Climate Change and Public Lands
America's public lands, which make up 30 percent of the nation's land area – almost 700 million acres total – are experiencing the effects of climate change. Increased flooding, storms, droughts, wild fires and an influx of invasive species could alter the ecosystems within our nation’s parks, forests, refuges and shorelines. Changes in climate could create new pressures on plant and animal communities, and in the absence of adaptation, lead to a loss of these irreplaceable natural resources.
Current Events
Sec. of Interior Ken Salazar Presents Keynote Speech at Copenhagen Climate Summit:
The New Energy Future: The Role of Public Lands in Clean Energy Production and Carbon Capture
On Thursday, December 10, 2009, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar delivered keynote remarks at the United Nations Climate Negotiations Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark. Secretary Salazar’s keynote address kicked off a series of presentations by top Department of the Interior officials.
For more information on the Department of Interior’s response to climate change, visit www.doi.gov/climatechange/.
The New Energy Future: The Role of Public Lands in Clean Energy Production and Carbon Capture
On Thursday, December 10, 2009, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar delivered keynote remarks at the United Nations Climate Negotiations Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark. Secretary Salazar’s keynote address kicked off a series of presentations by top Department of the Interior officials.
For more information on the Department of Interior’s response to climate change, visit www.doi.gov/climatechange/.
Learn More
- Climate Change - Health and Environmental Effects: Public Lands, Recreational Opportunities and Natural Resources, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Climate Friendly Parks, National Park Service
- Climate Change and Water (pdf), Perspectives from the U.S. Forest Service, USDA
- Responding to Climate Change in National Parks: Economic Benefits of Restoring Natural Systems, National Parks Conservation Association
- National Parks in Peril, Rocky Mountain Climate Institute and National Resources Defense Council Report, September 2009
- Species Feeling the Heat: Connecting Deforestation and Climate Change, Wildlife Conservation Society Report, December 2009
- Climate Change and America’s Public Lands and Waters, Earth Gauge Fact Sheet, National Environmental Education Foundation
- Adapting to Climate Change: A Short Course for Land Managers, USDA Forest Service, December 14, 2009: Forest Service Research and Development office has released an interactive short course that presents current scientific knowledge on adapting to climate variability in wildland management.
- Climate Change: What Have Forests Got to Do with It? Trust for Public Land's CEO, Will Rogers, now blogs for the Huffington Post. Recent posts discuss how forests and other natural systems that absorb CO2 play an important role in any strategic approach to climate change.
- How Animals Fight Global Warming, National Wildlife Federation, January 2010
- Climate.gov: The White House has created this new “climate service” and website to provide data on such factors as carbon dioxide levels and arctic sea ice.
- Climate Change and Health The National Environmental Education Foundation joins in the movement to inform the public on the potential impacts of climate change on our health. Check out the Health & Environment Program's Climate Change and Health fact sheet, which documents key studies on the potential human health impacts of climate change.
Take Action:
Volunteer on September 25, 2010 for National Public Lands Day and help enhance and improve our nation’s parks to protect them from the impacts of climate change. Find a site or register a site now.
Teach others about climate change and its effects on public lands
- Climate Change, Wildlife and Wild Lands Toolkit: A Tool for Formal and Informal Educators
- The kit is designed for classroom teachers and informal educators in parks, refuges, forest lands, nature centers, zoos, aquariums, science centers, etc., and is aimed at the middle school grade level. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in partnership with six other federal agencies, developed the kit to aid educators in teaching how climate change is affecting our nation’s wildlife and public lands, and how everyone can become “climate stewards.”
- Melting Mountains: Climate Change and Glaciers Lesson Plan (Grades 5-8), Earth Day Network
- Natural Inquirer: A Middle School Science Journal Climate Change Articles, Cradle of Forestry Interpretive Association and USDA Forest Service