Climate Change Adaptation Reports

To help people across the country develop climate-smart conservation plans, National Wildlife Federation staff have authored or edited a variety of guidance documents. These include guidebooks to conducting vulnerability assessments and climate-smart restoration, and several reports detailing adaptation strategies for different places across the United States, such as Washington and Florida. We've even developed a guidebook to help gardeners make their gardens and communities climate-smart! 

NWF's Climate Change Adaptation Guides
 

Advancing Landscape-Scale Conservation: An Assessment of Climate Change-Related Challenges, Needs, and Opportunities for the North Pacific Landscape Conservation Cooperative (2013)  

What do resource managers and conservation practitioners need in order to address the challenges posed by climate change in their work? This assessment begins to answer this question for the North Pacific Landscape Conservation Cooperative region, identifying four core needs and a range of science and conservation opportunities in the region. Learn more...

Taken by Storm: How Extreme Rain is Worsening Algal Blooms in Lake Erie (2013) 

Heavy rain events due to climate change are compromising the health of Lake Erie. This report provides recommendations on adjusting farming practices and restoring wetlands to help us deal with increasing heavy rain events. Learn more...

Quick Guide to Climate-Smart Conservation (2013) 

How should we be carrying out conservation efforts in a warming and increasingly climate-altered world? This Quick Guide summarizes guidance developed by an NWF-led expert workgroup, and draws from a forthcoming full-length publication on the principles and practice of climate-smart conservation. Learn more...

Practical Guidance for Coastal Climate Smart Conservation Projects in the Northeast: Case Examples for Coastal Impoundments and Living Shorelines (2011)

This coastal climate-smart guidance was developed through funding the NWF received from the Wildlife Conservation Society to provide natural resource managers tools for integrating climate change into on the ground projects. This document, which focuses on the integration of climate change into the design of living shorelines and coastal impoundments, was developed by an expert panel. Learn more...

Restoring the Great Lakes' Coastal Future: Technical Guidance for the Design and Implementation of Climate-Smart Restoration Projects (2011)

This guidance document provides an initial suite of tools and methods to assist in the planning and implementation of climate-smart restoration by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its partners and grantees. The guidance is intended to be a living document that evolves in response to workshops, trainings, on-the-ground projects, and other stakeholder input. Learn more...

Climate Change Effects and Adaptation Approaches in the North Pacific Landscape Conservation Cooperative Region: A Compilation of Scientific Literature (August 2011)

New studies on climate change are released so quickly, it can be difficult for resource managers to keep on top of the most current research. As the North Pacific Landscape Conservation Cooperative (NPLCC) begins operation, NWF has produced two reports—one for marine and coastal systems and the other for freshwater and riparian systems—that draw from more than 400 resources to present the first-ever compilation of current scientific understanding of climate change impacts on marine and freshwater ecosystems and adaptation options in the region (extending from Southern Alaska to Northern California). The reports are:

• Climate Change Effects and Adaptation Approaches in Marine and Coastal Ecosystems of the North Pacific Landscape Conservation Cooperative Region: A Compilation of Scientific Literature. Phase 1 Draft Final Report. August 2011
  Full Report 
  Executive Summary and Table of Contents
• Climate Change Effects and Adaptation Approaches in Freshwater Aquatic and Riparian Ecosystems in the North Pacific Landscape Conservation Cooperative Region: A Compilation of Scientific Literature. Phase 1 Draft Final Report. August 2011
  Full Report 
  Executive Summary and Table of Contents

Moving the Conservation Goalposts: A Review of Climate Change Adaptation Literature (2011)

One of the most discussed topics in the adaptation field today is how to set appropriate conservation goals in light of climate change. Moving the Conservation Goalposts: A Review of Climate Change Adaptation Literature, prepared by staff at National Wildlife Federation for the Adaptation 2011 Workshop, reviewed the historic evolution of conservation goals (protecting scenic landscapes, balance of nature, species preservation, biodiversity) and discussed how goals may evolve as the effects of climate change become more pronounced. Highlighted themes included “the death of stationarity,” conservation of important ecological processes, and the change continuum of resistance, resilience and transformation. Learn more...

Scanning the Conservation Horizon: A Guide to Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment (2011)

This guidance document, which won the Department of the Interior's Partners in Conservation Award, is the product of a diverse expert working group representing federal and state agencies, universities and non-profit conservation groups. The document focuses on the key components of vulnerability--sensitivity and exposure-- and reviews the best practices for conducting assessments of species, habitats, or ecosystems. Learn more...

Climate Change in the Great Lakes: Advancing the Regional Discussion (2011)

This proceedings document is the product of a climate change adaptation workshop for stakeholders in the Great Lakes region. The goal of the workshop was to give United States federal agencies guidance on how to integrate climate change into agency actions. Additional workshop goals included fostering collaboration between organizations in the Great Lakes and informing on the ground practice. Learn more...

Standing Tall: How Restoring Longleaf Pine Can Help Prepare the Southeast for Global Warming (2010)

This report summarizes the impacts of climate change on the United States' Southeastern forests.  It argues that restoration and expansion of Longleaf pine forests will help the southeast adapt to the increased temperatures and altered precipitation patterns expected with climate change. Longleaf pine also has the potential to help the southeast withstand natural disasters, sequester carbon for climate change mitigation and play an important role in the local economy. Learn more...

Climate Change Effects on Natural Systems in Washington State (2010)

To understand how climate change is affecting ecosystems and habitats throughout Washington State, National Wildlife Federation and Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife produced four reports compiling literature on the effects of climate change on ecological systems. These reports detail how climate change is altering freshwater systems, marine systems, shrub-steppe and grassland systems, and forest, alpine and western prairie systems. The reports contributed to development of the Washington State Integrated Climate Change Response Strategy and the Pacific Northwest Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment. Learn more...

A New Era for Conservation: Review of Climate Change Adaptation Literature (2009)

This literature review was prepared for the NWF's Adaptation 2009 Workshop and summarizes recent science on climate change adaptation in the context of natural resource management and fish and wildlife conservation. The report reviews basic adaptation principles, as well as broad adaptation principles for forests, grass and shrublands, freshwater systems and coasts and estuaries. Learn more...

As complement to this report and a follow-up from the Adaptation 2009 Workshop, NWF also created a series of factsheets introducing basic adaptation concepts:

1. Introduction to Climate Change Adaptation
2. A Quick Guide to Vulnerability Assessment
3. Adaptation for Grasslands and Shrublands
4. Adaptation for Forest Ecosystems
5. Adaptation for Coasts and Estuaries
6. Adaptation for Freshwater Ecosystems

Virginia's Strategy for Safeguarding Species of Greatest Conservation Need from the Effects of Climate Change

Virginia's Wildlife Action Plan identifies more than 900 species that are being impacted by the loss or degradation of their habitats. In coming decades, climate change will exacerbate and intensify many of the existing threats and will likely result in new sets of impacts and stressors. This guide, which is the product of a collaboration between National Wildlife Federaion, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, and the Virginia Conservation Network identifies climate change adaptation strategies that can be followed to protect Virginia's species of greatest conservation need from this emerging threat. Learn more...

Setting the Stage: Ideas for Safeguarding Washington's Fish and Wildlife in an Era of Climate Change (2009)

This report is the product of a stakeholder workshop hosted by National Wildlife Federation, our affiliate Washington Wildlife Federation and others to identify adaptation strategies for Washington's fish and wildlife. The report identifies key climate impacts and management strategies for coastal and marine habitats, freshwater, grass and shrublands, and forests as well as offering general principles for facilitating adaptation. Learn more...

Preparing for Sea Change in Florida (2008)

This report, prepared by NWF and other members of the Florida Coastal and Ocean Coalition, discusses the anticipated impacts of climate change on Florida's ocean and coast and recommends policy actions at the local, state, regional, and federal level to prepare for these threats. Specific threats addressed in this report include; sea level rise, extreme weather, increased ocean temperature, and acidification. Learn more...

The Gardener's Guide to Global Warming (2007)

This brief guide shows gardeners how they can help mitigate the effects of and adapt to climate change by taking action in their own backyards and communities. Suggested activities include incorporating native plants into gardens, developing rain gardens, and planting roof gardens. Learn more...

For additional National Wildlife Federation reports, please visit our Media Center.