UPDATE: DU's chief executive officer discusses climate change legislation How the climate bill relates to DU's policy work – read more.

Conserving waterfowl and wetlands amid climate change

A report produced by Ducks Unlimited's science staff in 2007 outlined potential impacts of climate change on the North American waterfowl resource. The potential impacts are serious and range from the disappearance of coastal habitats in all four flyways to changing the water patterns on the breeding grounds of North America. Our science staff has worked in this arena for more than a decade and we have developed programs that will help waterfowl and waterfowl hunting based on that work.

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed legislation that addresses the effects of climate change. Ducks Unlimited did not endorse or oppose this legislation, but we did encourage Congress to include provisions that would benefit waterfowl and wetlands if it should pass and become law. Numerous other sportsmen's conservation organizations supported passage of the bill. The legislation has provisions that will assist with the protect and restoration of fish and wildlife habitats, ecosystems and ecological processes threatened by climate change.

The legislation includes funds for several programs crucial to the conservation of America's waterfowl including the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Fund and the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Also, numerous offset projects were included in the legislation that will have substantial conservation value to waterfowl and other wildlife and provide financial support to farmers and other rural landowners. Private landowners will be eligible to receive incentive payments for carbon-reducing land-use practices such as peatland and wetland management, conservation of grassland and forested land and afforestation and reforestation projects.

DU's role in this type of legislation has been to encourage policies that will have a beneficial effect on waterfowl and wetlands, based on sound science. The legislation will now move to the U.S. Senate for additional consideration.

Background on climate change

The impacts of global climate change have received wide media attention in recent years. Scientists predict that climate change will affect almost every aspect of our environment, including North America's wetlands and waterfowl. It is widely accepted by the scientific community that the earth, which has always experienced climate variation, is now undergoing a period of rapid climate change that is enhanced by human-caused atmospheric carbon enrichment during the past 100 years. Projections for the next 100 years indicate extensive warming in many areas, changing patterns of precipitation, accelerating sea level rise, changes in the timing and length of the seasons, declining snow packs and increasing frequency and intensity of severe weather events. Ducks Unlimited is planning for the effects of climate change if wetland and waterfowl management objectives are to be achieved and policy efforts that enhance the resiliency and sustainability of wildlife and their habitats to climate change are to be implemented. The potential consequences of climate change are significant, and we are taking steps to stay informed and to incorporate climate change into our conservation planning. To learn more, click here to read Conserving Waterfowl and Wetlands Amid Climate Change.

DU participates in the Sportsman's Advisory Group on Climate Change

The nation's duck hunters have a stake in the complex issue of climate change, and future hunting opportunities will rely on our collective ability to accurately assess, predict, and manage the impacts to waterfowl and their habitats. The Sportsman's Advisory Group on Climate Change consists of nine of the top conservation organizations in the nation. These organizations are well suited to assess climate change impacts on fish and wildlife resources and to represent the interests of sportsmen and -women across the nation. For further information, please visit Seasons' End.

Related Links

• DU's white paper: Conserving Wetlands and Waterfowl Amid Climate Change (PDF)
• DU Canada's Research on Wetlands and Climate Change
• DU: Wetlands Important to Climate Change Solution
• Seasons' End: Global Warming's Threats to Hunting and Fishing
• The Waterfowler's Guide to Global Warming (PDF)
• National Wildlife Federation Global Warming Homepage
• Partners In Flight - Global Climate Change and Birds

National Wildlife Federation Reports

• The Chesapeake Bay and Global Warming: A Paradise Lost for Hunters, Anglers, and other Outdoor Enthuasists? (PDF)
• On the Edge: Protecting California's Fish and Waterfowl from Global Warming (PDF)
• Sea-level Rise and Coastal Habitats in the Pacific Northwest: An Analysis of Puget Sound, Southwestern Washington, and Northwestern Oregon (PDF)