Integrating federal research on global change and climate change

Climate Change is one of the biggest challenges the world faces and is a top priority for the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Climate change and its impacts on natural resources are a key concern for resources managers in the Department of the Interior and for many of Interior's external partners at State, Federal, and local levels. Work within the USGS Global Change activity supports the development of a framework for a comprehensive, national climate effects research and monitoring network and the adaptation of the scientific findings of the network to real life applications. Key components of the program office include:

• The DOI Climate Effects Network (DOI CEN)
• Global Change Research and Development
• Science Applications and Decision Support
• The Natural Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center
• National Carbon Sequestration Assessments (geologic and biologic)

The USGS Global Change Program supports the Department's goal tom improve the understanding of national ecosystems and resources through integrated interdisciplinary assessments. Global Change-funded projects and activities support the goals described in the 2003 Strategic Plan.

The USGS Global Change Program office is composed of two topical assessment centers and an integrated national observation and research network for determining and tracking the status and trends of whole systems subjected to a changing climate. The assessment centers are:

1. The National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center
2. The National Carbon Sequestration Assessments

The topical centers will both contribute to and utilize the data collection, storage, and analysis capabilities of the DOI CEN. The network will include three primary components of operation:

1. Collaborative Observation and Research (CORE) for Ecosystem, Land Use, and Socio-Economic Status and Trends
2. Global Change Research and Development
3. Science Application and Decision Support
   

The office’s scientific findings are complimented by the DOI’s Climate Change Response site, which contains an array of speeches, addresses, and public policy briefs relating to the Department’s natural resource conservation and energy production efforts.

As part of the Department of the Interior’s commitment to building a coordinated strategy to respond to the impacts of climate change on the nation’s natural resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released a final strategic plan that will guide the agency’s efforts to respond to the unprecedented threat posed by global warming.  There are three main activities in its Climate Change Strategic Plan: adaptation, mitigation, and engagement.  By issuing this plan, the Service is committing itself to being a leader in addressing the conservation challenges of a changing climate.