{"id":9365,"date":"2016-11-03T21:07:37","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T01:07:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/u-s-fish-wildlife-service-responding-to-an-existential-threat\/"},"modified":"2016-11-03T21:07:37","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T01:07:37","slug":"u-s-fish-wildlife-service-responding-to-an-existential-threat","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/u-s-fish-wildlife-service-responding-to-an-existential-threat\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Responding to an Existential Threat"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Background and the \u201cGreatest Challenge\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The United States Fish & Wildlife Service (\u201cFWS\u201d) was established in 1871 to study and reverse the collapse of U.S. food fisheries. Throughout the 20th<\/sup> Century, FWS successfully responded to destruction of bird populations by establishing wildlife refuges, the threats of pesticides to many native species, and many other challenges. The mission of FWS is to \u201cwork with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.\u201d[1]<\/a> Today, however, FWS faces \u201cthe greatest challenge to fish and wildlife conservation in the history of the Service\u201d[2]<\/a> in the form of climate change, which has the potential to cause changes to ecosystems and increase the risk of flora and fauna extinction.<\/p>\n

Native U.S. species are already threatened by climate change, which will continue to affect American species at an accelerating rate as the Earth temperature rises. Arctic animals, such as polar bears, that rely on arctic ice are experiencing \u201crapidly diminishing\u201d habitat,[3]<\/a> while climate change increases the size and likelihood of insect, pathogen, and disease outbreaks, wildfires, and drought in the Western U.S. Rising sea levels contribute to the destruction of habitats on the Atlantic and Gulf coastlines, while higher global temperatures melt snow and glaciers upon which populations of cool- and cold-water fish (such as salmon) depend.[4]<\/a> According to Climate Central biologist Nicole Heller, flora and fauna populations cannot adapt quickly enough to their rapidly changing habitats, meaning FWS is \u201cessentially going to fail at its\u00a0mission. Protected species are going to go extinct.\u201d[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FWS Response to Climate Change<\/strong><\/p>\n

In its 2012 \u201cClimate Change Strategic Plan,\u201d FWS laid out its Five-Year Plan to respond to the significant challenge of rising global temperatures. The Plan outlines three different strategies: Adaptation, Mitigation, and Engagement.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

Adaptation is adjusting to climate change by mitigating damage and using advantageous opportunities to protect ecosystems. Adaptation is FWS\u2019s primary short-term response strategy to climate change through Strategic Habitat Conservation (\u201cSHC\u201d). In practice, SHC means partnering with local, state, and national governmental organizations, private enterprise, individuals, and international partners to establish a unified Climate Adaptation Strategy. Broadly, FWS will establish cohesive relationships with other organizations to create interconnected ecosystems that protect and develop key floral and faunal resources such as waterways, coastal and marine environments, and species particularly vulnerable to climate change. To implement such an all-encompassing adaption plan, FWS must improve biological monitoring and inventory management programs, increase ecological capabilities through research, and strengthen international relationships with other conservation organizations.<\/p>\n

Mitigation is the reduction of sources of and the increase of the sinks of greenhouse gases. FWS will mitigate global temperature increases by becoming a carbon neutral organization by 2020 and increase carbon sequestration capabilities. FWS\u2019s carbon sequestration, or plants pulling CO2 <\/sub>out of the atmosphere to be stored as biomass or in the soil, plan involves planting locally native flora species to capture more carbon while also improving existing habitats.<\/p>\n

Engagement is an outreach program to all environmental stakeholders to find solutions to global temperature increases. FWS\u2019s engagement effort involves FWS employee education, external information sharing and training, and establishing partnerships to foster greater climate change learning and policy through international forums.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Further Actions<\/strong><\/p>\n

The challenge facing FWS is immense, and its response is ambitious. FWS, however, is in one of very few respected organizations with multi-century track records of successful conservation efforts. FWS can become a public face for conservation by raising awareness of the plight of certain animal species, especially \u201ccharismatic megafauna,\u201d which are typically large, well-known animal species such as polar bears, eagles, and bison that have an outsized impact on human beings\u2019 empathy.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

FWS is uniquely positioned to spread climate change awareness to hunters and fishermen, a subset of largely conservative Americans who have historically been resistant to climate change acceptance. Hunters and fisherman already have a high opinion of FWS, as FWS is the body that governs and preserves hunting and fishing resources in the United States.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(Word Count: 776)<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> \u201cAbout the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,\u201d Mission Statement<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.fws.gov\/help\/about_us.html<\/a><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> \u201cRising to the Urgent Challenge: Strategic Plan for Responding to Accelerating Climate Change,\u201d U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2012, pp. 2<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.fws.gov\/home\/climatechange\/pdf\/CCStrategicPlan.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> \u201cClimate Change,\u201d Polar Bears International<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.polarbearsinternational.org\/about-polar-bears\/climate-change<\/a><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> \u201cRising to the Urgent Challenge: Strategic Plan for Responding to Accelerating Climate Change,\u201d U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2012, pp. 7<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> \u201cFish & Wildlife Service Lays Out a New Course for Species Conservation in the Climate Change Era,\u201d Climate Central, 2010<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.climatecentral.org\/blogs\/fish-wildlife-service-lays-out-a-new-course-for-species-conservation-in<\/a><\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> \u201cRising to the Urgent Challenge: Strategic Plan for Responding to Accelerating Climate Change,\u201d U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2012, pp. 14<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> \u201cCharismatic Megafauna and Beyond\u201d, Discover Society, 2016<\/p>\n

http:\/\/discoversociety.org\/2016\/10\/04\/charismatic-megafauna-and-beyond\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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