State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs) serve as blueprints to conservation, helping states conserve wildlife before they become too rare or costly to restore. One of the required elements of a SWAP is to describe the threats facing species and habitats. Many states have identified climate variability and change as having the potential to influence species and habitats now and into the future.
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. The CASC network is seeking to identify state needs for climate and adaptation science, and capacity as they prepare for the next round of SWAP revisions. 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 Northeast CASC worked collaboratively with states to create a scientific synthesis of climate impacts related to ecosystems. 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:
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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.
Contact Us
For more information about climate & SWAP support in your region, contact:
- National CASC: Janet Cushing
- Alaska CASC: Jeremy Littell
- North Central CASC: Aparna Bamzai-Dodson
- Northeast CASC: Michelle Staudinger
- Northwest CASC: Betsy Glenn
- Pacific Islands CASC: Heather Kerkering
- South Central CASC: Michael Langston
- Southeast CASC: Ryan Boyles
- Southwest CASC: Kris Metzger
The CASC network has integrated State Wildlife Action Plans into science projects at a variety of scales. Browse a selection of these projects below.
Accounting for Ecological Impacts of Climate Change in State Wildlife Action Plans: A comparison of Model-Based and Index-Based Vulnerability Assessments
Climate Science and Adaptation Planning Support for State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs) in the North Central Region
State of Knowledge Syntheses: Comprehensive, User-Friendly Science Compilations, Data Summaries and Adaptation Guides to Support Management of Northwest Species and Habitat in a Changing Climate
Enhancing the Reliability and Usability of Climate Change Information for Wildlife Action Plans in the Northeastern United States
Evaluating Species’ Adaptive Capacity in a Changing Climate: Applications to Natural-Resource Management in the Northwestern U.S.
Improving Scenarios of Future Patterns of Urbanization, Climate Adaptation, and Landscape Change in the Southeast
Refining Guidance for Incorporating Climate Science and Scenario Planning into National Park Service Resource Stewardship Strategies
Assessing Climate Change Threats and Adaptation Strategies in Northeast State Wildlife Action Plans
Enabling Climate-Informed Planning and Decisions about Species of Conservation Concern in the North Central Region: Phase 1
Mapping Climate Change Resistant Vernal Pools in the Northeastern U.S.
Climate Assessments and Scenario Planning (CLASP)
Climate, the Boreal Forest, and Moose: A Pilot Project for Scenario Planning to Inform Land and Wildlife Management
- Overview
State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs) serve as blueprints to conservation, helping states conserve wildlife before they become too rare or costly to restore. One of the required elements of a SWAP is to describe the threats facing species and habitats. Many states have identified climate variability and change as having the potential to influence species and habitats now and into the future.
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. The CASC network is seeking to identify state needs for climate and adaptation science, and capacity as they prepare for the next round of SWAP revisions. 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 Northeast CASC worked collaboratively with states to create a scientific synthesis of climate impacts related to ecosystems. 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.
Contact Us
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Map showing the state footprints of the nine regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs) and the location of the National CASC. For more information about climate & SWAP support in your region, contact:
- National CASC: Janet Cushing
- Alaska CASC: Jeremy Littell
- North Central CASC: Aparna Bamzai-Dodson
- Northeast CASC: Michelle Staudinger
- Northwest CASC: Betsy Glenn
- Pacific Islands CASC: Heather Kerkering
- South Central CASC: Michael Langston
- Southeast CASC: Ryan Boyles
- Southwest CASC: Kris Metzger
-
- Science
The CASC network has integrated State Wildlife Action Plans into science projects at a variety of scales. Browse a selection of these projects below.
Filter Total Items: 14Accounting for Ecological Impacts of Climate Change in State Wildlife Action Plans: A comparison of Model-Based and Index-Based Vulnerability Assessments
State wildlife agencies and their partners use State Wildlife Action Plans to coordinate and guide management activities aimed at protecting species. To do so, they must identify factors putting species and their habitats at risk. Current and future climate change is one such factor. To succeed, management actions need to account for impacts of climate change on species today and in the future asClimate Science and Adaptation Planning Support for State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs) in the North Central Region
State Wildlife Action Plans are intended to provide proactive planning and guidance for the management of rare or imperiled species, including Species of Greatest Conservation Need. States must update their State Wildlife Action Plans every 10 years, but planners often lack the capacity or resources to integrate climate change into their planning. Revised State Wildlife Action Plans for most stateState of Knowledge Syntheses: Comprehensive, User-Friendly Science Compilations, Data Summaries and Adaptation Guides to Support Management of Northwest Species and Habitat in a Changing Climate
Managing species and habitat in a changing climate requires locally specific information about expected changes in the physical environment, key stressors and related ecological changes. Federal investments have supported the development of a significant scientific knowledge base detailing potential future conditions for many Northwest ecosystem types and geographies. Yet scientists, managers andEnhancing the Reliability and Usability of Climate Change Information for Wildlife Action Plans in the Northeastern United States
The northeastern U.S. is home to a wide range of terrestrial and aquatic habitats, leading to a variety of interactions occurring between species and climate on multiple scales. Therefore, the most effective strategy to produce and deliver scientific climate information to resource managers is to align the scales of climate projections with the scales of resource management actions. While availablEvaluating Species’ Adaptive Capacity in a Changing Climate: Applications to Natural-Resource Management in the Northwestern U.S.
Natural resource managers are confronted with the pressing challenge to develop conservation plans that address complex ecological and societal needs against the backdrop of a rapidly changing climate. Climate change vulnerability assessments (CCVAs) provide valuable information that helps guide management and conservation actions in this regard. An essential component to CCVAs is understanding adImproving Scenarios of Future Patterns of Urbanization, Climate Adaptation, and Landscape Change in the Southeast
Arguably the most direct, intense, and long-lasting modification that humans can make to a landscape is converting rural lands to urbanized areas. As human populations grow, the demand for urbanized areas will increase, and scientists can help natural resource managers plan for these changes by creating models that predict potential patterns of future urbanization. The Southeast U.S. is experienciRefining Guidance for Incorporating Climate Science and Scenario Planning into National Park Service Resource Stewardship Strategies
One of the biggest challenges facing resource managers today is not knowing exactly when, where, or how climate change effects will unfold. To help federal land managers address this need, the North Central CASC has been working with the National Park Service to pioneer an approach for incorporating climate science and scenario planning into NPS planning processes, in particular Resource StewardshAssessing Climate Change Threats and Adaptation Strategies in Northeast State Wildlife Action Plans
Every 10 years, state fish and wildlife management agencies must comprehensively review, and if necessary revise, their State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs). These are important planning documents that serve as blueprints for conserving fish, wildlife, and their habitat, and for preventing species listings in each state. These plans focus on species that have been identified as being of greatest coEnabling Climate-Informed Planning and Decisions about Species of Conservation Concern in the North Central Region: Phase 1
The goal of this project was to identify climate-related scientific information needs in the North Central region that will support the management of key species and help avoid species declines. Researchers worked closely with state fish and wildlife agencies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, tribes, and other relevant natural resource management and conservation agencies to identify priority iMapping Climate Change Resistant Vernal Pools in the Northeastern U.S.
Vernal pools are small, seasonal wetlands that provide critically important seasonal habitat for many amphibian species of conservation concern. Natural resource managers and scientists in the Northeast, as well as the Northeast Refugia Research Coalition, coordinated by the Northeast CSC, recently identified vernal pools as a priority ecosystem to study, and recent revisions to State Wildlife ActClimate Assessments and Scenario Planning (CLASP)
This project compiled, synthesized, and communicated tailored climate change information to NE CASC stakeholders, including Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCC), state and federal agencies, and tribal communities. Our mission is to make climate science actionable by getting to know our stakeholders and the decisions they face, and delivering climate information that is directly relevant to thClimate, the Boreal Forest, and Moose: A Pilot Project for Scenario Planning to Inform Land and Wildlife Management
Scenario planning is one decision support method that can help natural resource managers incorporate information about uncertain future changes in climate into management decisions. To provide a proof of concept of the value of scenario planning in helping managers prepare for climate change, we conducted a pilot scenario planning effort aimed at helping state agencies in the northeastern United S - Connect