WASHINGTON – A consortium of sportsmen’s groups including the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership this week released a new report, “Beyond Season’s End,” that addresses how the negative effects of climate change on America’s fish and wildlife populations can be mitigated through practical adaptive management strategies. The report stresses that funding for state fish and wildlife agencies via passage of national legislation is key to implementation of such on-the-ground approaches.

“American sportsmen have been among the first to experience the destructive impacts of climate change on our fish and game populations – and are soldiers on the front lines combating these impacts,” said William Geer, director of the TRCP Center for Western Lands. “The common-sense recommendations outlined in ‘Beyond Season’s End’ are science-based, field-tested strategies that can enable us to adapt to the effects of a shifting climate. But adequate funding must be made available through strong national legislation so that state agencies can take action in accomplishing what needs to be done.”

Climate change can alter the geographic ranges of numerous species and their habitats. Big-game populations must adapt to changes in their forage base and shift migration patterns to accommodate the changing weather. Variations in water quality and quantity are transforming both saltwater and freshwater ecosystems and fisheries. Wetland loss in the prairie pothole region will severely reduce waterfowl productivity in North America’s duck-breeding “factory.” Invasive species, parasites and disease-causing organisms may flourish in warmer temperatures, profoundly affecting habitat and challenging the survival of upland gamebirds.

“Good hunting and fishing are the byproducts of responsible natural resources stewardship,” said Jim Martin, TRCP board chair and conservation director of the Berkley Conservation Institute, “and we must continue to wisely manage these resources to sustain the economic and ecological values associated with fish, wildlife and their habitats in a changing climate. ‘Beyond Season’s End’ shows what approaches can be taken immediately to conserve and restore these values and is a crucial tool for policy makers and land managers as we seek methods to safeguard the resources and outdoor traditions that are central to our national identity.”

“Beyond Season’s End” is a sequel to “Season’s End,” published in 2008, which details the predicted impacts of global climate change on the habitat and distribution of fish and wildlife in the United States and the implications for sustainable hunting and fishing. “Season’s End” states that wildlife management agencies must monitor species, adapt to changes due to climate change and mitigate the effects of climate change by conserving habitat and adapting existing management programs.

Development of “Beyond Season’s End” was overseen by the Bipartisan Policy Center. In addition to the TRCP, the following groups contributed to the report’s content and production: the American Sportfishing Association, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, BASS/ESPN Outdoors, the Boone and Crockett Club, the Coastal Conservation Association, Ducks Unlimited, the Izaak Walton League of America, Pheasants Forever, Trout Unlimited and the Wildlife Management Institute.   

“Theodore Roosevelt said, ‘Ninety-five percent of wisdom consists of being wise in time,’” Geer concluded. “In the 20th century, sportsmen were ‘wise in time’ to see that declines in fish and wildlife populations were reversible, if action was taken quickly and decisively, and helped pass landmark conservation laws such as the Pittman-Robertson Act and the Dingell-Johnson Act. As sportsmen, we must be ‘wise in time’ again – and confront the threat of climate change before it’s too late.”

Learn more about the TRCP’s efforts to address the impacts of climate change on hunting and fishing.

Read “Beyond Season’s End.”