The Climate Change Wildlife and Wildlands Toolkit divides the country into 11 distinct “ecoregions” based on a number of factors including geography and habit type. You can explore the ecoregions and find the one you live in using the interactive map on the Toolkit Homepage or the list on the left hand navigation bar. However you explore the ecoregions you will find case studies and activities that will bring alive the impacts and solutions to climate change on Wildlife and Wildlands.
Case studies for each of the ecoregions include regional impacts of climate change, “Spotlight on Species” on public lands that are being affected by climate change, and strategies being employed by “Climate Stewards” in each region who are helping ecosystems adapt to a changing world.
Activities for students for each of the ecoregions include science, social science, math, language arts, and art activities. Developed by master teachers in the 2008 Albert Einstein Fellowship Program, the activities are fun, educational, and easily adapted to a variety of settings and ability levels. The specific Climate Literacy Guidelines and National Education Standards are referenced for each activity.
The 11 eco-regions are:
The Caribbean Ecoregion includes the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and part of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Desert Arid Ecoregion includes the Mojave, Sonoran, Great Basin, and Chihuahuan deserts, as well as the Colorado River and Rio Grande basins and the surrounding mountain ranges.
The Eastern Coastline Ecoregion extends from Florida’s beaches, barrier islands, bays, estuaries, and tidal marshes, to the colder reaches and rocky coastline of Maine.
The Eastern Forests and Woodlands Ecoregion encompasses the rugged Adirondack Mountains in New York and the Appalachian Mountains that span the entire eastern seaboard, to rolling hills, valleys, and plains.
The Great Lakes Ecoregion includes Lake Michigan, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Superior, and Lake Ontario.
The Gulf Coast Ecoregion stretches in an arc from the tip of Florida to the tip of Texas, passing through the southern areas of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi.
The Pacific Islands Ecoregion includes the State of Hawai’i, and territories and jurisdictions such as, the territories of Guam and American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
The Polar/Subpolar Ecoregion is composed of the vast, deep, ice-covered Arctic Ocean, surrounded by the continental land masses that include Alaska, Northern Canada, and Eurasia.
The Prairie Grasslands Ecoregion begins with the Great Plains at the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains and extends all the way to the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern part of the country.
The Western Coastline Ecoregion includes the coastal zone that stretches from southern California through Oregon, Washington, and up to southern Alaska.
The Western Forests and Mountains Ecoregion stretches east from the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges to the Rocky Mountains.
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