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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
USFWS’ Arctic Strategy:
Managing Fish and Wildlife
Populations in a Changing
Landscape
SEARCH Science Steering Committee Meeting
October 28-30, 2008
FWS and Climate Change
Our mission is working with others to conserve, protect, and
enhance fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats for the
continuing benefit of the American people.
• Science Challenge – Translating model
projections into predictions of effects on
trust resources
• Management Challenge –Managing for
change
– No longer business (conservation, protection,
enhancement) as usual
FWS and Climate Change
• Strategic Plan – Responding to Climate Change
– Adaptation, Mitigation and Education
• 5-Year Action Plan – toward implementing the
Strategic Plan
• National Fish and Wildlife Adaptation Strategy
• FY09-10 Action Items – building capacity for
responding to climate change
– Conservation planning and design, modeling, research and
monitoring
Integration with SEARCH
Responding to Change
• Help identify useful predictive information
and products:
• Identify physical processes relevant to
habitat availability and suitability
• Identify appropriate modeling scales
• Identify key areas of uncertainty
Shallow Lake
(< 1.5 m)
Lacustrine Marsh
(Carex)
Moist SedgeShrub
Solar Radiation
Physical
Processes
Climate
BIRDS -- Summer
Precipitation
Hydrologic
Permafrost
Water Balance
Surface storage
 Thermokarst
 Active layer
Habitat Availability/
Suitability
Freshwater
Riverine Waters
Deep Lake
(> 1.5m)
Shallow Lake
(< 1.5 m)
 Erosion
 Storm frequency
Sea-level rise
Marine
Riverine Tall
Alder-Willow Shrub
Moist SedgeShrub
Coastal Barrens –
Tidal/Deltaic
Riverine Sedge,
Low/Dwarf Shrub
Wet Sedge
Coastal Barrens –
Salt-killed
Riverine Barrens
Shrubby
Tussock Tundra
Lacustrine Marsh
(Carex)
Coastal
Terrestrial
Tussock Tundra
Lacustrine Marsh
(Arctophila)
Temperature
Low BirchWillow Shrub
Coastal Wet
Sedge
Coastal Water –
Lagoon
Solar Radiation
Physical
Processes
Climate
BIRDS -- Summer
Precipitation
Hydrologic
Permafrost
Water Balance
Surface storage
 Thermokarst
 Active layer
Habitat Availability/
Suitability
Freshwater
Riverine Waters
Deep Lake
(> 1.5m)
Shallow Lake
(< 1.5 m)
 Erosion
 Storm frequency
Sea-level rise
Marine
Riverine Tall
Alder-Willow Shrub
Moist SedgeShrub
Coastal Barrens –
Tidal/Deltaic
Riverine Sedge,
Low/Dwarf Shrub
Wet Sedge
Coastal Barrens –
Salt-killed
Riverine Barrens
Shrubby
Tussock Tundra
Lacustrine Marsh
(Carex)
Coastal
Terrestrial
Tussock Tundra
Lacustrine Marsh
(Arctophila)
Temperature
Low BirchWillow Shrub
Coastal Wet
Sedge
Coastal Water –
Lagoon
Arctic Strategy
Goals and Objectives
• Focus on Terrestrial Arctic Landscape
• Identify Information Gaps
– Collect critical data
• Identify Priority Species
• Develop Models
– Impacts to Arctic fish and wildlife
– Decision support tools for management
• Collaborate and build partnerships
Wildlife Response to
Environmental Arctic Change
(WildREACH)
Workshop in Fairbanks:
17-18 November 2008
Wildlife Response to
Environmental Arctic Change
Advance development of models that
predict changes in habitat availability
and suitability.
Wildlife Response to
Environmental Arctic Change
Identify critical research, modeling,
and synthesis activities:
– Species attributes that are expected to be
sensitive indicators of predicted habitat change.
– Areas of uncertainty in physical and chemical
process models that most impede our ability to
predict the response of fish, wildlife, and their
habitats.
WildREACH Workshop
Structure
Plenary presentations by “Consulting
Specialists” in climate, permafrost,
hydrology, plant community ecology,
and ecological modeling will present
summaries of observational and
modeling results.
Changing conditions in winter: Sep - May
 Precipitation
Warmer
Shorter season
Snow
Plants
depth,  density,
 Icing events
Changes in communities;
Early plant emergence
Access to
food
 Insulation

positive
H1
C1
H2
H3

Energetic balance
H4
C2
More mammals
C4
Loss of shelter
natal nests/dens
negative
Early den
emergence
Juv. mortality
Herbivores
H1
Carnivores
C1
H2
H3
C2
H4
C4
Fewer mammals
WildREACH Workshop
Structure
Working Groups (birds, fish, and
mammals) will take part in breakout
sessions to identify potential
indicator species, develop conceptual
models for climate influences on
species groups, and identify critical
research/modeling data gaps.
WildREACH Workshop
Structure
Consulting Specialists will remain
present to interact informally with
fish and wildlife biologists in
breakout sessions.
WildREACH Workshop Product
Peer-reviewed report articulating the
most urgent information needs and tasks
needed to build capacity to predict
climate-related impacts to fish and
wildlife populations in the Arctic.
Arctic Strategy Partnerships
Fish and Wildlife Service
Trust Resources
Habitat Change
Physical and Chemical
Processes
Resource Management
Agencies:
BLM, NPS, ADFG, NSB, MMS
Research Community:
USGS, NSSI, NSF, NGOs,
UAF, SEARCH
Arctic Strategy Partnerships
Department of Interior Initiatives
– WILDCAST (USGS/NPS)
– Arctic Network Inventory and Monitoring Program
(NPS)
– North Slope Science Initiative (multi-agency)
Integration with SEARCH
Observing Change
• Agency biological monitoring and inventory
programs (e.g., species composition and
distribution) can feed data into SEARCH
framework.
Integration with SEARCH
Understanding Change
• Contribute to development of model
frameworks that link landscape changes to
ecosystem attributes (fish and wildlife
population, phenology, migration patterns).
Integration with SEARCH
Responding to Change
• Help identify useful predictive information
and products:
• Identify physical processes relevant to
habitat availability and suitability
• Identify appropriate modeling scales
• Identify key areas of uncertainty