The Climate of Conservation in America: 50 Stories in 50 States

This Earth Day, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is launching a new campaign to increase awareness of climate impacts on wildlife across America.

The Climate of Conservation in America: 50 Stories in 50 States series will explore the many ways accelerating climate change is impacting or may impact fish and wildlife at the local and regional level.

“We know the future is not the past restored; conservation success rests in our collective ability to work in unison to safeguard our Nation’s wildlife heritage,” said Service Acting Director Rowan Gould.

Each weekday for 50 consecutive days the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will roll out a new story from a different state, examining regional challenges posed by climate change. A few examples of what to expect:

• On the Atlantic Coast, the rising sea is claiming historical nesting grounds for shorebirds and sea turtles.
• Loss of snowpack and changing hydrology in the Pacific Northwest is having a profound impact on native trout species.
• As human influence on the natural landscape increases in the Rocky Mountain West, there is a growing need to secure opportunities for wildlife to move between large blocks of protected public land that provide valuable habitat for large mammals like the grizzly bear.
• With temperatures in the Northeast predicted to rise in the coming years, the deep snow cover Canada lynx depend on may be significantly reduced, eliminating their competitive advantage over other predators.

Read today’s entry on South Carolina and be sure to check the Fish and Wildlife Service blog each day for a new story.

Make Earth Day count for you and your family this year. Join the “B Kind 2 Earth Day” campaign!