Conservation Issues
Climate Change and the Grand Canyon Ecoregion
Scientists say the Western U.S. will experience the effects of climate change sooner and more intensely than most other regions of the country. The region’s national parks are among the places where the changes in the natural environment will be most evident. As a result, climate change is the single greatest threat to face western national parks, including the Grand Canyon.
Some impacts we are likely to see in the Grand Canyon region:
- There is likely to be a significant loss of plant and animal species. According to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), approximately 20-30% of plant and animal species will be at increased risk of extinction if increases in average global temperatures exceed 2.2-4.0° F above current levels. Desert bighorn sheep are just one of many species in the region at risk of extinction due to hotter temperatures and less precipitation resulting in reduced available forage.
- The southwest is likely to become even drier over the coming years and that means less river runoff and water availability. According to the IPCC, “Many semi-arid and arid areas are particularly exposed to the impacts of climate change and are projected to suffer a decrease of water resources.” This is on top of a Colorado River that is already seriously overallocated.
- There will be increases in wildfires due to the hotter drier climate. We see that occurring already. A recent study found that, since 1987, higher spring and summer temperatures and earlier snowmelt have already contributed to a four-fold increase in western wildfires.
- An increase in tree deaths is also likely to accompany the higher temperatures. A recent journal article in Science indicates that global warming is likely responsible for a sharp increase in tree deaths – the rate has doubled in some areas over the last 17 years. The higher temperatures are killing trees faster than forests can regenerate.
What can be done?
Climate change gives us new reasons to protect wild places. Conservation biologists have told us for decades that we need to preserve large wild core areas and link them together to protect wildlife from the impacts of human development.
- To survive global warming, wildlife and native plants need resilient habitats. We must help them adapt by protecting critical habitat and creating corridors that will allow for migration as temperatures rise.
- At a time when people are imposing ever greater demands on the Colorado River watershed, it is our goal to ensure that there is sufficient water to maintain healthy ecosystems.
- Everyone can help! Reduce your carbon emissions, conserve water, help to protect and restore remaining big spaces and wildlife corridors, support renewable energy and oppose new coal power plants, engage in new partnerships with communities and sectors of society not yet engaged in these issues.
To learn more please contact Stacey Hamburg to set up a date for a presentation on the impacts of climate change on the Grand Canyon eco-region and a discussion of what we all can do to help protect this magnificent region.
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