the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Geological Survey. Through this effort, we have devised a Resist-Accept-Direct framework to support collaborative decision making across landscapes and jurisdictions spanning federal, state, local, Tribal and private lands (see question 11).  

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8. How does the Endangered Species Act account for and address the impacts of climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change to wildlife and ecosystems?  

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires us to use the best available science to determine if a species is in danger of extinction now (i.e. endangered), or is likely to become so in the foreseeable future (i.e., threatened). Our process for determining whether a species warrants listing under the ESA looks at five factors: threats to a species’ habitat, overutilization, disease or predation, existing regulatory mechanisms and other factors that may affect its continued existence. Through this scientific review, we examine and account for the effects of climate change on species and the habitats they need to survive. 

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9. How is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service working with partners to address climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change ?   

We are working with diverse partners to ensure climate adaptation and resilience are incorporated into planning and conservation efforts. We are seeking opportunities to support regional partner forums to develop climate adaptation strategies. We will continue to work closely with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the U.S. Geological Survey’s Climate Adaptation Science Centers. 

Learn more about how we are working with partners every day to address the growing impacts of climate change to imperiled species and ecosystems.

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10. How is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service working with Tribes? 

We are working with states, Tribes, and other partners to develop Landscape Conservation Designs, which integrate climate adaptation into conservation planning to support vibrant communities, healthy ecosystems, and thriving fish and wildlife populations. We also partner with Tribes to adapt habitats to climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change impacts across the National Wildlife Refuge System. For example, at the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, we worked with the Nisqually Tribe to help restore tidal flows to the Nisqually River delta which had been diked and drained for farmland in the early 1890s and degraded by invasive canary grass. 

In partnership with federal and state agencies, and local communities, we work to develop and implement nature-based solutions. For example, we are currently working with the state of North Carolina to identify watersheds impacted by climate change. These projects are protecting communities and restoring wildlife habitat.

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11. What is the Resist-Accept-Direct framework developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and partners and how is it being used?   

Ecosystems are transforming under climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change , with substantial shifts occurring at unprecedented rates. Our current management toolbox is becoming outdated, making it harder to achieve conservation and the sustainable provision of ecosystem services, including fisheries production and wildlife habitat. Multiple approaches are needed to address the varying uncertainties we face in this increasingly changing world.  

One climate conservation tool that we are using is the Resist-Accept-Direct (RAD) framework. It addresses the ecological transformation climate change is having on species and habitats. This framework is a tool that provides managers with three general options for responding to ecological transformations underway or projected. These decisional and management options include:  

• Resist the direction of change, by working to maintain or restore function, structure structure
  Something temporarily or permanently constructed, built, or placed; and constructed of natural or manufactured parts including, but not limited to, a building, shed, cabin, porch, bridge, walkway, stair steps, sign, landing, platform, dock, rack, fence, telecommunication device, antennae, fish cleaning table, satellite dish/mount, or well head.
  
  Learn more about structure or composition, based on historical or acceptable current conditions. This represents an effort to return a system to its historical condition.
• Accept the direction of change, by allowing the change to occur without intervening. This approach allows nature to change conditions without any management response.
• Direct the change, by actively shaping managing processes, function, structure or composition toward a new desired condition. This approach represents management actions to forcefully move a system toward some condition that humans find desirable. 

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12. What are “nature-based solutions” to climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change and how do they work?  

Nature-based climate change solutions are actions taken to protect, sustainably manage and restore ecosystems while addressing changing climate conditions. These solutions benefit both biological diversity, imperiled species, and ecosystem and human well-being.  Nature-based solutions work by improving ecosystem resilience through natural infrastructure and natural climate solutions. Natural infrastructure primarily focuses on helping wildlife and human communities adapt to climate change by using, restoring or emulating natural ecological features and processes. Natural climate solutions reduce greenhouse gas emissions from land use and land-use changes and/or remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere by storing it in natural systems.  

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13. What are examples of nature-based solutions the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is employing?   

Examples of how we are employing nature-based solutions to conserve wildlife and ecosystems and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while benefitting communities include reforestation projects and restoration of grasslands, peatlands and coastal marshes.  

For example, at Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern North Carolina, we are partnering with The Nature Conservancy to restore 1,325 acres of southeastern shrub bog that are threatened by altered precipitation regimes and increased wildfire associated with climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change . Historic ditching and drainage, along with periods of low rainfall, have resulted in the loss of organic pocosin soil through oxidation and catastrophic wildfire.  

By installing adjustable water control structures, we are sequestering large amounts of carbon while also building up lands and soils. This prevents land subsidence, which is the loss of land by sinking or caving in. Restoring these lands will also reduce wildfire risk and catastrophic soil loss. In the face of sea level rise and other climate impacts, these efforts are also helping support a diversity of wildlife, including rare and imperiled species.  

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14. How can I help or get involved?  

Small changes in our everyday lives can make a meaningful difference for current and future generations. Learn more about ways you can help address the effects of climate change and support wildlife conservation where you live. 

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References 

Pecl, G. T., Miguel B. Araújo, Bell, J. D., Blanchard, J., Bonebrake, T. C., I-Ching Chen, . . . Williams, S. E. (2017). Biodiversity redistribution under climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change : Impacts on ecosystems and human well-being. Science, 355(6332), eaai9214. 10.1126/science.aai9214 

Sully, S., Burkepile, D. E., Donovan, M. K., Hodgson, G., & Van Woesik, R. R. (2019). A global analysis of coral bleaching over the past two decades Springer Science and Business Media LLC.10.1038/s41467-019-09238-2