Dept. of Interior launches first-ever strategy to address current and future U.S. climate impacts

On September 14, 2009, Secretary of the Interior (DOI), Ken Salazar, signed Secretarial Order No. 3289, launching a strategy “to address current and future impacts of climate change on America’s land, water, ocean, fish, wildlife, and cultural resources."

This strategy requires that each bureau and office within the department must consider and examine potential climate change impacts when developing management plans, setting scientific research priorities, and making significant decisions regarding resource use that falls under the Department’s authority.
Considering that DOI manages one-fifth of the nation’s landmass and 1.7 billion acres on the Outer Continental Shelf, this strategy is an important step for U.S. preparation of climate change impacts. “Across the country, Americans are experiencing first-hand the impacts of climate change, from growing pressure on water supplies to more intense droughts and fires to rampant bark beetle infestations,” said Salazar, “…it is imperative that we tackle these impacts of a failed and outdated energy policy.”
The new framework creates:
** Climate Change Response Council—coordinates DOI’s impact response strategy and communication across bureaus and offices.
** Climate Change Regional Response Centers—eight DOI centers serving Alaska, the Northeast, the Southeast, the Southwest, the Midwest, the West, Northwest, and Pacific regions.
** Network of Landscape Conservation Cooperatives—engages a series of actors including federal agencies, state and local partners and the public to generate practical strategies within the eight regions.
 
To learn more about the framework, see the DOI press release.