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The Effects of Global Warming on Western Wildlife
In October 2006, NWF published a report entitled Fueling the Fire: Global Warming, Fossil Fuels and the Fish and Wildlife of the American West. (PDF, 1.4 MB) This report pulls together the latest scientific research about global warming impacts in the West and provides both personal and national policy solutions to combat this urgent crisis.
Major Threats to Western Wildlife
The report identifies global warming as the primary cause of the following threats to western wildlife:
- Reduced snowpack - Global warming will cause a dramatic reduction in snowpack in some areas, placing considerable strain on the region’s water supply. Mountains in the Pacific Northwest are projected to lose as much as 88 percent of average snowpack by 2090; the Central Rocky Mountains could lose up to 75 percent; and parts of the Southern Rockies and the Sierra Nevada range could lose 98-100 percent.
- Heat waves - The past nine years (1997-2005) were the warmest years on record, and scientists project that heat
waves will become more intense, more frequent and longer lasting during this century if global
warming continues unabated.
- Drought - The current drought plaguing the West is the worst in 500 years and has drastically reduced available water resources for people and wildlife alike.
- Invasive species & diseases - If warming trends continue as projected, forest die-offs due to pine bark beetles and other pests are expected to become even worse than the recent devastating epidemics.
- Wildfires - Warmer, drier conditions due to global warming have caused a four-fold increase in the number of major wildfires in western forests and a six-fold increase in the area of forest burned since the mid-1980s. Scientists predict that the overall area of acreage burned by wildfires will double in size across 11 western states between 2070-2100. States hit particularly hard include Montana, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico.
- Declining sagebrush habitats - Big sagebrush habitats throughout the western U.S. could decline by 59 percent before the end of this century, which would have devastating consequences for sage grouse, mule deer, pronghorn and other species that depend on them.
- Higher stream temperatures - This would significantly reduce viable habitat for trout, salmon and other cold-water fish across the West. The Rocky Mountain region alone could see the area of suitable habitat for cold-water fish decline by 50 percent if average July temperatures rise 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Reduced wetlands - This includes areas that provide critical breeding and wintering habitat for waterfowl. The Prairie Pothole Region could see as much as a 91-percent reduction in prairie pothole wetlands by the 2080s, resulting in up to 69-percent reduction in the abundance of ducks breeding there.
- Special threats for species who live at high elevations - They have limited space available to find new habitats as higher average temperatures push them farther up in the mountains. Wildlife species at risk include mountain goats, bighorn sheep and ptarmigan.
- Extinction - There is growing concern that the accelerating pace of change will put alarming numbers of species on the path to extinction. Global warming is projected to reduce boreal habitat in all of the mountain ranges of the Great Basin region, contributing to a 44-percent loss of mammal species, a 23-percent loss of butterfly species, a 30-percent loss of perennial grasses and forbs and a 17 percent loss of shrub species.
Drilling the Last Best Places
America's over-dependence on fossil fuels has also had a direct impact on the western landscape. Rising demand for domestically produced oil and gas
has led to the expansion of energy development into
pristine public lands throughout the Rocky Mountain region, destroying
unique and important habitats for fish and wildlife. There
are currently more than 850,000 oil and gas wells strewn across the 33 states, mostly in the West (including
Alaska), with proposals to drill countless more waiting in the wings.
A Plan of Action
Fortunately, solutions are at hand. Effective and affordable technologies are available that can significantly reduce global warming emmissions. Congress must act quickly to implement a national strategy to combat global warming. A
meaningful strategy should include the following
actions:
- Place significant, mandatory limits on U.S.
global warming pollution.
- Reduce the nation’s overall dependence on
fossil fuels through greater investments in
energy efficiency and renewable energy
technologies.
- Implement strategies to help wildlife
survive the effects of global warming that
are already underway.
- Promote strong wildlife stewardship as an
important part of a new energy future.
You can take action against global warming by contacting your Senator or Representative today and urging him or her to support legislation to combat global warming.
Fueling the Fire also lists a number of things that people can do at home and in their community to reduce energy demand and combat global warming. You can find these tips and more in our Cool It!™ section.
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