Manage Wildlife for Climate Change
Resilience Climate change has already been linked to changes in wildlife distribution, reproduction and behavior. As temperatures continue to warm, these changes will continue.
What Does Climate Change Mean for Wildlife?
The potential impacts to wildlife vary by species, preferred habitat, and much more, and may include:
- Species migration to more northerly or higher elevation habitats.
- More severe weather — storms, floods, droughts, etc — threaten the ability of wildlife species to reproduce, find cover, forage or hunt, migrate and survive.
- Increased health risks from disease, pests and new competitors or predators.
- Loss of habitat due to rising sea levels, drought, rising temperatures, wildfire and other events.
- Temporal or geographic disconnect between species that previously relied upon one another, such as pollinators and flowers.
How Can Land Trusts Help?
By planning for climate change today, land trusts help priority species weather the effects of climate change tomorrow. Land trusts may consider the following actions: