Climate-Informed State Wildlife Action Plans

The USGS Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs) are charged with developing and distributing USGS and university researcher-led science to support states, tribes, and federal bureaus as they work to understand climate impacts to fish, wildlife, and ecosystems in order to foster effective adaptation. As part of this mission, CASCs support SWAP planning efforts in a variety of ways. Below are some of the types of support offered by the CASC network.

Convening & Collaboration

SWAP planners have requested opportunities to share information, approaches, and lessons learned across state lines. Many states also seek to leverage resources and data for shared habitats and Species of Greatest Conservation Need. For example, the Southeast CASC helped to develop a collaborative network of conservation partners, including SWAP planners, which provided a forum for shared learning and regional strategies for conservation. In support of shared learning, CASCs have summarized how various states approach climate in SWAPs (e.g., Vital Futures 2019), and the network is working with AFWA to update the 2009 “Voluntary Guidance for States to Incorporate Climate Change into State Wildlife Action Plans and Other Management Plans.” The CASC network has expertise in convening, facilitating, and supporting working groups, both in-person and virtually.

Climate Data, Training, & Tools

CASC support ranges from helping states identify and analyze best-available data to developing new datasets. Examples include: the Northeast CASC is developing a consistent suite of climate projections across the Northeast for use in  the next round of SWAP revisions, regularly scheduled trainings by the South Central CASC ranging from climate basics to downscaled climate data, data carpentries hosted by the North Central CASC, and the Climate Futures Tool to help planners quickly acquire and summarize climate data. 

Species & Habitat Modeling & Assessment

The CASCs provide climate-specific species and habitat models and syntheses to support wildlife management. For example, the Midwest CASC is synthesizing the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on key habitats and species in the region to inform species and habitat management priorities outlined within the 2025 SWAP. CASCs have also funded or intend to fund a number of scientific research projects in response to state needs. These include a project that studied the climate change impacts of 20 species of importance in New Mexico, numerous species climate vulnerability assessments (by state, population, or ecosystem), and pending projects to complete a climate change vulnerability assessment on key habitats in the Southeast region and to illuminate how species' adaptive capacity and refugia in the Northwest could be incorporated into wildlife planning under changing conditions.

Planning & Adaptation Guidance

The CASCs can support climate-informed SWAP planning  and wildlife management through myriad other capacity-building activities. Past and current examples include:

• Scenario Planning: CASCs have facilitated scenario thinking for wildlife management plans, land management, and more.
• Adaptation Support: The Northeast CASC developed a Climate Action Tool for the state of Massachusetts to provide a one-stop shop for climate data, vulnerability assessments, and linked adaptation strategies, and several CASCs are working to develop an adaptation checklist to support on the ground actions.
• Climate Extension: Several CASCs intend to hire climate extension specialists to support states’ in their SWAP efforts.