The USGS provides policymakers, resource managers, and the public climate science to help guide better decisions for building sustainable resource stewardship across America’s public lands and beyond.

From mass bleaching event threatening coral reefs in the Caribbean to the severe heatwaves in the North Pacific, climate-induced changes threaten the viability and health of our natural resources and the communities they support. USGS science is essential for resource managers and policymakers to understand the implications of climate and ecosystem change and make well-informed, science-backed decisions. Working with natural and cultural resource managers, USGS scientists provide tools to help fish, wildlife, ecosystems, and communities anticipate, plan, and adapt to the impacts of climate and environmental change.

The United States faces growing challenges to its water supply, and we need to know where there is not enough water, where we have more than we need, and the quality of the water. Using the nation’s premier water data collection network, USGS regularly assesses current water availability and develops novel methods for monitoring and predicting how changing hydrological conditions will impact communities and ecosystems. The USGS provides the data and information necessary for sound decision-making related to emergency response, flood forecasting, reservoir management, drinking water delivery, permit compliance, water-quality improvement, recreational safety and more in a changing climate. 

Tools such as Landsat, Earth-observing satellites, allow USGS scientists to lead the way in monitoring long-term changes in climate that impact Earth’s surface, oceans, and atmosphere. The technology can be used to map and monitor specific Earth changes and the scientific data collected is used to further understand climate change, its potential effects on the world and to improve projections of future change.

Over 90% of respondents observed climate change impacts on resources, yet 2/3 lack funding or capacity to address climate change. In the U.S., 80% of respondents identified the USGS as an important source of climate information. (2022 AFWA Climate Adaptation Survey of U.S. state and Canadian provincial and territorial fish and wildlife agencies)

The USGS builds the technical capacity of managers and decision makers and helps integrate climate change information into their decision making and products, equipping them to meet climate challenges ahead. This helps organizations across the country, from local non-profits to Department of the Interior agencies, better access, use, and interpret climate science and data.