Advancing the National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy Into a New Decade
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K R O W T E N N O I T A T P A D A E T A M I L A D V A N C I N G T H E C S T N A T I O N A L F I S H , N A L P W I L D L I F E , A N D D N A , E P L A N T S C L I M A T E F I L D L A D A P T A T I O N I W , H S T R A T E G Y I N T O S I F L A A N E W D E C A D E N O I T A N Advancing the National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy into a New Decade Contributors Joe Burns, USFS/Office of Sustainability Mike Langston, U.S. Geological and Climate Survey/South Central Climate Adaptation Whisper Camel-Means, Confederated Science Center Salish and Kootenai Tribes Dara Marks-Marino, Institute for Tribal Nikki Cooley, Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals Environmental Professionals Tracy Melvin, Michigan State University Karen Cozzetto, Institute for Tribal Robert Newman, University of North Dakota Environmental Professionals Rachael Novak, Bureau of Indian Rob Croll, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Affairs/Tribal Resilience Program Wildlife Commission Madeleine Rubenstein, U.S. Geological Aimee Delach, Defenders of Wildlife Survey/National Climate Adaptation Science Maggie Ernest Johnson, Association of Fish Center and Wildlife Agencies Ted Weber, Defenders of Wildlife Roger Griffis, NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service This report was reviewed by members of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ Climate Adaptation Committee and the National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Network. ADVANCING THE NATIONAL FISH, WILDLIFE, AND PLANTS CLIMATE ADAPTATION STRATEGY INTO A 1 NEW DECADE Suggested Citation National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Network. 2021. Advancing the national fish, wildlife, and plants climate adaptation strategy into a new decade. Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Washington, DC. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government ADVANCING THE NATIONAL FISH, WILDLIFE, AND PLANTS CLIMATE ADAPTATION STRATEGY INTO A 2 NEW DECADE Executive Summary In 2009, at the behest of Congress, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the US Department of the Interior (DOI) were asked to develop a national, government-wide climate adaptation strategy for fish, wildlife, plants, and ecosystems. In doing so, the U.S. Federal Government recognized the immensity of climate change impacts on the Nation’s vital natural resources, as well as the critical need for partnership among federal, state, and tribal fish and wildlife agencies. More than 90 diverse technical, scientific, and management experts from across the country participated in the development and, in 2012, the National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy (Strategy) was published. Designed to “inspire and enable natural resource managers, legislators, and other decision makers to take effective steps towards climate change adaptation over the next five to ten years,” the time has come for the natural resource community to consider the impact of the Strategy, while identifying the necessary evolution of it, to continue to effectively safeguard the Nation’s natural resources in a changing climate. This report is not meant to replace the Strategy, nor be an addendum to it. Rather, the development of this report was intended to take a high-level review of what has changed in the field of climate change adaptation, how the Strategy has or has not been effectively implemented at federal, state, tribal, and nonprofit levels, and provide recommendations for its future update and implementation. This report is split into three parts. Part I briefly describes what has changed in our understanding of climate change and climate adaptation science, as well as how the emerging field of the adaptation practice has grown. Part II cross-walks the Strategy goals with a variety of conservation plans made at federal, state, tribal, and nonprofit levels to assess where and how the Strategy has been implemented or been an influence over the past decade. Finally, Part III summarizes the findings of this report by laying out recommendations. These recommendations include thirteen voluntary management actions designed to highlight and address the needs and challenges of the natural resource community in the new decade. Of note, our most significant recommendation is for the addition of a new Strategy goal that focuses on the need and opportunities to better integrate people into climate adaptation efforts fish, wildlife, plants, and the ecosystems on which people depend. This recommendation is meant to address the current and historical underrepresentation of Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color in conservation plans and projects. The report concludes with four next steps we feel are necessary for the revision of the Strategy and to ensure it will continue to be promoted and implemented throughout all sectors and jurisdictions. While much has changed in our understanding of climate adaptation over the past decade, it is clear that the Strategy has provided a roadmap for scientists and managers to address the impacts of a changing climate to the Nation’s natural resources. To ensure that the Strategy remains a critical guiding document, the recommendations included in Part III outline what will be needed to meet this challenge. While this report represents the assessment of an informal network of practitioners, it is our hope that these recommendations from federal, state, tribal, and ADVANCING THE NATIONAL FISH, WILDLIFE, AND PLANTS CLIMATE ADAPTATION STRATEGY INTO A 3 NEW DECADE nonprofit partners promote robust discussion and increased action to implement the Strategy. Coordinated action is critical to addressing climate change impacts on the Nation’s valuable fish, wildlife, and plants and the many people, communities and economies that depend on them. ADVANCING THE NATIONAL FISH, WILDLIFE, AND PLANTS CLIMATE ADAPTATION STRATEGY INTO A 4 NEW DECADE Table of Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 3 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 7 PART I ............................................................................................................................................. 8 State of the Science .................................................................................................................... 8 Greenhouse Gas–Induced Changes to the Climate and Ocean ............................................ 8 Climate Change Impacts on Fish, Wildlife, and Plants ......................................................... 14 Non-Climate Stressors on Fish, Wildlife, and Plants, and Interactions with Climate Change ............................................................................................................................................... 20 Impacts on Ecosystem Services ........................................................................................... 29 Including Indigenous Knowledges (IKs) in Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Planning and Actions ............................................................................................................. 32 State of the Practice .................................................................................................................. 44 Widely Adopted Guidance and Approaches ......................................................................... 44 New and Emerging Frameworks and Guidance ................................................................... 46 Moving Forward ..................................................................................................................... 48 PART II .......................................................................................................................................... 50 Example Federal Plans ............................................................................................................. 53 NOAA Fisheries Climate Science Strategy ........................................................................... 53 NPS Climate Change Action Plan 2012–2014 ..................................................................... 53 FWS Planning for Climate Change on the National Wildlife Refuge System....................... 53 Example State Plans ................................................................................................................. 54 Florida State Wildlife Action Plan .......................................................................................... 54 Massachusetts State Wildlife Action Plan ............................................................................. 55 Wyoming State Wildlife Action Plan ...................................................................................... 56 Example Tribal Plans ................................................................................................................ 56 Karuk Climate Adaptation Plan ............................................................................................. 56 Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu ............................................................................................ 57 Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Plan: 1854 Ceded Territory Including the Bois Forte, Fond du Lac and Grand Portage Reservations ............................ 57 Example Nonprofit