Sharon Buccino
Director of NRDC's land and wildlife program and an expert on the use of public lands

What can federal agencies do to address the impacts of climate change that we are seeing across our most valued western landscapes?
Collecting information about the changes that are occurring is a critical first step. Federal land managers are in a position to act on that information, and they must do so to preserve the beauty and diversity of the western lands so many Americans treasure. Federal managers can act in two important ways. First, they have the power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly. Second, because of the large areas they oversee, they can help preserve the paths of migration and core refugia that many plants and animals will need to survive climate change. 

What exactly can they do to limit greenhouse gas emissions?
Agencies within the Department of the Interior make key decisions about how public lands will be used to produce energy. The department can take the lead in shifting away from reliance on dirty, outdated fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal and moving toward a healthy and sustainable energy economy based on efficiency and renewables. Where oil and gas drilling continues, the Interior Department can require controls that limit the emissions of carbon dioxide and methane that result from compressor engines, pneumatic valves, and other equipment at well sites. Many of these controls would save companies money, as they keep methane in the system to be sold instead of releasing it into the air.

What about plants and animals? What can be done to help them adapt to climate change?
As Tim Folger's article shows, not all species are capable of adapting to the scale of the changes we are seeing in our western landscapes as a result of climate change. But managers of our national parks, forests, and other public lands can play a valuable role in helping some adapt. The 253 million acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management, for example, offer key migration paths and habitat for both plants and animals. Federal land managers can maintain large, intact land areas that provide routes for species migration in response to climate change. The managers can't do this alone, but they can spark the collaboration needed to bring wildlife agencies, scientists, private landowners, and others together to ensure that wildlife and plants have options as they respond to the habitat changes that result from warming temperatures.

Illustration by Bruce Morser