COS 79-4 - Most agency management plans fail to address endangered and threatened species vulnerability to climate change in the US.

Abstract: Despite widespread evidence of climate change as a threat to biodiversity, it is unclear whether government policies and agencies are adequately addressing this threat to species. We evaluated species sensitivity, a component of climate change vulnerability, for all US animals listed as Endangered (at risk of extinction) or Threatened (at risk of becoming endangered) under the Endangered Species Act. Based on existing vulnerability assessment protocols (particularly the NatureServe Climate Change Vulnerability Index and US Forest Service’s System for Assessing Vulnerability of Species), we created and answered eight yes-or-no questions based on whether the species’ habitat, ecology, physiology, or life cycle might be affected by changes in climate. These questions covered temperature, hydrology, disturbance, isolation, injurious species, chemistry, phenology, and obligate relationships. We also evaluated whether the agencies responsible for managing and recovering listed species, the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), considered climate change as a threat to the species and whether they recommended climate-related management actions in official documents.

For species listed as Endangered (n=459), 100% of species were sensitive to one or more of eight factors through the end of 2022. FWS and NMFS considered climate change as a threat to 85% of species, but planned management actions for only 38%. These percentages have increased since our first analysis in 2019, reflecting increased attention to climate change. For species listed as Threatened (n=197), through the end of 2022, 99.5% of species were sensitive to one or more of the sensitivity factors. Agencies assessed climate change as a threat for 90% of species, and concluded for 93% of these that it was a threat. However, agencies planned management actions for only 39% of species. Recovery documents recommended further study of climate impacts for 8% of Endangered species and 15% of Threatened species. The results highlight the gap between climate change sensitivity and the attention from agencies charged with conserving our most imperiled species.