Designated critical habitats for U.S. imperiled species are not protected from climate and land-use change
Designation of critical habitat is an important conservation tool for species listed as threatened or endangered under the United States (U.S.) Endangered Species Act (ESA). While this is an important protective mechanism, lands designated as …
National Wildlife Refuges and Climate Change: An Assessment of Climate in Comprehensive Conservation Planning
The National Wildlife Refuge System is the nation's only system of public lands dedicated foremost to the protection of species and habitats. One of the most important challenges it faces is how to protect its wildlife and habitats in a changing …
The Impact of climate change on endangered plants and lichen
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was a landmark protection for rare organisms in the United States. Although the ESA is known for its protection of wildlife, a majority of listed species are actually plants and lichen. Climate change will impact …
Agency management plans also fail to address threatened species vulnerability to climate change in the US
Despite widespread evidence of climate change as a threat to biodiversity, multiple studies have suggested that government agencies are not adequately addressing this threat to imperiled species. We assessed climate sensitivity for all 197 animal …
Targeting current species ranges and carbon stocks fails to conserve biodiversity in a changing climate: opportunities to support climate adaptation under 30x30
Protecting areas for climate adaptation will be essential to ensuring greater opportunity for species conservation well into the future. However, many proposals for protected areas expansion focus on our understanding of current spatial patterns, …