Climate Change and National Park Wildlife: a Survival Guide for A

CLIMATE CHANGE & NATIONAL PARK Wildlife A Survival Guide for a Warming World

INSIDE:

Five steps for safeguarding wildlife from climate change

Eleven wildlife proﬁ les, from migratory birds to grizzly bears

Dozens of national park stories, from the Arctic to the Caribbean We can safeguard the wildlife of America’s national parks from climate change if we take the following steps: ■ Stop contributing to climate change

■ Reduce and eliminate existing harms that make wildlife more vulnerable to climate change

■ Give wildlife freedom to roam

■ Adopt “climate smart” management practices

■ Empower national parks to lead by example CLIMATE CHANGE & NATIONAL PARK Wildlife A Survival Guide for a Warming World

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Climate Change and National Park Wildlife: Risk & Opportunity

3 Five Steps to Safeguard America’s Wildlife & Ourselves from Climate Change

10 Coral Reefs of Southern Florida & Caribbean

14 Salmon of the Paciﬁ c Northwest

18 Grizzly Bear and other wildlife among the Rocky Mountain pine forests

22 Loon and other birds of the Great Lakes

26 Oysters icon of the Chesapeake

30 Yellow-Legged Frogs of the Sierra Nevada Mountains

34 Flying Squirrel and other threatened mammals of the Appalachian Mountains

38 Bighorn Sheep in the Southwest

42 Caribou in Alaska’s parks and preserves

46 Wolverines of the Northern Rockies

50 Red Knots and other migratory birds in the Northeast

Grizzly, Denali National Park, Alaska © Michael S. Quinton/Getty 54 Acknowledgements & Notes Chipmunk in Glacier National Park, Montana © Ian Shive/Aurora Photos CLIMATE CHANGE AND NATIONAL PARK WILDLIFE: Risk & Opportunity

The effects of climate change have been visible for years in Changes that harm our national parks. Glaciers are disappearing faster than wildlife — depriving scientists had predicted even a few years ago. Native trees and animals are losing ground because changing temperature them of food, water, and weather patterns are making the availability of food, or shelter — will water, and shelter less certain. Fish and wildlife are being ultimately harm us. driven from their national park homes by changes that are unfolding faster than the animals’ ability to adapt.

Climate change is here and now, affecting the coral reefs in Florida at Biscayne National Park, lodgepole pines in Rocky Mountain National Park and animals that rely on snow in Yellowstone National Park. The danger signs are a clear call to action for the National Parks Conservation Association, a nonproﬁ t citizens’ organization that works to enhance and restore America’s national parks for present and future generations.

What’s happening in the parks is symptomatic of changes unfolding across the larger landscapes to which they are inseparably connected, the same landscapes that contain our communities. Changes that harm wildlife — depriving them of food, water, or shelter — will ultimately harm us. Given the iconic importance of parks, and that they protect core ecoregions of this country, working to safeguard parks and their wildlife from climate change should be a central strategy in safeguarding our nation from climate change.

Solutions are neither simple nor quick and easy. It will take decisive action on the part of our federal government and all of us to meet the challenge and keep our faith with future generations. To avoid the potentially catastrophic loss of animal and plant life, it is imperative that we wean ourselves from energy sources like coal and oil that are accelerating rising temperatures and causing unnatural climate change. And it is equally imperative that we pursue new strategies to preserve functioning ecosystems and the full diversity of life they support.

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 1 Right now, no national National parks can play an important role in these strategies, preserving healthy ecosystems and their wildlife, in part by helping them to adapt to new cli- plan exists to manage matic conditions. But some challenges must be addressed before the parks can fully step into this role. Right now, no national plan exists to manage wildlife wildlife throughout their throughout their habitat, which often is a patchwork of lands managed by multiple federal agencies, states, tribes, municipalities, and private landholders. habitat, which often is Wildlife need corridors that enable them to migrate between protected lands as climate change renders their current homes inhospitable. We also need to work a patchwork of lands harder to reduce air and water pollution that compound climate change stresses on wildlife. All of these elements must be put in place as soon as possible to safe- managed by multiple guard all living communities. federal agencies, states, This is a unique moment in time to leverage the power of America’s national parks for change. A conﬂ uence of events, including a new Ken Burns ﬁ lm tribes, municipalities, and series on the national parks, the release of the National Parks Second Century Commission’s vision for the park system, the new leadership at the Department private landholders. of the Interior and National Park Service who are making climate change a top priority, and the galvanizing focus of the coming Centennial of the National Park Service in 2016 can catalyze public support to safeguard our national parks from climate change.

We must act now to secure America’s natural legacy before it is lost to our children and grandchildren. The National Park System can play a central role in restoring and preserving the healthy ecosystems necessary for wildlife — and indeed ourselves — to thrive.

Tom C. Kiernan, President, National Parks Conservation Association

2 Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World FIVE STEPS TO SAFEGUARD AMERICA’S WILDLIFE & OURSELVES FROM Climate Change

America’s national parks are showing the signs of climate change. If we fail to act, From Yosemite’s forests in California to the Gulf Stream waters many species of fish of the Florida coast, from the top of the Rocky Mountains to the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, these lands and the and wildlife could incredible diversity of life they support are all feeling the heat. disappear from The choice is now ours to either chronicle their decline or take actions to make our the parks — or national parks part of the climate change solution. If we fail to act, many species of fi sh and wildlife could disappear from the parks — or even become extinct. even become extinct. That we must reduce global warming pollution to protect our natural world and We can safeguard human communities is now understood by many. But that is not all we must do. Unnatural climate change is already underway and will continue for decades the wildlife of even if we put a stop to all global warming pollution today. America’s national parks Additional steps must be taken now to safeguard wildlife. We must protect the places that will help wildlife survive as the climate changes, manage wild- if we take the life anticipating the changes ahead, and improve the ecological health of the national parks and their surrounding landscapes to give fi sh and wildlife a fi ght- following five steps: ing chance to survive unnatural climate change.

National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) advocates ﬁ ve steps that, taken together, will help safeguard ﬁ sh and wildlife, their homes, and our communities, from climate change. Here’s what needs to be done:

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 3 We must limit the #1: Stop contributing to climate change effects of climate Many wildlife species are struggling to cope with climate change by rapidly changes already underway. Some will not be able to endure reducing greenhouse much more change, and could disappear from national parks and even go extinct if climate change is unchecked. We gas emissions and must limit its effects by rapidly reducing greenhouse gas switching to emissions and switching to less-polluting sources of energy.

less-polluting ■ Coral reefs protected by Biscayne and Virgin Islands national parks might not survive if we fail to reduce carbon dioxide pollution that is warming and sources of energy. acidifying the ocean.

■ Salmon might disappear from Olympic, North Cascades, and Mount Rainier national parks if climate change continues to alter stream ﬂ ows, increase water temperatures, and create extreme downpours that wipe out young salmon.

■ Grizzly bears, birds, ﬁ sh, and other animals in Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain national parks could decline if the lodgepole and whitebark pine forests that sustain them continue to be wiped out by the advance of bark beetles, drought, and other climate change-related forces.

4 Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World #2: Reduce and eliminate existing By reducing and harms that make wildlife more eliminating existing vulnerable to climate change environmental harms

The damaging effects of climate change are compounded by we can significantly existing stresses on wildlife. Air and water pollution, development decrease the vulnerability of adjacent wild lands, logging and mining, and other forces are of plants, fish, and harming national park wildlife now, and adding climate change to the mix could be disastrous. By reducing and eliminating wildlife to climate these environmental harms we can signifi cantly decrease the change as well as vulnerability of plants, fi sh, and wildlife to climate change as produce rapid and well as produce rapid and tangible benefi ts — such as clean air and water — that both people and wildlife need to thrive. tangible benefits —

■ Water pollution and non-native species are already stressing waterfowl, such as clean air and shorebirds, and migratory birds that visit Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and other national parks in the Great Lakes region. By cleaning water — that both up water pollution and combating invasive species, we can give birds that depend on the Great Lakes a better chance to survive climate-related changes. people and wildlife

■ Historic overharvesting, disease, and pollution have caused a massive decline need to thrive. in Chesapeake Bay oysters. A more aggressive approach to reducing these threats would help the bay’s oysters survive climate change stresses such as warmer waters and heavier ﬂ oods that ﬂ ush pollution in to the Bay and introduce more fresh water than the oysters can tolerate.

■ Pesticides, disease, and non-native trout have nearly eliminated the mountain yellow-legged frog from Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon national parks. Reducing these threats and restoring healthy populations of frogs throughout the parks could help them survive the loss of shallow ponds and streams expected to occur in some areas as the climate continues to warm.

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 5 Because national parks, #3: Give wildlife freedom to roam like all protected areas, Climate change will cause some wildlife to move outside the parks’ are interconnected protected boundaries, while other species may move in. Because national parks, like all protected areas, are interconnected with with surrounding surrounding landscapes, cooperation and coordination among landscapes, cooperation all land owners — public and private — is essential to preserve and coordination among all functioning ecosystems and the wildlife they support. National parks can play a key role in conserving wildlife across the landscape. land owners — public and In some cases they provide natural corridors; in other cases new private — is essential corridors will be needed to connect parks and other protected to preserve functioning lands so that wildlife can move in response to climate change. ■ ecosystems and the Thanks to the efforts of the National Park Service, there is an unbroken, 2,175-mile corridor of protection, the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. wildlife they support. Stretching from Georgia, north through Great Smoky Mountains and Shenandoah national parks, to Maine, the trail and its network of parks stands ready to serve as a corridor and refuge for species that need to move in response to climate change.

■ Desert bighorn sheep that frequent Arches, Canyonlands, and Capitol Reef national parks shift location in response to seasons and weather. As climate change alters precipitation and vegetation patterns, new migration patterns could emerge. Working together, wildlife managers and private landowners can ensure pathways are available for bighorn sheep to access food and water they need to thrive.

■ The caribou that live in and pass through Alaska’s high arctic parks — Noatak and Bering Land Bridge national preserves, Kobuk Valley National Park, and Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve — also roam across a landscape with a patchwork of federal, state, and tribal owners. As climate change renders traditional calving grounds and winter feeding areas unsuitable, wildlife managers working together can identify new habitat and ensure the path is clear for caribou to get there.

6 Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World #4: Adopt “climate smart” “Climate smart” management management practices requires real focus on

“Climate smart” management includes four key elements: (1) training implementing management national park managers to build climate change into their work, changes now based on (2) establishing guidance and policies that enable park staff to work what we already know. closely and equally with other federal, state, local and private landowners, (3) providing sufﬁ cient funding and stafﬁ ng for the challenge at hand, and (4) creating a political and organizational setting that facilitates appropriate, timely, and collaborative action. While research and monitoring should be a part of any park’s approach to “climate smart” management, real focus needs to be placed on implementing management changes now based on what we already know.

■ For wolverines in Yellowstone and Glacier national parks, the loss of deep winter snows could mean fewer winter-killed animals that are essential to their diet. A healthy wolf population creates ample carrion. Further research could conﬁ rm that maintaining a healthy wolf population is a “climate smart” strategy for helping wolverines survive as winter snows decline.

■ Nestled between its larger neighbors in the Sierra Nevada Mountains — Yosemite and Sequoia — Devils Postpile National Monument is home to a great diversity of wildlife. But at only 800 acres, the park cannot by itself mean- ingfully address climate change impacts on its wildlife. So the park superintendent is developing a plan in coordination with managers of the surrounding national forest to protect wildlife throughout the larger ecosystem.

■ Northeast coastal parks like Acadia National Park and Fire Island National Seashore provide critical nesting and feeding areas along the Atlantic migratory ﬂ yway. Sea level rise threatens to swamp some bird habitat along the ﬂ yway. Working together, resource managers from the Park Service and other federal, state, and local agencies can identify and protect critical habitat, restore marshes, and take steps that allow coastal habitats the opportunity to shift inland.

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 7 National parks can help #5: National parks lead by example visitors understand climate With more than 270 million annual visitors, a core education change already occurring, mission, and a tradition of scientiﬁ c leadership, national parks have an unparalleled ability to engage Americans in the vulnerabilities of the ﬁ ght against climate change. National parks can help tomorrow, and how we can visitors understand climate change already occurring, the all reduce our contribution vulnerabilities of tomorrow, and how we can all reduce our contribution to global warming. National parks can also to global warming. serve as natural laboratories for testing innovative ways to safeguard wildlife from the effects of climate change, and to reduce greenhouse gases that are causing climate change.

■ Throughout the country, national parks such as Everglades, the Smokies, Glacier, and Yosemite, have banded together as Climate Friendly Parks. They share common goals of reducing their own greenhouse gas emissions and demonstrate sustainable solutions to others. NPCA operates Do Your Part!, a program that carries the parks’ sustainability message to the general public and provides individuals with opportunities to do their part to reduce global warming pollution.

■ The National Park Service is beginning to experiment with scenario planning, a model that identiﬁ es future scenarios that could occur with increasing climate change and explores management responses for each. The model will help managers develop action and monitoring plans that give them the information and ﬂ exibility they need to maximize the chance not of the single “best” outcome — a risky approach when uncertainty is high — but the chance of some positive outcome.

8 Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World By safeguarding wildlife, They have been we help secure our own future entrusted to us, and it National parks are America’s national treasures. It is a uniquely American idea is our responsibility to that each of us owns our national parks. They have been entrusted to us, and it is our responsibility to make sure that climate change does not rob the parks of make sure that climate their incredibly rich array of plants, fi sh, reptiles, birds, and mammals. change does not rob Wildlife is threatened now as perhaps never before. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that up to a quarter of assessed species could the parks of their face extinction due to global warming by the end of this century. It’s diffi cult to imagine that the changes leading to mass wildlife extinctions would not also incredibly rich array profoundly threaten human life. of plants, fish, reptiles, Decisive action now can help bring about a more hopeful future for wildlife and for ourselves. Taking the fi ve steps recommended here will help safeguard birds, and mammals. national park wildlife by preserving and strengthening the ecosystems that support all wildlife. In turn our communities, which have always relied on healthy natural resources, will be better equipped to cope with the changes ahead.

Mark Wenzler, Director, Clean Lara Hansen, PhD, Chief Scientist Air & Climate Programs, National & Executive Director, EcoAdapt Parks Conservation Association

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 9 Hawksbill Turtle finning over coral reef © Richard Carey/iStockphoto Venture beneath the surface and you’ll encounter a rich, vibrant ecosystem that contains fanciful sea life ranging from sharks and sea cows to the only living tropical coral reef in the continental United States.

Coralof Southern Florida Reefs and the Caribbean

Neon-hued parrotﬁ sh. Graceful angelﬁ sh the size of dinner platters. Delicate sponges that sway in the currents. Coral communities teeming with colorful marine life. Our fascination with the oceans and their denizens has led Congress to include within the National Park System some of the nation’s most incredible and beautiful marine ecosystems.

Ninety-fi ve percent of Biscayne National Park, for instance, is underwater. Venture beneath the surface and you’ll encounter a rich, vibrant ecosystem that contains fanciful sea life ranging from sharks and sea cows to the only living tropical coral reef in the continental United States. Known as the Florida Reef Tract, it is the world’s third-largest reef and wraps from Biscayne on Florida’s eastern shore all the way to Dry Tortugas National Park off the state’s southwestern tip. Within Dry Tortugas you will fi nd a seascape similar to that of Biscayne, with a wide variety of marine life protected within the park’s borders. You will also fi nd a 46-square-mile research natural area that offers an added layer of protection by prohibiting anchoring of boats and fi shing which can physically damage coral reefs, while providing an area for unfettered marine ecosystem research. Park managers hope that threatened staghorn corals, which have declined by 99 percent in the park’s waters since 1977, will benefi t from these additional protections and expanded research opportunities.

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 11 In recent decades there have been significant changes in the coral reef communities of Florida and the Caribbean.

Unfortunately, multiple problems important steps in protecting corals, reef damage. The extent of damage confront coral reefs. Over-fi shing can but the human-caused stressors, as varies from year to year, but declines reduce fi sh species that are critical to well as global stressors such as climate in many coral reef habitats have been coral reef health. In addition, water change, must also be addressed. recorded throughout the Florida Keys quality issues and physical distur- in the last two decades. Warming bances have been long-standing prob- In recent decades there have been ocean temperatures and disease lems. Now climate change threatens signifi cant changes in the coral reef may have been primary contributing to exacerbate these stressors. communities of Florida and the factors to these declines. In Virgin Caribbean. More potent and numer- Islands National Park, three months Both staghorn and elkhorn corals ous hurricanes and coral “bleach- of abnormally elevated water tem- were listed as threatened species ing” — a phenomenon in which peratures led to extensive bleaching under the Endangered Species Act in corals stressed by too-warm water followed by disease outbreaks that May 2006, partly due to the threats or other stressors turn white as they resulted in an average decline in hard posed by climate change. Two years expel their resident algae — are coral cover of more than 51 percent later, in November 2008, the National damaging, if not outright destroy- during 2005. The future seems bleak, Marine Fisheries Service designated ing, these valuable ecosystems. The as scientists expect bleaching episodes part of Florida’s waters and those most signifi cant bleaching episode to become a more frequent calling in the U.S. Virgin Islands, includ- to date in the Florida Keys occurred card of climate change. ing Virgin Islands National Park, as in 1997-98. Compounding that event critical habitat for these two corals. were Hurricane Georges and Tropical The latest climate-related threat Designations of critical habitat are Storm Mitch, which added to the to coral reef ecosystems is ocean

12 Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World acidifi cation. While the oceans’ capac- that may be hurting our reefs’ chances ity to absorb atmospheric carbon of recovery from bleaching and other We Can Safeguard dioxide makes them great “carbon adverse effects of global warming. Coral Reefs sinks,” they are absorbing so much This will not be simple. Some say that that their pH is decreasing and ocean even if greenhouse gas emissions from Climate Change waters are becoming more acidic. dropped back to pre-Industrial levels If left unchecked, this acidifi cation (below 300 parts per million) in the threatens to deprive corals of their atmosphere tomorrow, it could take as Stop contributing to ability to create and maintain their long as 40 years for a return to normal climate change calcium carbonate skeletons (acid temperature regimes. Coral reefs might not survive dissolves calcium carbonate). And it is if we fail to reduce carbon these skeletons, when assembled in While impacts of climate change, such dioxide pollution that is mass, which create the reefs. as warmer waters and more potent warming the waters and storms, can’t be eased overnight, acidifying the ocean. Along with global stressors such as working to reduce the human-related warming waters and hurricanes are impacts can help lessen the reefs’ vul- localized man-made stressors, includ- nerability to climate change. Studies Reduce and eliminate ing overuse, sedimentation, water have shown that reef ecosystems with pollution, physical disturbance (i.e., a rich diversity of plants, invertebrates, existing harms that make boat groundings), and disease — all and fi sh are more resilient to bleach- coral more vulnerable of which affect the reefs.Over-fi shing ing and rebound more quickly after to climate change takes a toll by culling benefi cial fi sh bleaching episodes. Helping maintain Reducing pollution runoff, and invertebrate species that help such diversity are healthy mangrove sedimentation, over-fishing, control algal growth on corals. forests, which serve as nurseries for and physical disturbances will fi sh fry that later inhabit reefs as help corals become healthier The impacts of weakened and dying adults. Human-produced stressors and better able to withstand corals go beyond the somewhat include the fertilizers, pesticides, and climate change impacts. monochromatic and crumbling skel- toxic substances that stormy weather etons left behind by bleaching and fl ushes from coastal areas into the other damage. Not only are coral reef oceans, where the pollution can harm ecosystems some of the most diverse reefs. Through managing healthy Adopt “climate smart” and species-rich ecosystems on Earth, populations of fi sh and combating management practices but they are huge economic drivers human impacts the resilience of coral National Park Service manag- for nearby communities. Biscayne reefs to climate change actually can ers can bring together all National Park alone generates more be heightened. stakeholders to develop and than $23 million a year in economic implement strategies that activity thanks to its visitors, and the Understanding the interconnected- strengthen coral reef systems, entire south Florida region profi ts $4.4 ness of marine systems and managing such as restoring mangrove billion annually, along with more than them to promote species diversity, as forests that shelter fish that 70,000 full- and part-time jobs, thanks well as minimizing or limiting human- help keep coals healthy, and to business associated with these caused impacts (e.g., sedimentation, minimizing human-caused ecosystems. Marinas, charter boats, over-fi shing, pollution, physical distur- impacts. These strategies fi shing guides, dive shops, grocery bances), could help coral reef commu- should help coral reef com- stores, motels, restaurants, and gift nities cope with the effects of climate munities become more resilient shops all benefi t from the reefs. change. Altering human impacts by in the face of climate change. getting stakeholders to realize the problems and work proactively to SOLUTIONS overcome them can start to pay off almost immediately. Such an approach How can we help protect coral reefs, will require National Park Service the myriad species that depend on managers to work with other govern- corals, and the economies of coastal mental agencies and bring together communities? Stop contributing to all stakeholders to develop and imple- global warming and work to alleviate ment a comprehensive strategy to the local human-generated stressors protect the reefs.

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 13 Reflections in Sol Duc River, Olympic National Park, Washington © Konrad Wothe/Minden Pictures Salmonof the Paciﬁ c Northwest

Life is not easy for salmon in the Pacifi c Northwest. They’re Salmon in the born inland, usually in a stream far from the ocean. Then, when Pacific Northwest they’re old enough, they have to swim all the way to the ocean, hopefully timing it right so there will be plenty to eat when aren’t strangers they arrive. Some years later, if they’ve managed to avoid the to challenges posed Pacifi c’s predators, they have to retrace that journey to return by humans and to where they were born so they can mate. And then they die. our environmental Unfortunately, that already diffi cult existence is likely to become even more grueling in the years to come as climate change is expected to alter stream fl ows, alterations. increase water temperatures, and fl ush fry and young smolts toward the ocean before they’re ready.

Salmon in the Paciﬁ c Northwest aren’t strangers to challenges posed by humans and our environmental alterations. Dams built in the early 1900s along the Elwha River, which originates in the mountains of Olympic National Park, have stood in the way of salmon migrations for years, as have dams throughout the Columbia River drainage. Over-ﬁ shing has strained salmon populations since the start of industrial harvest in the 19th century, as have pollution, logging, development, and agricultural demands for water. Conditions for salmon were so tough during the 20th century that by the time the 21st century rolled around salmon in the

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 15 Ensuring that fisheries maintain healthy stocks of the various salmon populations, while carefully managing habitat needs, could be key in confronting climate change.

Northwest had vanished from about Cascades national parks in November 40 percent of their historical range. 2006 and again in the fall of 2007. Climate-change scenarios predict Those storms blew out roads, washed tougher times ahead. away campgrounds, obliterated hiking trails, and scoured out rivers Various predictive scenarios agree and streams. that a warming climate will result in more winter rains and fewer winter Beyond such storm scenarios, snows in the Northwest. The snow increased stream water temperatures that does fall is expected to melt created by a combination of higher air earlier in the year, likely leading to temperatures, shallower streams that sooner-than-usual peak stream fl ows fl ow more slowly, and the release of that could wash salmon fry down to warm, stagnant waters from reser- the Pacifi c Ocean before the nutrient voirs behind dams could prove deadly base (i.e., plankton blooms) the fi sh to salmon. Studies have shown that depend upon is in place. A review of sustained exposure to waters that the winter storm projections made to are 70 degrees Fahrenheit or above is date shows that it also wouldn’t be usually fatal to salmon. surprising to see more devastating downpours, such as those that raked Water politics in the western United Olympic, Mount Rainier, and North States have long been contentious;

16 Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World climate change and its effects National Park Service will also need promise to further complicate to work closely with other man- We Can Safeguard matters by reducing already low agement agencies because salmon Salmon from summertime fl ows. Concerns about migrate through waters that fall reduced stream fl ows could lead to under various jurisdictions. Climate Change calls for more water storage facilities — projects that, if approved, would In the case of warming waters, efforts further threaten salmon. to preserve trees on stream banks Stop contributing to could help cool rivers and streams. climate change The combination of all of these Dam removal also helps lower tem- Salmon could decline even factors has led scientists to predict peratures by allowing more natural further if we fail to reduce that suitable salmon habitat in stream fl ows, and it restores access carbon dioxide pollution Washington state alone could shrink to salmon habitat. Already, the Park and global warming that by about 22 percent by 2090 due to Service is part of the largest dam is causing heavier spring climate change. removal project in history. The Elwha floods and warmer water Dam and the Glines Canyon Dam, detrimental to salmon. both on the Elwha River, will be SOLUTIONS removed in stages beginning in 2011. This will restore access to more than Reduce and eliminate Confronting the effects of climate 70 miles of salmon habitat. When dam change won’t be easy, but it’s not removal isn’t feasible, releasing cool existing harms that make impossible. There are ways to miti- water from the bottom of reservoirs salmon more vulnerable gate the effects of climate change. In could help lower river and stream to climate change the past, land management agencies temperatures. Dam removal, restoration of have been slow to act to address riparian lands, and reduction the future effects climate change Other ways to help salmon cope of pollution and sedimenta- will have on water resources. Now with the effects of climate change tion will help restore and is the time to factor climate change include working to maintain stream improve salmon habitat and into management policies, includ- fl ows for salmon during anticipated help salmon cope with the ing recovery plans for threatened periods of low fl ow; improving exist- additional stresses result- and endangered species. While ing in-stream habitat by maintaining ing from climate change. many public land managers in the or restoring riparian areas, decreas- Pacifi c Northwest have had to create ing pollution and sedimentation, habitat conservation plans for one or and adding woody debris where more salmon species that have been appropriate; acquiring new habitat; Adopt “climate smart” listed as threatened or endangered protecting groundwater recharge; management practices under the Endangered Species Act, at and removing obstacles to up- and By factoring climate change present none appear to have factored downstream migrations. Preserving into the numerous existing climate change into their plans. Doing naturally occurring springs, which plans to preserve salmon so could be as simple as realizing that provide an infl ux of cool water to and their habitat, resource it’s necessary to sustainably manage streams, is also important. managers for the Park Service fi sheries to promote the most species and throughout the Pacific diversity possible. Northwest can develop and implement strategies that Ensuring that fi sheries maintain attempt to compensate for the healthy stocks of the various salmon damaging effects of climate populations, while carefully manag- change on salmon popula- ing habitat needs, could be key in tions, including warmer water confronting climate change. Park and heavier spring floods. Service managers at Olympic and Mount Rainier National Parks, which contain the headwaters for a number of salmon-bearing streams, will play critical roles ensuring salmon persist in the face of climate change. The

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 17 Sunset over river and peaks in Moraine Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado © Tim Fitzharris/Minden Pictures Studies have shown that when there’s a good whitebark pine nut crop, grizzly sows gorge on them and head into hibernation both fatter and healthier.

Grizzlyand other wildlife among Bear the Rocky Mountain pine forests

Natural events — wildﬁ res, ﬂ oods, windstorms — often leave behind obvious marks on the landscapes they touch. Charred trees and scorched meadows, washed out trails, and swaths of fallen trees are some of the reminders of these powerful forces. The impacts wrought by other naturally occurring events and cycles are not always so easy to discern. For example, mountain pine beetles, the size of grains of rice, have long played an important role in forest ecosystems, but as climate change upsets the rules that once governed the dynamics between beetles and forests, the beetles’ effects on forest ecosystems are bordering on catastrophic. Even the mighty grizzly bear, denizen of the northern Rockies, is likely to suffer from the changes wrought by the tiny pine beetle.

Diminutive in size, the beetle’s lifecycle revolves largely around lodgepole pines, primary components of forests throughout the Rocky Mountain region, including the forests of Rocky Mountain National Park. Adult beetles bore through the trees’ outer bark and into the phloem

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 19 Reversing the warming trends that are allowing the pine bark beetle to thrive could take decades, but land managers have begun discussions about how best to combat the beetles under climate change scenarios.

tissue where they burrow about of lodgepole seeds from their cones, eating and laying eggs. When the leading to eventual germination and eggs hatch the following year, the growth of new trees. young eat their way back out, and head off in search of another lodge- Mountain pine beetles and lodgepole pole to start the process anew. Left pine forests have long coexisted. But behind is a tree that soon dies, its climate change is stacking the ecologi- fl ow of nutrients thought to be fatally cal cards against the lodgepole forests disrupted by the beetles. of the southern Rockies and in favor of the beetles. For starters, those deadly Lodgepoles are not completely Rocky Mountain cold snaps are becom- defenseless against the beetles’ attack. ing few and far between. In addi- They respond to the onslaught by tion, warming temperatures in recent exuding copious amounts of resin decades have enabled the pine beetles that drown many of the beetles. Cold to signifi cantly broaden their infesta- snaps of 40 degrees below zero for tions by (1) allowing them to complete ten days or more are also capable of their lifecycle in one year instead of killing the beetles, providing a respite two, a development that could lead for the trees. Large-scale fi res can to a doubling in the beetle’s popula- also help forests deal with the beetles tion growth rate, and (2) enabling the because they promote the release beetles to move higher in elevation

20 Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World and attack not only more lodgepole there have been isolated infestations pines but also whitebark pines that in this pine species, the beetles typi- We Can Safeguard did not evolve with the insects and cally couldn’t survive the cold winter Wildlife that Depend so have no natural defenses. In Rocky temperatures in the highest reaches Mountain National Park, not only of the ecosystem. But warming has on Healthy Forests is climate change likely to aid pine allowed the beetles to reach more beetles with warmer temperatures, and more whitebark pine stands, and but a dryer climate in the park’s forests to complete an entire life cycle in one, Stop contributing to could further hinder the lodgepole not two, years, as was the old norm. climate change pine’s beetle defenses by reducing These current infestations are unprec- Whitebark and lodgepole pine its resin resources. The warming and edented and threaten the future of forests, and the wildlife that drying could also make the forests the ecosystem. Some whitebark pine depend on them, will likely more prone to disease, further increas- stands in the greater Yellowstone eco- decline if we fail to reduce ing their susceptibility to beetle attack. system have lost more than 90 percent carbon dioxide pollution Park offi cials expect the predicted of their trees to the beetles. that is warming the Rocky warming to initially make the lodge- Mountain region and aiding pole forests more susceptible to fi re. Remove whitebark pines from the eco- the spread of the pine beetle. In the long run, though, fi re danger system and you also remove their pine could drop due to a decrease in fuels. nuts, which are a valuable, high-pro- tein segment of grizzly bears’ fall diets. Adopt “climate smart” Back in 2001 the U.S. Forest Service Studies have shown that when there’s predicted that by 2017 some 21 a good whitebark pine nut crop, grizzly management practices million acres of Western forests sows gorge on them and head into By identifying and imple- were in danger of suffering “sig- hibernation both fatter and healthier. menting forest management nifi cant tree mortality” tied to the A key result is that they have larger practices that help preserve pine beetles. More recently, forestry and healthier cub litters than sows that some intact whitebark and offi cials are projecting that all mature hibernate with depleted reserves. lodgepole pine forests, and lodgepole forests in Colorado will be by focusing their efforts on dead by 2013. The impacts likely will areas with the greatest con- be far-reaching. Fires kindled by light- SOLUTIONS centrations of at-risk wildlife, ning or careless humans in the tinder- resource managers for the dry forests of dead lodgepoles will Reversing the warming trends that Park Service and other agen- create air-quality problems, damage are allowing the pine bark beetle to cies can help communities watersheds, impact wildlife and thrive could take decades, but land of grizzly bear and other possibly fi sheries, affect the logging managers have begun discussions wildlife survive as their land- industry, threaten communities, and about how best to combat the beetles scape continues to change. cost millions of dollars to fi ght. under climate change scenarios. Initial suggestions include creating forests The makeup of forests likely will of different age-group trees (beetles Give wildlife change, too, as beetle outbreaks kill bypass young trees and instead focus freedom to roam large swathes of lodgepole stands on those at least 5-6 inches in diameter Wildlife throughout the Rocky that then are susceptible to fi res. at chest level); thinning forests to Mountain region that depend Additionally, climate change is enabling reduce the competition for nutrients on whitebark and lodgepole this beetle to make longer and longer and so produce healthier trees better pine forests need access to forays into the upper elevations of equipped to combat and survive healthy forests as the trees in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem, pine beetle attacks; and encourag- their current habitats succumb inroads that are seriously jeopardizing ing a diversity of tree species. Some to pine beetle infestations. another key tree species — whitebark parks and national forests also have pine — whose disappearance could been spraying pesticides and using have dire ramifi cations for the overall pheromones to control mountain health of the ecosystem in general and pine beetles, but these applications the grizzly bear specifi cally. are controversial. Spraying pesticides in national parks runs counter to the Historically, whitebark pines have been National Park Service’s mission to let out of reach of pine beetles. While nature run its course, and it is costly.

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 21 Birch trees and sandstone cliffs along Lake Superior, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan © Carr Clifton/Minden Pictures Loonand other birds of the Great Lakes

Change is under way in the Great Lakes, the source of Many impacts of climate change 84 percent of North America’s fresh water and more than — shorter winters, precipitation 20 percent of the world’s supply. It is a progressive sweeping change that threatens to greatly transform the ecosystems of changes, decreasing duration these inland seas by warming their waters and supplanting of ice cover, increasing annual native species with harmful invasives. And it is a change average temperatures that are that ultimately may threaten the viability of the common loon and dozens of other birds that depend on the lakes. boosting the temperature of the

Many people see invasive species as the primary challenge in restoring lakes lakes — are already obvious. Superior, Michigan, Erie, Huron and Ontario, and the national parks of the Great Lakes experience these challenges ﬁ rsthand. But equally challenging is climate change, for its impact is felt throughout the Great Lakes region on native and non-native species alike.

Many impacts of climate change — shorter winters, precipitation changes, decreasing duration of ice cover, increasing annual average temperatures that are boosting the temperature of the lakes — are already obvious. These changes affect the native ﬁ sh and birds that call the Great Lakes home. Loss of winter ice jeopardizes reproduction of native whiteﬁ sh by exposing eggs to the effects

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 23 In recent years, tens of thousands of birds have perished from botulism that is erupting in the lakes, and which some scientists believe is partly a result of climate change.

of winter storms. Coldwater species portions of the lakes. Climate change such as coaster brook trout, found at and invasive species impact all levels Pictured Rocks and Apostle Islands of the food chain, beginning with an national lakeshores and Isle Royale “invader” from Russia. National Park in Lake Superior, are declining and will continue to do so Zebra and Quagga mussels, shellfi sh as lake temperatures rise. species from Eastern Europe, arrived in the lakes via ballast water dumped In recent years, tens of thousands of by ocean-going ships. The issue with birds have perished from botulism these mussels is that they multiply that is erupting in the lakes, and rapidly and act as millions of tiny which some scientists believe is partly water fi lters in the lakes. The increas- a result of climate change. Species ing clarity of the water, combined impacted include the common loon, with the lowering lake levels and Minnesota’s state bird; mergansers, warming waters, has fostered an envi- which summer and winter on portions ronment that has spurred more and of the lakes; Double-crested cormo- more Cladophora blooms. Although rants, which migrate through the this alga is native to the Great Lakes, region and summer on the lakes; and its recent growth spurts are highly even the piping plover, an endan- atypical. The algae fl ourish, creating gered shorebird that summers on piles of rotting organic matter that

24 Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World provide the perfect environment for Lakes, longer duration of summer Type E botulism bacteria to thrive. stratiﬁ cation will rise, increasing the We Can Safeguard Mussels eat organic matter contain- risk for oxygen depletion and forma- Birds of the ing the toxin, concentrating it in their tion of “dead zones” for ﬁ sh. bodies. Great Lakes from

Dispersing this poison are Round SOLUTIONS Climate Change Gobies, yet another invasive species. These fi sh came to the Great Lakes Battling aquatic invasive species Stop contributing to from the Black and Caspian seas while coping with climate change will climate change via ballast water in the mid-1990s. require a variety of solutions. They The ecological health of the They’ve managed in their new home include further controlling phospho- Great Lakes and their bird quite well, numbering in the billions rous runoff that feeds algae growth, populations could decline even in Lake Erie alone. as well as tighter ballast-water regula- further if we fail to reduce tions on ocean-going ships to control carbon dioxide pollution and The gobies dine on the mussels the spread of non-native species. climate change that is warming as well as the decaying algae and There is also a need for physical bar- the water, aiding the spread become carriers for the botulism. riers to prevent non-native species of a toxin deadly to birds, and Then waterfowl — loons, cormorants, from reaching the Great Lakes via sur- reducing the availability of fish. and mergansers as well as songbirds, rounding canals and waterways along raptors and other fi sh-eating birds — with an intensive invasive species feast on the dying gobies that fl oat to management program. Reduce and eliminate the surface or wash ashore, ingest the botulism, and die. From 1999 to 2006 Complementing these lake-specifi c existing harms that make an estimated 70,000 birds were killed approaches would be an overall effort birds more vulnerable by this toxic diet. About 3,000 dead to reduce greenhouse gases that lead to climate change loons and cormorants washed up on to global warming. The Great Lakes By better controlling invasive the beaches at Sleeping Bear Dunes national parks have already shown species and polluted runoff we National Lakeshore in 2006 alone. leadership by exercising their author- can retard the spread of algae ity to keep ballast dumping outside and toxins, which will improve So while the invasive mussels and of park waters and by adopting the health of the Great gobies have gotten much of the “climate friendly” strategies, which Lakes and help birds cope attention for their role in this massive include reduction of carbon-fueled with the additional stresses bird die-off, climate change may be a park vehicles and public outreach and wrought by climate change. key driver. If there were no botulism education. toxin, there would be no die-off, and climate change is creating conditions — warmer waters, lower lake levels, Adopt “climate smart” and possible seasonal increases in management practices nutrient levels — more favorable to Understanding how climate the bacteria that make the toxin. change interacts with existing environmental stresses By themselves, invasive agents are a such as pollution and invasive serious threat. Combined with climate species will help resource change, however, they become managers throughout the devastating. Warming waters tied to Great Lakes region identify climate change stress native cold- and and implement more effective cool-water fi sh populations while strategies for improving the making the Great Lakes’ habitat health of bird populations. more conducive to non-native warm- water species, such as the common carp. These invasive fi sh, found at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore near Chicago, then compete with the native fi sh for food. In all the Great

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 25 Sunset over the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland © Brian Palmer/iStockphotos The Chesapeake once harbored oyster beds so rich and bountiful that they formed reefs.

Oystersicon of the Chesapeake

Whether you call them Eastern oysters, American oysters, Rappahannock oysters, or simply “white gold,” the iconic shellﬁ sh plucked from the Chesapeake Bay are a salty delicacy that some think is best served with a dash of horseradish and a squirt of lemon juice. Sadly, it’s a delicacy that is not as abundant as it once was. The Chesapeake once harbored oyster beds so rich and bountiful that they formed reefs. That was the case in 1608 when Capt. John Smith explored the bay and found oysters so thick that ships could run aground on them. The Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network, administered by the National Park System, was established in 2006 to help preserve the rich cultural and natural history of the Bay, including its oystering heritage.

Today, Chesapeake Bay’s oyster population is estimated to be less than one percent of what it was in the 1800s. Although natural oyster beds can still be found in the Chesapeake, their dramatic decline over the years due to pollution, overharvesting, and disease has had a far-reaching effect on the

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 27 Warming bay waters associated with climate change, particularly in winter months, are responsible for the survival and virulence of a parasite that is killing the oysters.

overall health of Chesapeake Bay. Compounding the impact of this para- Oysters fi lter water, feeding on algae site, Perkinsus marinus (also known and removing pollutants, sediments, as Dermo), have been wide swings and excess nutrients from the water in annual precipitation believed to column. Fewer oysters means less be tied to climate change. And these water-cleansing by these miniature swings in precipitation have become fi ltration systems. Once there were more lethal as the Chesapeake water- enough oysters in the Chesapeake Bay, shed has become more urbanized. whose overall watershed represents the country’s largest estuary, to fi lter Between 1990 and 2000 there was all the bay water in as little as a week; a 60 percent increase in urbaniza- these days it takes the resident oysters tion of the Chesapeake watershed a year to accomplish the same task. as agricultural and forested lands were transformed into residential And now climate change has been areas. This urbanization directly added to the stresses affecting the affected the amounts of phospho- oysters. Warming bay waters associ- rous and nitrogen — usually stem- ated with climate change, particularly ming from the use of fertilizers, but in winter months, are responsible also from vehicle emissions, treated for the survival and virulence of a wastewaters, manure, and even parasite that is killing the oysters. septic systems — fl owing into the

28 Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World Chesapeake. Although residential SOLUTIONS neighborhoods contribute lower We Can Safeguard fl ows of nutrients than agricultural What’s to be done? If we stop con- the Chesapeake Bay lands, they contribute higher levels tributing to climate change we may of nutrients than previously forested be able to keep temperatures in the and its Oysters land. This nutrient fl ush is a prime Chesapeake Bay from warming to an factor in the bay’s troublesome even greater extent, further sup- from Climate Change water quality. Higher nutrient levels porting the spread of oyster-killing spur booms in algal growth, which parasites. Keeping global warming in Stop contributing to in turn can reduce the bay’s oxygen check might also prevent storms from levels through the buildup of decay- growing even stronger and increasing climate change ing organic matter on the seabed. the fl ow of the harmful sediments The ecological health of the into the Bay. Chesapeake Bay and its oyster Precipitation plays a role in determin- populations could decline ing the fl ow of nitrogen and phos- We must also work to preserve even further if we fail to phorus into the Chesapeake’s waters. remaining wetlands, marshes, and reduce carbon dioxide pollu- During dry years, much of the nitrogen forests — they naturally fi lter excess tion and global warming that and phosphorous is cached on shore, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment is warming the water, aiding something that presumably would from stormwater, and protect commu- the spread of deadly para- benefi t the bay’s waters. However, nity streams and rivers, and ultimately sites, and contributing to the when powerful storms return they can the Chesapeake. More accurate infor- runoff of harmful pollutants. fl ush these large caches of nutrients mation from EPA about the Bay’s con- into the Chesapeake. The particularly dition will help leaders at all levels of wet year of 2003, for example, pro- government identify key habitats to Reduce and eliminate duced one of the worst instances of restore and preserve, and make other existing harms that make nutrient-loading in the bay, leading management decisions that benefi t to oxygen deprivation for oysters and healthy oyster populations. oysters more vulnerable other sea life. to climate change On top of preserving habitat, com- By better controlling pol- Heavy storms, which many believe are munities must make choices to luted runoff from farms and being spurred by climate change, do reduce the fl ow of these pollutants towns, and by restoring and more than fl ush nutrients into the bay. into neighborhood streams. We preserving wildlife habitat Fresh water from the storms also kills can choose clean water by reducing surrounding the Chesapeake oysters. When Tropical Storm Agnes fertilizer use throughout the water- Bay, we can reduce existing swept the area in 1972, its rainfall shed, replacing failing septic tanks, stresses on the Bay’s oyster killed an estimated 2 million bushels and ensuring all existing septic tanks populations, which could of marketable oysters, as well as most can withstand sea level rise. We can help them cope with changes oyster larvae in the Chesapeake. In take measures to slow runoff during wrought by global warming. addition to killing oysters, fresh water storms. If individuals, business owners, runoff from storms typically doesn’t and offi cials at every level of govern- blend well with salt water, so it can ment from Cooperstown, New York Adopt “climate smart” inhibit mixing that normally would to Virginia Beach choose clean water, cycle oxygen into deeper waters. our local streams will be healthy, and management practices This can result in low oxygen levels the Chesapeake Bay will once again By factoring climate change (hypoxia) on the bay bottom. support an abundant population of into existing plans to restore this iconic native inhabitant. the Chesapeake Bay, resource Oxygen levels in the bay are also managers for the Park Service, affected as water temperatures warm EPA, and state and local due to climate change. Warm water agencies can develop and holds less dissolved oxygen than colder implement strategies that waters and also leads to higher rates of attempt to minimize the plant decay that contribute to hypoxia. damaging effects of climate change on oysters, including heavier than usual floods.

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 29 Yosemite valley, river, Yosemite National Park, California © David Noton/npl/Minden Pictures Climate change predictions for the region suggest altered precipitation patterns that will lead to less snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, a development that would be dire for the frogs.

ofYellow-Leg the Sierra Nevada mountains ged Frog s

The mountain yellow-legged frog was once one of the most abundant vertebrates in the Sierra Nevada. The fl ash of its yellow legs could be seen and the echo of its croaking could be heard across the Sierra’s alpine lakes, even those nestled at 12,000 feet that contain watery habitats typically too cold for amphibians. Unfortunately, that empire began to crumble as long ago as 1850 when non-native trout were fi rst transplanted into some of those lakes to increase fi shing opportunities. The introduced fi sh found the frogs and their offspring to be delectable. Fish stocking became more vigorous in the 1920s when the State of California took control of the program; in the 1950s the program was stepped up again as ground crews transplanting trout received aerial support for stocking some of the high backcountry lakes.

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 31 For “Climate Smart” Management, Bigger Isn’t Necessarily Better Nestled between its national park neighbors in the Sierra Nevada, Devils Postpile National Monument is demon- strating that even small parks can adopt “climate smart” management. At just 800 acres, the park is nevertheless biologically rich, with roughly 400 plant species and 100 bird species, and is a mixing point for such eastern and western Sierra vegetation as Red fir, sagebrush, and Great Basin juniper. In spite of the park’s small size, Devils Postpile Superintendent Deanna Dulen is working to develop a General Management Plan designed to, in effect, turn the monument into a refuge of sorts from climate change. Working with officials from the Inyo National Forest, which surrounds the monument, Superintendent Dulen hopes to develop a plan that will guide management for the next 20 years of not just One of the reasons we know so much practically throughout the Yosemite the monument’s 800 acres but about the historic distribution of region.” But Grinnell also pointed to also for a considerable swath the mountain yellow-legged frog the decline of the mountain yellow- of the surrounding national and its habitat needs was one of the legged frog and attributed its demise forest that shares the canyon most ambitious scientifi c explora- to trout stocking. containing the headwaters of tions ever conducted, the Grinnell the Middle Fork of the San Survey. Launched in 1908 and led by Today it’s thought that the frogs Joaquin River. Superintendent fi eld biologist and zoologist Joseph inhabit less than 10 percent of their Dulen believes that the monu- Grinnell, it cruised through a wide historical distribution, in part because ment will be able to serve in swath of California, including a good of the trout stocking. But the frog’s the years ahead as a vital chunk of Yosemite National Park, in future outlook has improved of late. link for species migration as an audacious bid to document the In Yosemite and Sequoia national well as a living seed bank. state’s natural systems. The survey parks ecologists have been working ran for three decades and created an in recent years to remove trout from invaluable ecological database for the dozens of lakes, and the amphib- Sierra Nevada from the 20,000 speci- ians are rapidly rebounding. In some mens collected and the 13,000 pages instances, lakes that held fewer than of fi eld notes. Some of those jottings, 200 frogs in 2001 saw populations made in 1924 by Grinnell himself, explode to 14,000 tadpoles and 3,600 noted that the mountain yellow- adults three years later after most of legged frog was a “common resident the trout were removed.

32 Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World However, the challenges to the moun- SOLUTIONS tain yellow-legged frog are more We Can Safeguard complicated than simply removing Together, all of the factors impact- Mountain Yellow- non-native trout from frog habitat. ing the mountain yellow-legged An ongoing concern comes from frog — less snowpack, earlier runoffs, Legged Frogs chemical pollutants, such as fertil- non-native trout, pollutants, and izers and pesticides that could be diseases — pose signiﬁ cant manage- from Climate Change blown from California’s Central Valley ment challenges for the National Park into ponds and lakes inhabited by Service as the agency strives to pre- Stop contributing to the frogs. Frogs possess permeable serve and protect species, ecosystems, skins through which environmental and all park resources for the future. climate change pollutants may easily pass. Studies Just as we must reduce human-caused Mountain yellow-legged frogs have shown “a strong association” threats like non-native trout and pol- could decline even further between agricultural pesticides and lution, we must limit human-caused if we fail to reduce carbon the disappearance of populations warming in order to help preserve dioxide pollution and global of four species of frogs — including lakes and streams the frogs need to warming that threatens the one population of mountain yellow- survive in Yosemite National Park and persistence of mountain legged frogs — from historic habitats throughout the Sierra Nevada. lakes and streams that young in California. Additionally, a non- frogs need to survive. native disease, the chytrid fungus, has Developing and implementing plans been sweeping through parts of the to help the mountain yellow-legged Sierra Nevada and typically is fatal to frog and other species adapt to Reduce and eliminate the frogs. the effects of climate change and existing harms that make other threats is becoming urgent. Climate change is also likely to exert Fortunately many of the Grinnell mountain yellow-legged pressure on these already-stressed Survey’s tracks have been retraced frogs more vulnerable amphibians both because of direct in recent years by crews from the to climate change effects and because it could exacer- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the Reducing non-native trout from bate other stressors. Climate change University of California, Berkeley, in mountain lakes and streams in predictions for the region suggest a bid to collect contemporary data the Sierra Nevada, and cutting altered precipitation patterns that will on species distributions, habitat, and harmful pollution that origi- lead to less snowpack in the Sierra community composition that can nates in the Central Valley, will Nevada, a development that would be be compared to Grinnell’s records. speed the recovery of mountain dire for the frogs. Less precipitation The trick, now, is to use all of this yellow-legged frogs and help means already shallow lakes could data — that from the Grinnell Survey, them cope with new stresses evaporate and streams dependent on recent surveys, and analysis of climate resulting from climate change. runoff from snowmelt could shrink or change scenarios — to develop on- perhaps vanish, leaving the amphib- the-ground plans that the National ians high and dry. The trout make Park Service and other land manag- frogs even more vulnerable to shrink- ers can use to guide management of Adopt “climate smart” ing and warming lakes by excluding Sierra Nevada species and ecosystems management practices them from many of the larger lakes to ensure their survival in the face of Long-term monitoring and that would provide a refuge during climate change. research is helping national dry years. The combined effects of park scientists begin to under- non-native trout and drying lakes stand how climate change pose a severe threat because tadpoles interacts with pollution, non- need a year-round water source for native trout, and other forces their ﬁ rst two to four years to survive, that threaten mountain yellow- and high egg production depends on legged frogs, and this in turn above-average snowpack. will help them identify and implement strategies that boost the frogs’ chance of survival in the face of climate change.

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 33 Appalachian Trail and forest in fog, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee © Carr Clifton/Minden Pictures Flyingand other threatened Squirrel mammals of the Appalachian mountains

The climate is not static. Ice ages come and go, pushing rivers Hike toward the park’s of ice south and then pulling them back north across continents mountaintops and you’ll find as temperatures and snowfalls rise and fall. Animal and plant species either stay ahead of these icy incursions and adapt, or a geographically unusual perish. After the glaciers retreat, the plant and animal species spruce-fir ecosystem that that have shifted geographically sometimes remain in their new took hold there about locations. But when climate change unfolds relatively quickly, as we are seeing today, many animals — like the northern 10,000 years ago when fl ying squirrel — may not be able to stay ahead of the curve. the glaciers of the Geographic shifts of living communities can be seen at Great Smoky Mountains Wisconsin Ice Age retreated. National Park along the Tennessee-North Carolina border. Hike toward the park’s mountaintops and you’ll fi nd a geographically unusual spruce-fi r ecosystem that took hold there about 10,000 years ago when the glaciers of the Wisconsin Ice Age retreated. In the highest and coolest of the Smokies’ elevations there are many plant species that today are more commonly found nearly 1,000 miles to the north in the boreal forests of Maine and Canada.

But what will these species do in response to the prospect of higher temperatures resulting from accelerated unnatural climate change? Where will they

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 35 By monitoring the environmental impacts along the Appalachian Trail corridor, land managers will be better able to manage the landscape for its long-term health.

go? Where can they go? Some Wolverines are one example of a species’ ranges have already altered species that might beneﬁ t from this in response to climate change. corridor as climate change unfolds. Some have been pushed to higher elevations or latitudes by a warming Similar concerns of genetic isolation climate, while others have expanded led to the biologist-assisted infu- into newly hospitable territory. sion of Texas panther genes into the Florida panther population of Big There have been concerns that Cypress National Preserve through the national parks will become genetic introduction of eight female panthers islands surrounded by roads and in 1995. development that act as barriers to the mingling of individuals and genes National parks are recognized as separated by those borders. Such critical enclaves for the protection of concerns led to the launch of the species, but linkages to other pro- Yellowstone-to-Yukon land conserva- tected lands are necessary. Projections tion movement in 1997. The effort show that a doubling of carbon seeks to protect a corridor of lands dioxide from baseline levels could from Yellowstone to the Yukon cause some national parks to lose up that would facilitate species’ move- to 20 percent of their mammalian ment and their genetic exchange. species diversity due to predicted

36 Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World shifts in distribution ranges that immune from outside impacts, begin- would move their habitat beyond ning with the estimated 4 million We Can Safeguard a park’s borders. Great Smoky hikers it receives each year. With Appalachian Wildlife Mountains National Park can expect that in mind, the Appalachian Trail to lose nearly 17 percent of its mam- Conservancy, operating under an from Climate Change malian species as the park’s largely agreement with the National Park temperate deciduous forest is trans- Service, is monitoring the pulse of formed into a warmer mixed forest, this corridor to better understand Stop contributing to similar to those found to the south. the threats to its environment. With climate change Among the species expected to be its vast network of volunteers, the Wildlife species like the lost from the park under this change Conservancy (through its Appalachian northern flying squirrel, red are the red squirrel, northern ﬂ ying Trail MEGA-Transect project) is assess- squirrel, and southern red-back squirrel, and southern red-back vole. ing how outside factors — invasive vole could be driven out of Shenandoah National Park, 469 miles species, air pollution, and urban sprawl, Great Smoky Mountains and to the north, and connected via the for instance — are affecting the leafy Shenandoah national parks Blue Ridge Parkway, also stands to corridor. Other entities, such as the if we fail to reduce carbon lose the red squirrel and the southern Smithsonian Institution Conservation dioxide pollution and global red-back vole. and Research Center, are also involved warming that is transforming in projects along the trail. temperate deciduous forests Just as some of the species currently into warmer mixed forests. living in the Smokies and Shenandoah By monitoring the environmental are expected to shift their ranges impacts along the trail corridor, land north as climate change effects accu- managers will be better able to Give Appalachian wildlife mulate, species currently living farther manage the landscape for its long- south can be expected to move north term health. Developing monitoring freedom to roam into these parks. However, these programs to track climatic, biological, Protecting the network of movements can occur only if there are and ecological change will enable existing federal and state con- corridors connecting suitable habitats. managers not just to see what’s chang- servation lands throughout the ing, but also evaluate the effectiveness Appalachian Mountains, continu- Fortunately, one north-south linkage of their management strategies and ing to monitor wildlife migration already exists: the Appalachian make adjustments in a timely fashion. patterns, and conserving addi- National Scenic Trail. Covering 2,175 It’s expensive to conduct monitoring tional lands that may be needed miles and 250,000 acres from southern programs and implement manage- for the region to support wildlife Georgia to northern Maine, the trail ment strategies; therefore, it will be migration, will help the plants passes through Shenandoah National critical for Congress, the Department and animals of the Appalachian Park, Great Smoky Mountains National of Interior, and other entities to region secure suitable new Park, and lands administered by various provide adequate support to the habitat as the climate warms. federal and state agencies along the National Park Service and its partners way. It already serves as a vital cor- involved in this work. ridor that provides habitat for ﬂ ora Reduce and eliminate and fauna up and down the Eastern However well the Appalachian existing harms that make Seaboard. Warblers, wild turkey, and mountain chain has served as a cor- once-endangered peregrine falcons are ridor in the past, there is no guaran- Appalachian wildlife more among the bird species that rely on the tee that it will function equally well vulnerable to climate change Appalachian Trail corridor. Overall, the as a corridor under rapidly chang- Air and water pollution, as well corridor provides habitat for more than ing climatic conditions. We must as encroaching development, 2,000 rare, threatened, and endan- therefore foster cooperation and are major existing stresses on gered species, including more than 80 coordination among government the forests and wildlife of the that are globally rare. agencies and landowners neighbor- Appalachian region. By reducing national parks to accommodate ing pollution and keeping shifts in species distribution that inappropriate development at SOLUTIONS occur in response to climate change. bay, we can help wildlife better Cooperation is essential to ensure the cope with the new stresses Though protected from develop- preservation of species, and the pres- wrought by climate change. ment, the Appalachian corridor is not ervation of functioning ecosystems.

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 37 Organ Pipe Cactus and the Ajo Range, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona © Carr Clifton/Minden Pictures Though Canyonlands’ bighorns are well adapted to endure harsh conditions, Canyonlands’ arid climate offers little cushion for bad years.

Bighornin the Southwest Sheep

Canyonlands National Park is one of the most rugged national parks, with a harsh summer sun that bakes the dry, canyon- riddled landscape. But those deep canyons’ steep rocky slopes, which offer ample grasses and shrubs, and an openness that puts predators at a disadvantage, are an optimal environment for bighorn sheep. In fact, Canyonlands’ bighorn population has been so stable that Utah’s wildlife biologists long relied on it for stock to re-establish herds elsewhere in the state. Bighorn sheep range throughout the southwestern U.S. and are found in nearby Arches and Capitol Reef national parks.

Though they were once feared to be headed toward extinction due to diseases introduced by domesticated livestock, from competition with livestock for food, and hunting, today more than 300 desert bighorns live in Canyonlands National Park. They clatter about talus slopes in remote side canyons off the Green and Colorado Rivers, managing for the most part to avoid the park’s mountain lions and coyotes. But there are other threats that bighorns might not so nimbly escape: drought, hot summers that jeopardize the survival of lambs, and years

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 39 Helping Bighorn Sheep Regain a Foothold Big Bend National Park is a partner with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas Bighorn Society, and Mexican wildlife managers in an interna- tional Desert Bighorn recovery program. Native to the area, bighorn sheep were wiped out of the Trans-Pecos and Northern Chihuahua/Coahuila by the mid-20th century by domestic livestock diseases and hunting. Over the past 20 years, bighorn sheep have been introduced into several sites, including Big Bend’s Deadhorse Mountains, the State of Texas’ adjacent Black Gap Wildlife Management Area, and Mexico’s Sierra del Carmen range. While still small, the populations are slowly increasing. Desert bighorn sheep depend upon sparsely veg- etated desert mountain terrain, and the few water sources scat- tered throughout the habitat. Climate change threatens the persistence of water sources bighorn sheep depend upon, but it’s not certain which areas will be most impacted, and with poor vegetation. As a result, years. The park’s relatively high eleva- it’s likely that impacts will relatively subtle, long-term changes tion offers a shorter growing season shift over time. Helping sheep in the park’s climate that increase than lower areas such as the Mojave regain a foothold in strategic those conditions could disrupt the Desert in California. As a result, how places throughout their historic bighorns’ habitat, food sources and and when precipitation arrives is criti- range could increase their reproduction enough to jeopardize cally important to the bighorns. chances of survival in the face their future. of climate change uncertainties. In canyon country, water is vital to Perched on the Colorado Plateau life. Canyonlands National Park’s of southeastern Utah, Canyonlands bighorns have adapted to the 8 inches National Park encompasses 527 or so of moisture that fall on the park square miles of demanding landscape. each year. The park’s two rivers are Temperatures on hot summer days ever-ﬂ owing sources of water, while can rise to 100 degrees Fahrenheit “potholes” — natural bowls in sand- and beyond, while temperatures on stone that capture rain — provide cold, wind-whipped winter days and another source of water for the sheep. nights can plummet to zero degrees Moisture also is critical for the vegeta- Fahrenheit. Though the park’s big- tion that nourishes the bighorns, par- horns are well adapted to endure ticularly during the ewes’ gestation these conditions, Canyonlands’ arid and birthing periods. Changes in pre- climate offers little cushion for bad cipitation patterns — even relatively

40 Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World minor ones — affect the bighorns’ Since ewes in Canyonlands typically reproductive success. Proof of this give birth in April and May, and since We Can Safeguard relationship stands out when review- the moisture content in the park’s Bighorn Sheep ing the park’s long-term bighorn soils usually begins to dwindle in April, population data. Between 1976 and a change in climate that results in from Climate Change 1998 the park’s ewes produced, on fewer or less potent winter storms or average, 44 lambs per 100 ewes each hotter May weather could jeopardize year. But during the dry year of 1984, the bighorns by depriving them of Stop contributing to only 15 lambs per 100 ewes were nutritious vegetation when they most climate change spotted, while the wet year of 1982 need it. Bighorn sheep could decline was notably bountiful, producing 77 if we fail to reduce carbon lambs per 100 ewes. An overall climate change that dioxide pollution and global produces higher temperatures and warming that is altering precip- Fortunately, ewes are capable of lower precipitation in general, as is itation patterns and increasing slightly altering their breeding timeta- forecast for much of the West, also drought in the Southwest. bles to coincide with weather condi- poses a threat to other bighorn sheep tions that produce the most nutritious habitat in mountain ranges. During forage during the last stage of gesta- the 20th century, a noted rise in tem- Give bighorn sheep tion and on through the weaning of perature that coincided with a drop lambs. But sometimes conditions are in precipitation led to the extinction freedom to roam beyond their adaptation. of 26 bighorn sheep populations in Bighorn sheep need to roam California. freely so they can access food Cold, late winters can produce a and water in new areas if ground so frozen that spring rains changing precipitation pat- don’t adequately soak in to fully SOLUTIONS terns and rising heat make nourish vegetation. Droughts, late food and water scarce in springs that are unusually wet and In light of these threats, providing their traditional habitat. cold, and unusually hot springs that and protecting undeveloped land affect the nutritional value of forage between existing bighorn habitats also can adversely affect population will help bighorns cope with the Adopt “climate smart” growth. Beyond those immediate impacts of climate change. Land man- management practices conditions, studies have shown that agers will need to create safe ways By coordinating bighorn forage conditions two years before for bighorns to cross barriers, such sheep reintroduction efforts, a ewe becomes pregnant can impact as highways, to access those areas. identifying potential shifts her productivity by depriving her of Finally, bighorn sheep transplant in migration corridors, and needed nutrition. programs should consider potential working to keep these corridors climate change impacts when decid- open, resource managers from ing where the sheep are introduced national parks, forests, wildlife and how many the main herd can refuges, and state conserva- stand to lose. tion areas can help bighorn sheep overcome some of the climate challenges they face.

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 41 Lupine growing along Icy Bay, Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska © Carr Clifton/Minden Pictures Caribouin Alaska’s parks and preserves

Caribou have been on the landscape for more than 400,000 Caribou travel great distances, years. For roughly the past 12,000 years, they have been in some cases traversing hunted by humans — ﬁ rst the paleo-Indians, now the First Nations’ cultures along with many other Alaskans. Resilience more than 200,000 square to hunting, to weather, and to predators has enabled the miles annually, in their search caribou to remain an integral part of both the natural for adequate vegetation. landscape and the human culture. The greatest test of their resilience, though, stands to be climate change.

Caribou travel great distances, in some cases traversing more than 200,000 square miles annually, in their search for adequate vegetation. For example, although the Denali Herd spends almost the entire year in Denali National Park and Preserve, the Porcupine Herd roams between the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska and the Northwest and Yukon territories. The Western Arctic Herd, one of three herds that visit Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, crosses a jigsaw-puzzle mix of federal, state and tribal lands, including not just Gates of the Arctic but also Noatak National Preserve and Kobuk Valley National Park as well.

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 43 With so many potential changes in store for caribou, it’s crucial that the National Park Service, other federal agencies, state agencies, and tribes collaborate in monitoring the health of both caribou herds and vegetation across their ranges.

Climate change will affect all these and leaving adults and newborns areas. Indeed, already many impacts without adequate nutrition. With can be seen throughout Alaska. Ice climate-change forecasts predicting ﬁ elds are shrinking, ice sheets are a warming of as much as 5 degrees breaking up, forest ﬁ res and insect centigrade throughout the Arctic, a outbreaks are increasing, permafrost trend that is likely to lead to earlier is melting, and coastal villages are plant germination, will caribou be disappearing into the sea. For caribou, able to advance their biological clocks one of the Earth’s great iconic species, and keep calving when food is most these climate-related shifts are available? Some think earlier springs expected to bring many changes, could also lead to an earlier than some good, some not so good, normal vegetation die-off in the fall, and some unknown. which could create a lack of forage when caribou are trying to fatten up Cows and calves require lush spring for winter. Lack of proper nutrition in vegetation for vital nutrients during the fall decreases a pregnant female’s the critical period around calving and chance of successfully bringing her early development. Climate change calf to term. will affect when that spring vegetation appears, potentially putting the Climate change doesn’t mean climate green-up out of sync with calving, uniformity. While a trend to warmer

44 Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World weather could mean less snow in SOLUTIONS some areas, it could mean heavier We Can Safeguard snows elsewhere that could force With so many potential changes in Caribou from caribou out of their traditional calving store for caribou, it’s crucial that the grounds. Warmer temperatures also National Park Service, other federal Climate Change bring occasional rain to regions that agencies, state agencies, and tribes used to only see snow in the winter. collaborate in monitoring the health These thaw and refreeze events create of both caribou herds and vegetation Stop contributing to a tough layer of ice that places forage across their ranges. For example, a climate change out of reach. better understanding and mapping Caribou in Alaska could decline of the present-day status of caribou if we fail to reduce carbon Also complicating life for caribou is winter ranges can help play a role in dioxide pollution and global the prospect of more frequent tundra developing fi re management plans warming that is altering the fi res. These fi res, predicted to increase that balance active fi re suppression in timing and variety of foods in number if not in size as the climate areas with valuable lichen resources caribou need to produce warms, could adversely impact lichens against letting wildfi res burn them- healthy calves in the spring that caribou rely on in winter. Even selves out. and to survive the winter. without fi re lichen patches might shrink under current climate-change Wildlife and human life are so inter- scenarios. Lichens prefer poor soils, twined in Alaska, just as national Give caribou but with permafrost thawing there is park lands are so intertwined with expected to be better soils, which will other federal, state, and tribal lands. freedom to roam encourage and support different veg- Climate change threatens to send Even with the vast territory etation that could drive out lichens. shudders, if not outright shatter, some available to Alaska’s caribou Already there have been documented of these connections if nothing is herds, traditional calving increases in shrub cover over north- done to slow, and hopefully reverse, grounds and winter feeding western Alaska, and some studies indi- its course. areas may become unsuitable cate that caribou won’t eat shrubs. due to climate change impacts on vegetation; identifying All these factors — timing and types suitable new habitat and of vegetation, fi res, and lichen decline ensuring the path is clear for — are poised to interfere with the caribou to get there should herds’ reproductive cycles and nutri- help caribou cope as climate tional needs. More problems could change alters their landscape. arrive in the form of parasites.

Adopt “climate smart” management practices By coordinating the work of resource managers from the National Park Service, other state and federal agencies, and tribes, to monitor and map caribou herds and the vegetation they depend on, we can make smarter decisions about fire management and other land management practices that will help caribou overcome the climate challenges they face.

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 45 Snow-dusted mountains, Glacier National Park, Montana © Tim Fitzharris/ Minden Pictures The diminutive wolverine possesses a legendary reputation for toughness, resilience, and, some would say, cantankerousness.

Wolverinesof the Northern Rockies

If ever there was an enduring symbol of the wildness of the Rocky Mountains, it would be the wolverine. While wolves and grizzly bears usually come to mind when talk turns to the Rockies’ animals that conjure images of the wild, the diminutive wolverine possesses a legendary reputation for toughness, resilience, and, some would say, cantankerousness.

But these solitary creatures, rarely seen due to their typical travels near or above tree line in home ranges that span hundreds of miles, could very possibly be erased from the landscape by climate change.

These opportunistic carnivores once roamed wide and far across the continental United States, with historical populations noted in the coastal mountains of California, Oregon, and Washington, the Rocky Mountains from Glacier National Park on the Canadian border all the way south to Taos, New Mexico, east into the Great Lakes region, and even in the Northeast.

Throughout history this 30- to 40-pound ball of tenacity has been known by a smattering of names, and none very

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 47 Beyond the need for snow, the future of wolverines in the Northern Rockies is clouded, in part, by their low numbers — it is likely that there are no more than 400 wolverines left in the United States, and there could be as few as 218.

fl attering. There was “skunk bear” seeing those tracks in the snow made and “Indian devil,” and to 19th-cen- it a red-letter day.” tury French fur trappers the animal was “carcajou.” That’s how the trap- But those tracks are getting harder pers’ tongues stumbled through the to fi nd, because female wolverines Micmac Nation word “kwi’kwa’ju,” den in snowfi elds, which are shrinking which translates to “evil spirit.” And under warmer temperatures. the trappers no doubt viewed wol- Also, while wolverines have been verines as evil spirits, for they have a known to hunt deer, elk, and even long and well-deserved reputation for moose that founder in deep snows, not only raiding trap lines but break- they also are expert scavengers; in ing into cabins to forage trappers’ winter and spring they often make provisions. meals of wildlife killed by avalanches. Less snow is also reducing the oppor- And yet, admiration also fl ows for tunity for easy meals. wolverines. “I wonder if there is another inhabitant of northern During the past four decades, wol- wilderness that so excites the imagi- verines that were found in the nation,” Olaus Murie, the noted Lower 48 states were spotted in American wildlife biologist and areas with snow cover that usually conservationist, once wrote. “Merely lasted through the wolverines’ spring

48 Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World denning season. The females would Wolverines may also get help holding burrow into the snow, creating net- on from another predator. Studies We Can Safeguard works of insulated dens and tunnels in Yellowstone National Park have Wolverines from that protect them from predators. shown that leftovers from wolf kills are helping to replace the carrion Climate Change Unfortunately, snowfall not only that wolverines had been able to has been on the decline, but snow scavenge in the wake of avalanches. that does fall has been disappearing Wolves could also offset an expected Stop contributing to sooner than what once was con- reduction in bison, elk, and mule climate change sidered normal. Studies note that deer killed by cold, snowy winters, as Wolverines could be driven nearly one-third of the historical winters warm and snowfalls decline. from the Rockies and even spring snowpack in existing wolver- Without wolves, late-winter carrion go extinct if we fail to ine habitat already has been lost as in Yellowstone would be expected to reduce carbon dioxide pol- global temperatures continue to drop off by nearly a third in March lution and global warming warm, and that that percentage could and two-thirds in April under current that is decreasing snowpack double by 2090. Without snow, these climate-change scenarios. However, wolverines need to survive. carnivores could quickly go extinct. as long as healthy populations of Nowhere in the world has a female wolves reside in the park, the amount wolverine been documented to build of carrion in March would only be Give wolverines her den anywhere else but in snow. expected to drop by 4 percent under climate-change scenarios, and by just freedom to roam Beyond the need for snow, the 11 percent in April. Wolverines may be able to future of wolverines in the Northern survive in areas where snow- Rockies is clouded, in part, by their While ensuring a future for wolver- pack remains and perhaps low numbers — it is likely that there ines is not as simple as dropping a even colonize new territory are no more than 400 wolverines wolf pack or two into their neighbor- in more northerly or higher left in the United States, and there hood, it makes sense for public lands elevation regions, but only could be as few as 218. Most of these managers, including the National if they are able to roam scavenger-predators are clustered Park Service, to determine whether widely across the landscape. in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and there are missing species that, if Movement corridors and larger Washington. Their habitats are returned, might help reduce their refugia where wolverines are increasingly shrinking and becom- ecosystem’s vulnerability to climate protected could help these ing isolated due to development and change. Mitigation and prevention of wild creatures to survive. roads. habitat fragmentation is also necessary, ideally with the creation of protected wildlife corridors. Linking Adopt “climate smart” SOLUTIONS undeveloped areas to protected areas, management practices such as national parks or ofﬁ cially Understanding interac- Agreements with private landown- designated wilderness, will make it tions among species like ers and coordination among public easier for animals like the wolverine wolverines and wolves, and land managers can help to protect to ﬁ nd habitat and maintain healthy acting to restore a balance wolverines and encourage them to populations. of native wildlife, could help move north to cooler areas as climate vulnerable species like the change forces them from their current wolverine overcome chang- mountain ranges. Wolverines may be ing climatic conditions that able to survive in areas where snow- might otherwise drive them pack remains and perhaps even colo- from their ecosystem. nize new territory in more northerly or higher elevation regions, but only if they are able to roam widely across the landscape. Movement corridors and larger refugia where wolverines are protected could help these wild creatures to survive.

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 49 Eagle Lake, Acadia National Park, Maine © Tim Fitzharris/Minden Pictures Redand other migratory Knot birds of the Northeast

Each spring, certain areas in Acadia National Park in Maine are Plovers, pelicans, peregrines, closed to visitors as peregrine falcons return to their ancestral red knots, and warblers are nesting sites on seaside cliffs. With great anticipation, park visitors gather below the cliffs with binoculars, spotting scopes, just a few of the more than and zoom lenses to watch the peregrines — — a species that in 300 species of birds that the mid-1960s was on the brink of extinction. Similarly, ﬂ ocks spend time in the forests, of bird-watchers gather at Massachusetts’s Cape Cod National Seashore and New York’s Fire Island National Seashore in autumn marshes, dune systems, tidal to scan the skies for migrating hawks, shorebirds, and a great flats, grasslands, and open diversity of songbirds. Some migratory shorebirds, like the red waters of the national parks knot, have already suffered precipitous declines, putting them at great risk as shorelines recede in response to climate change. that dot the East Coast.

Plovers, pelicans, peregrines, red knots, and warblers are just a few of the more than 300 species of birds that spend time in the forests, marshes, dune systems, tidal ﬂ ats, grasslands, and open waters of the national parks that dot the East Coast. They rely on these and other protected landscapes that lie within the Atlantic Flyway — a primary migration corridor — for food, nest sites, and places to rest.

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 51 To help these species, cooperation is critical. The National Park Service must work with other land managers — private, federal, city, and state — to protect existing habitat up and down the Atlantic Flyway, create and maintain corridors between protected areas, and build new habitat when possible.

Stretching from the coast of Greenland the massive fl yway’s structure, all to with human-caused global warming, all the way south to the Caribbean, the detriment of various bird species. which could spell trouble for long- the core of the fl yway coincides with Predicted sea-level rise, coupled with legged waders and seabirds that rely the barrier islands stretching from more potent storm surges, could radi- on the Northeast’s coastal areas for Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras National cally alter coastal wetlands if those nesting. The common loon is another Seashore. The national parks and habitats are not able to shift inland signature species likely to suffer from refuges along the way offer key as the seas rise. Wetland-dependent climate change as the Atlantic Coast landing zones that are interwoven into species such as sora rail, common loon, estuaries where they spend winters the life expectancy of both individual and American bittern, are projected are affected by rising waters. birds and species as a whole. Critical to see a 50 percent drop in abundance to survival is habitat that is ready with under most climate change scenarios. The effects of climate change aren’t food when exhausted birds arrive, Higher temperatures in ocean surface restricted to only those bird species either for a quick feeding stop or to waters could jeopardize food sources that rely on coastal areas. Black- settle in and breed. Also important are for gulls, terns, and other seabirds throated blue warblers and Bicknell’s vegetation in which to elude predators that spend much of their lives at thrush will be affected as vegetation and suitable habitat for nesting. Pull sea. Some important food plants changes driven by global warming one brick out of this foundation and it will bear fruit at dates that do not alter the spruce-fi r forests they could lead to ecological collapse. coincide with bird nesting or migra- inhabit. Some researchers predict tion. A recent study predicted that that warming by as little as one Unfortunately, climate change threat- the Northeast will be greatly affected degree Centigrade could cut in half ens to pull at least a few bricks out of by higher ocean levels associated suitable habitat for high-elevation

52 Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World species, such as Bicknell’s thrush, by SOLUTIONS forcing the spruce-fi r forests they We Can Safeguard inhabit to move higher in elevation. To help these species, cooperation Migrating Birds Other studies indicate that montane is critical. The National Park Service environments inhabited by other must work with other land manag- from Climate Change high-elevation bird species, including ers — private, federal, city, and state boreal chickadees, kinglets, and cross- — to protect existing habitat up and bills, will shrink by 90 percent before down the Atlantic Flyway, create and Stop contributing to the end of the 21st century. maintain corridors between protected climate change areas, and build new habitat when Migrating birds like red knots Many of our bird species are already possible. Remaining salt marshes need could decline even further if we struggling due to the combined to be protected, and degraded or fail to reduce greenhouse gas effects of forest fragmentation, acid destroyed marshes should be restored. emissions and climate change rain’s impacts on forests and aquatic Colonial seabird nesting sites could that is causing sea levels to rise, ecosystems, human disturbance at be re-established with dredge spoils. threatening coastal sanctuar- nesting sites, and over-fi shing that Land use needs to be regulated as ies that are vital flyover stops has humans out-competing our wild much as possible to allow coastal on their migration routes. friends for food. Climate change refuges to retreat inland in the face impacts will exacerbate these prob- of rising seawaters. Where shoreline lems. Some birds might not have the retreat isn’t possible due to existing Reduce and eliminate energy needed to complete their development, the only options are annual migrations. Up to 85 percent slowing seawater rise or increasing existing harms that make of adult bird mortality that typically beach buildup by natural or supple- migrating birds more occurs may occur during migration, mental means. vulnerable to climate change and that rate is expected to increase By preventing further loss of under climate change as conditions Land managers are not the only critical habitat to development, change at a time when migrating ones who can help protect birds and by balancing the harvest birds, already stressed by arduous facing threats from climate change of food sources like horseshoe fl ights, can least afford it. and other human-caused problems. crabs and fish to meet the Academic institutions, nonprofi t, and needs of human communities Already, East Coast populations of citizen-based organizations, could and migrating birds, we can red knots, colorful shorebirds that play a valuable role by carefully moni- help birds cope with additional migrate along the Atlantic Flyway toring populations of at-risk species. loss of habitat that could between the Arctic and Tierra del This information would enable result from climate change. Fuego at the bottom of South scientists to spot emerging trends America, have plummeted 82 percent. that could be tied to subtle changes These declines are primarily due to in habitat along the fl yway. With this competition for horseshoe crabs (from information in hand, we would all Give migrating birds humans) and human disturbance be better equipped to take appropri- freedom to roam (i.e., beach use) at their resting sites. ate actions to preserve species and The National Park Service, Atlantic coastal marshlands have habitat before it’s too late. working with other land disappeared largely due to develop- managers — private, federal, ment, and climate change threatens city, and state — can protect to further diminish these important existing habitat up and down habitats. Coastal marshlands are the the Atlantic Flyway, and can only known habitat of saltmarsh identify and protect replace- sharp-tailed sparrows, a species that ment habitat for migrating is of conservation concern for the birds that will be necessary U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service within as existing flyover stops are the states of Georgia, Maryland, New lost to sea level rise. York, South Carolina, and Virginia. How will red knots and saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrows fare under growing climate-change threats?

Climate Change & National Park Wildlife: A Survival Guide for a Warming World 53 CLIMATE CHANGE & NATIONAL PARK WILDLIFE: A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR A WARMING WORLD

For an electronic version of this report with full citation of authorities, please visit: www.npca.org/survivalguide

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

WRITTEN BY: Kurt Repanshek

LEAD RESEARCHER: Jennie Hoffman, PhD, Senior Scientist, Climate Adaptation, EcoAdapt

ASSISTANT RESEARCHER: Eric Mielbrecht, MS, Senior Scientist and Director of Operations, EcoAdapt

ADDITIONAL PHOTO CAPTIONS: POLICY ADVISOR: Lara Hansen, PhD, Chief Scientist and Executive Director, EcoAdapt Cover: Brown bear and seagulls in Katmai National Park, Alaska © David Tipling/Getty

CHIEF DESIGNER: Page 2, Left: Oyster tonging in the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland © Dave Harp/Chesapeake Photography; Right: Lauren Emeritz, Pensaré Design Group Towers of the Virgin with cloud shadows, Zion National Park, Utah © Tim Fitzharris/Minden Pictures

MAP DESIGNER: Page 3, Left: A boat-tailed grackle in Everglades XNR Productions National Park, Florida © Ian Shive/Aurora Photos; Right: El Capitan rising over the forest, Yosemite National Park, California © Tim Fitzharris/Minden Pictures ILLUSTRATIONS: Page 4, Left: Chesapeake Bay, Maryland © Dave Harp/ Precision Graphics Chesapeake Photography; Right: Wild coyote in Yosemite National Park, California © Ian Shive/Aurora Photos

PRODUCED BY: Page 5, Left: Sunset over river and peaks in Moraine Mark Wenzler, Director, Clean Air & Climate Programs, NPCA Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado © Tim Fitzharris/Minden Pictures; Right: A crab on Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park, California © Ian PRODUCTION ASSISTANCE: Shive/Aurora Photos Christa Cherava, Sarah Rutherford, NPCA Page 6, Left: Mirror Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park © Ian Shive/Aurora Photos; Right: A bullfrog sits on and under a lily pad in Acadia National Park, Maine © Ian EDITED BY: Shive/Aurora Photos Mark Wenzler, Elizabeth Meyers, Linda Rancourt, Kathleen O’Neil, NPCA Page 7: Eagle Lake, Acadia National Park, Maine © Tim Fitzharris/Minden Pictures NPCA GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES FINANCIAL SUPPORT Page 8, Left: Mountain goat in the Logan Pass area, FOR THIS REPORT FROM THE FOLLOWING: Glacier National Park, Montana © Ian Shive/Aurora Turner Foundation Photos; Right: Lenticular clouds over Mount Dana, Mount Gibbs, and Mammoth Peak at Tuolumne Merck Family Fund Meadows, Yosemite National Park, California © Tim Ruth and Ben Hammett Fitzharris/Minden Pictures Page 9, Left: Iconic orange Garibaldi, Catalina Marine The views expressed in this report are solely those of Park, California © Ian Shive/Aurora Photos; Right: Century plant growing on canyon rim, Grand Canyon the National Parks Conservation Association. National Park, Arizona © Carr Clifton/Minden Pictures We can safeguard the wildlife of America’s national parks from climate change if we take the following steps: ■ Stop contributing to climate change

■ Reduce and eliminate existing harms that make wildlife more vulnerable to climate change

■ Give wildlife freedom to roam

■ Adopt “climate smart” management practices

■ Empower national parks to lead by example