Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Challenges. are. also. opportunities.. In. the. past,. protected. lands. were. often. des-
ignated. through. opportunity. rather. than. need;. lands. that. were. not. in. demand. for.
agriculture.or.urban.development.became.protected.(Scott.et.al..2001)..Through.bet-
ter.cooperative.planning,.resource.managers.can.seek.opportunities.across.the.land-
scape.to.meet.the.habitat.needs.of.priority.species..In.this.chapter,.we.highlight.some.
of.the.challenges.that.climate.change.presents.to.the.resource.manager,.suggest.new.
conservation.opportunities,.and.describe.how.a.structured.approach.to.management.
decision.making.will.be.useful..We.use.examples.from.the.National.Wildlife.Refuge.
System.(Refuge.System),.a.US.land-management.agency,.to.illustrate.our.points.
The.US.Fish.and.Wildlife.Service.(FWS).manages.the.Refuge.System,.covering.
more.than.37.million.hectares.and.comprising.635.units.and.37.Wetland.Management.
Districts.in.the.United.States.and.its.territories.(Grifith.et.al..2009;.www.fws.gov/
refuges/)..The.mission.of.the.Refuge.System.is.to.“administer.a.national.network.of.
lands.and.waters.for.the.conservation,.management,.and,.where.appropriate,.resto-
ration.of.the.ish,.wildlife,.and.plant.resources.and.their.habitats.within.the.United.
States.for.the.beneit.of.present.and.future.generations.of.Americans”.(US.Congress.
1997,.Sec..4)..The.Refuge.System.is.home.to.more.than.700.species.of.birds,.220.
mammal. species,. 250. reptile. and. amphibian. species,. and. 200. ish. species.. About.
23%.of.the.more.than.1200.federally.listed.threatened.or.endangered.species.in.the.
United.States.are.found.on.Refuge.System.lands..In.addition.to.its.primary.task.of.
conservation,.the.Refuge.System.also.supports.six.wildlife-dependent.recreational.
uses.enjoyed.by.nearly.40.million.people.annually:.hunting,.ishing,.wildlife.obser-
vation,.photography,.environmental.education,.and.interpretation.
THE THREAT OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate.change.poses.unprecedented.challenges.to.the.conservation.community,.pri-
marily.because.the.predicted.and.the.observed.rates.of.change.will.exceed.anything.
modern.society.has.experienced.(IPCC.2007)..Climate.change.is.predicted.to.mag-
nify.the.threat.and.greatly.increase.species.extinction.rates.across.the.globe.(Folke.
et.al..2004)..Scientists.estimate.that.globally.as.many.as.20-30%.of.species.will.be.
at.risk.of.extinction.by.2100.as.global.mean.temperatures.exceed.2-3°C.above.pre-
industrial.levels.(Thomas.et.al..2004;.Fischlin.et.al..2007).
What. will. the. proximate. drivers. of. these. extinctions. be. and. how. will. resource.
managers. address. them?. The. following. are. some. of. the. primary. threats. to. the.
integrity.of.North.American.ecosystems.posed.by.climate.change,.along.with.some.
potential.management.responses.(Grifith.et.al..2009;.US.Department.of.the.Interior.
2009b;.Karl.et.al..2009;.Scott.et.al..2009):
•.
Changes.in.water.quality.and.quantity.will.occur..Climate.change.has.the.
potential.to.decrease.supply.and.increase.demand.for.water,.creating.new.
water. scarcity. problems. and. exacerbating. existing. ones.. Increasing. water.
temperatures.will.impact.riparian.habitats.and.the.ish.and.wildlife.depen-
dent. on. them. as. well. as. effecting. ecosystem-wide. changes. in. lora.. This.
threat.is.a.major.challenge.for.the.Refuge.System.because.much.of.its.land.
base. is. composed. of. wetland. habitats. that. may. dry. out.. Land. acquisition.
