“The warming of the earth could potentially have more far-reaching impacts on wildlife and wildlife habitat than any challenge that has come before us.” Dale Hall, Director

Read a message from the Fish and Wildlife Service Director, H. Dale Hall.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports in their “Summary for Policymakers of the Synthesis Report of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report” that “(w)arming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level.”

The IPCC has predicted impacts to natural systems due to climate change.

The Challenge

A basic biological fact is that species’ abundance and distribution are dynamic, relative to a variety of factors, including climate. As climate changes, the abundance and distribution of wildlife and fish will also change. However, in wildlife management, it is difficult to estimate with any degree of precision which species will be affected by environmental change, or exactly how. The Fish and Wildlife Service is monitoring our trust resources to see how they are affected by the changing climate.

Read more about the challenge of climate change.

What We're Doing

In general, Service programs are already addressing climate change. Read more about our actions.

Wetland habitats may come under pressure as sea level rises due to climate change. Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana.
USFWS photo by John and Karen Hollingsworth

Climate Change Resources

U.S. Climate Change Science Program

Adaptation Options for Climate-Sensitive Ecosystems and Resources: National Wildlife Refuges. Draft EPA document

U.S. Geological Survey

National Park Service

U.S. Forest Service Climate Change Resource Center

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

National Academies of Science

Environmental Protection Agency

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

The Wildlife Society

Arctic Climate Impact Assessment

USFWS Regional Forums

We are hosting a series of regional forums to help collect information on the potential effects of climate change in coastal areas, mountains, prairies and other landscapes, and to identify ways we might better prepare for managing our valuable natural resources in the coming decades.

Alaska Region Climate Change Form, February 21-23, 2007

Climate Change Effects to Fish and Wildlife Resources (GSA Auditorium, Portland, OR), February 12, 2008

Climate Change Symposium 2008 Southeast Region (Charleston, SC), May 27-29, 2008

Climate Change in the Northwest, a Tribal Perspective (Seattle Public Library), May 29-30, 2008

Northeast Climate Change Workshop (University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA), June 3-5, 2008

Columbia Basin (Boise Center on the Grove), June 24-25, 2008

Mountain - Prairie Regional Climate Change Workshop (Curtis Hotel in Denver, CO), week of July 28, 2008

Midwest Region Climate Change Academic Forum (in partnership with the Indiana University), August 2008

Climate Change in the Southwest, Workshop for Regions 2 and 8 (Tucson, AZ) Week of August 18, 2008

Coastal Workshop (Hilton in Portland, OR), September 4-5, 2008