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The Southwest Region developed a logo representative of the region's Climate Change initiatives. |
On Climate Change in the Southwestern U.S.
Climate change is already affecting fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats around the globe. The Service's Southwest Region has been working with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the academic community, and other natural resource management agencies and interest groups to translate available and emerging science into concrete actions that reduce the impacts of a changing climate on the broadly diverse ecosystems in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. In the coming months, we will be initiating innovative climate change projects in several key southwestern habitats.
“What are we going to do now?” That question was posed as a challenge by Benjamin Tuggle, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) Southwest Regional Director, to Service and United
States Geological Survey (USGS) employees at the conclusion of a climate change workshop in 2008.
“We must be leaders in the climate change arena,” said Dr. Tuggle. “By taking incremental steps
such as these, we will begin to make progress towards our goal of adjusting to climactic changes.”
For 2009, Dr. Benjamin Tuggle, the Southwest Regional Director, announced plans for the 2009 Climate Change Workshop:
"I am pleased to announce that the Southwest Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will co-sponsor its second Climate Change Workshop on August 10-12, 2009. This second workshop will be held in Austin, Texas, and the target audience is Service employees from Texas, Oklahoma, western Arkansas, and western Louisiana. However, other Federal agencies, particularly U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), State agencies, Tribes, academia, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO), and industry should be well-represented. The Climate Change Workshop will emphasize coastal issues, as well as interior and other issues (e.g., plains area, bottomland hardwoods, fire and wind energy).
As currently envisioned, the workshop will be structured somewhat along the lines of our August 2008 Climate Change Workshop held in Tucson, Arizona. Specifically, there will be a series of invited speakers on a variety of topics on climate change with a regional focus. Also included will be a poster session, a series of World Cafe dialogues, and two panel discussions.
I anticipate this workshop will be well attended by Region 2 employees, supervisors, and project leaders from the focal states (Texas and Oklahoma) and Regional Office. The vast majority of nominations from Region 2 should come from Texas and Oklahoma, however, a smaller subset of nominations from Arizona and New Mexico will be entertained as well, for cross-regional program coordination.
Climate change is a critically important issue that promises to significantly change the way we view and manage habitat, refuges, endangered species, and other trust species in the Southwest Region. This workshop, along with the Tucson meeting a year ago, sets the stage for the upcoming climate-related challenges in the Southwest Region that we are already beginning to face, but are only just beginning to identify. Please join me in helping to chart a path to the future by rising to the urgent challenges of a changing climate through education, adaptation, and mitigation.
Projects
The Service’s Southwest Region announced that it will provide $48,500 as “seed money” to
fund 10 employee-initiated climate change project proposals. The projects will be completed
within existing agency funds. Funded projects were selected by the Region’s interdisciplinary management team. All the projects
were worthy, according to Tuggle, noting that only ten were funded due to budgetary limitations.
The Service’s Southwest Region plans to consider and fund employee-initiated climate change
projects annually.
The following projects will be funded during federal fiscal year 2009: |
Conversion to Solar Powered Electrical System – $5,000 Submitted by the Aransas National
Wildlife Refuge Complex
The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Complex hopes to ultimately convert its entire electric
system to solar power. As a first step in achieving this goal, the Complex will install a passive solar
water heater system. This system is expected to meet at least half of the Complex’s hot water
needs, and will significantly reduce its carbon footprint. |
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Credit: USFWS |
Climate Change and Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout – $5,000
Submitted by the New Mexico
Ecological Services Field Office
Climate change could cause temperature changes in natural water sources. This project will
investigate historic and current water temperatures in streams occupied by the Rio Grande cutthroat
trout. In conjunction with other studies that look at aquatic heat tolerance, this research will
determine the level of risk that increased water temperatures pose to the Rio Grande cutthroat trout. |
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Photo: USFWS |
Native Pollinator Inventories in High-Elevation Plant Communities in Northern Arizona –
$5,000
Submitted by the Arizona Ecological Service Field Office
Populations of many important native pollinator species are declining. The Service’s Arizona
Ecological Field Office will establish pollinator inventory plots in high-elevation plant
communities, which are specially sensitive to climate change. The data collected will contribute to
nation-wide monitoring efforts addressing the effects of climate change on native pollinators. |
Temperature Tolerance of Federally-Listed Aquatic Species in Southeastern Oklahoma –
$4,000
Submitted by the Oklahoma Ecological Services Field Office
Certain aquatic species in southeast Oklahoma may be susceptible to the effects of increased stream
temperatures and reduced stream flows related to a warming climate. This study aims to determine
the effect of increasing water temperature (including the maximum temperature tolerated) on
federally-listed or suitable surrogate species, such as the threatened leopard darter and several listed
mussels. The study will determine the potential risks to these species based on climate change
projections. |
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Photo: USFWS |
Bitter Lake Dragonfly Study – $7,500
Submitted by Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge is nationally recognized for the diversity and density of
dragonflies (odonates) and damselflies that occur on the Refute. Several new neotropical odonates
have recently been added to the Bitter Lake’s species list. Dragonflies and damselflies have been
identified as a species group that may be particularly susceptible to climate change. The Refuge
will initiate a monitoring program to detect new neotropical species as they move northward from
their historical habitat to better understand and address migration patterns linked to a warming
climate. |
Solar Energy for Remote Camera Equipment – $1,000
Submitted by the San Andres National
Wildlife Refuge
San Andres National Wildlife Refuge maintains a system of remote cameras to monitor use of
refuge habitats by various wildlife species. Converting the power source for these cameras from the
current disposable dry cell batteries to solar power will reduce the number of driving trips necessary
to maintain them, and the number of discarded dry cell batteries in local waste disposal areas. |
Multi-Point Videoconferencing as a Means of Reducing the Service’s Carbon Footprint –
$6,000
Submitted by Region 2 Ecological Services
Interactive communications technology will be installed in several field offices to allow Service
professionals at two or more locations to meet via videoconference. The goal is to cut down on the
number of face-to-face meetings/briefings and associated travel by various units of the Service, thus
reducing our carbon footprint. |
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Photo: Devil's River Minnow |
Effects of Increased Temperature on Growth and Reproduction in Devils River Minnows –
$5,000
Submitted by the San Marcos National Fish Hatchery
The Service has already determined the critical maximum temperature related to the survival of the
threatened Devils River minnow. The next step is to evaluate the effects of increased water
temperature (such as might occur due to climate change) on growth and reproduction in this
species. Any detrimental effects on growth and reproduction will help the Service design
management strategies to maintain healthy spring flows, especially during the summer months. |
Carbon Sequestration by Woody Plants in South Texas – $5,000
Submitted by the Lower Rio
Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge
Global warming has caused increasing levels of carbon in the atmosphere. Trees can help alleviate
global warming by binding carbon in above- and below-ground plant biomass. The Lower Rio
Grande National Wildlife Refuge will conduct a study to investigate the carbon sequestration
capacities of several native woody plant species from south Texas and northern Mexico. The results
will be used to promote carbon sequestration markets, and support primary brushlands restoration
projects benefiting migratory birds, endangered species, and other native wildlife. |
Identify Potential Energy and Water Savings on Uvalde National Fish Hatchery – $5,000
Submitted by the Uvalde National Fish Hatchery
Aquaculture (fish breeding) depends upon both water and energy – two pricey resources. Uvalde
National Fish Hatchery will conduct a short-term study on their water supply wells, as well as two
individual ponds, to measure energy use and water efficiency. The results will be used to develop
strategies for decreasing energy use and improving water efficiency in fish hatcheries. |
Read 2008 Climate Change Workshop information.
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