Climate Change Adaptation: Department of the Interior

Climate Change Adaptation: Department of
February 25, 2021
the Interior
R. Eliot Crafton,
The Department of the Interior (DOI) and many agencies within it, including the Bureau of Land
Coordinator
Management (BLM), Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), National Park Service (NPS), U.S.
Analyst in Natural
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), are responsible for the
Resources Policy
administration of most public U.S. lands and waters and the U.S. federal mineral estate, among

other responsibilities. DOI agencies administer and manage these resources—which include more
Laura B. Comay
than 400 million acres of public lands, parks, refuges, wilderness areas, and more—on behalf of
Specialist in Natural
all U.S. citizens. DOI agencies also conduct scientific research that informs the management and
Resources Policy
care of these lands, waters, and other natural resources. Because DOI has such broad land and

resource responsibilities, its operations may be particularly sensitive to changing climate
conditions; the effects of climate change may impact many of the resources and activities that
Mark K. DeSantis
DOI administers. As a result, DOI has issued department-wide and agency-specific policies and
Analyst in Natural
guidance and undertaken numerous actions (collectively, activities) to address climate change
Resources Policy
and its effects.

Carol Hardy Vincent
At the department level, DOI’s efforts to implement activities aimed at adapting to the effects of
Specialist in Natural
climate change have taken numerous forms, including implementing executive orders and issuing
Resources Policy
secretarial orders and department-wide policies and guidance. Department-wide initiatives also

have directed agencies to establish or operate adaptation-related activities, such as the USGS-
Anna E. Normand
administered Climate Adaptation Science Centers and the FWS-administered Landscape
Analyst in Natural
Conservation Cooperatives. These and other adaptation activities are often in flux, as some orders
Resources Policy
and policies issued in prior Administrations may be withdrawn or amended in subsequent

Administrations.
Charles V. Stern
At the agency level—in addition to implementing directives from the department and executive
Specialist in Natural
levels—the various agencies and bureaus have issued policies and guidance to inform how
Resources Policy

programs and staff should or may incorporate climate change adaptation considerations into
agency programs, among other activities. For example, certain agencies have published guidance

documents and reports that outline how adaptation should be interwoven into on -the-ground
administration of agency resources (e.g., the National Park System and the National Wildlife Refuge System) and programs
(e.g., hydroelectric energy production and the conservation of species listed as threatened or endangered under the
Endangered Species Act [16 U.S.C. §§1531 et seq.]).
Climate-specific administrative actions, including those at the executive, department, and agency levels, may be revoked,
modified, or superseded. Some of DOI’s adaptation-related activities have been altered or suspended, and it is not always
clear to what extent DOI’s or an individual agency’s day-to-day activities conform with existing adaptation directives.
Some Members of Congress may be interested in how DOI and DOI agencies are addressing and instituting activities related
to climate change adaptation. Specifically, such interests may include oversight, legislative, and appropriations actions.
Congress may introduce legislation directing the department or agencies to explicitly consider or not consider climate change
adaptation, provide information, and/or publish reports about department and agency activities. Congress also may direct
funding to carry out certain activities as part of the annual appropriations process.
This report provides an overview of selected activities that DOI and five agencies within DOI—the BLM, Reclamation, NPS,
FWS, and USGS—have undertaken to adapt to the effects of climate change. It focuses on activities related to adapting to the
effects of climate change rather than activities focused on mitigating climate change (although attributing activities to
adaptation versus mitigation can be difficult at times). For the purposes of this report, adaptation includes activities
undertaken to adjust to the experienced or projected effects of climate change, and mitigation includes activities directed at
reducing the magnitude of climate change. This report is, in part, an update to a previous CRS report published in February
2015, CRS Report R43915, Climate Change Adaptation by Federal Agencies: An Analysis of Plans and Issues for Congress,
and presents information on the state of activities as of the end of 2020. It previews Biden Administration activities only
nominally.
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Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1
Department of the Interior ................................................................................................ 4
Status of DOI Adaptation-Related Policy and Guidance................................................... 5
Selected DOI-Wide Adaptation Activities ...................................................................... 7
Bureau of Land Management .......................................................................................... 10
Selected BLM Adaptation-Related Activities ............................................................... 11
Bureau of Reclamation .................................................................................................. 13
Selected Reclamation Adaptation-Related Activities ..................................................... 14
National Park Service .................................................................................................... 15
Selected NPS Adaptation-Related Activities ................................................................ 17
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ........................................................................................ 20
Selected FWS Adaptation-Related Activities ................................................................ 20
U.S. Geological Survey.................................................................................................. 24
Selected USGS Adaptation-Related Activities .............................................................. 24
Issues for Congress ....................................................................................................... 26

Contacts
Author Information ....................................................................................................... 28

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Climate Change Adaptation: Department of the Interior

Introduction
Climate change—changes in the average or variability of weather conditions that persist over
long time scales (e.g., multiple decades or longer)1—and related global changes can threaten
human health; the economy; the built environment; and the natural world, including wildlife,
plants, and the ecosystems upon which they rely.2 Many scientists, governments, and
organizations have researched climate change, documented its experienced effects, projected
potential effects, and undertaken activities to respond to it.3 Scientists have demonstrated the
effects of climate change already realized around the world, and they project that climate changes
wil intensify in future decades.4
Climate change has been observed directly (e.g., in long-term temperature and extreme weather
records).5 The changes can affect plant growth rates, water availability, energy demand, and many
other aspects of human and natural systems; these changes can be beneficial or adverse, can
change over time and across regions, and can influence other stressors, such as poverty, famine,
and water stress.6 Effects of climate change are spatial y variable, with some regions more
affected than others. For some degrees of climate change, certain regions may see benefits (e.g.,
longer growing seasons) in addition to stressors.7 Projections for climate change and its effects
over the coming decades span a wide range and depend on many factors (e.g., current and future
greenhouse gas emissions). Ultimately, the magnitude of the effects of climate change over time
wil depend on actions taken to adapt to and mitigate climate change (see text box “Adaptation
Versus Mitigation”).8

1 For example, see definitions of climate and climate change at U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP),
“Glossary,” at https://www.globalchange.gov/climate-change/glossary, and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC), “ Definition of T erms Used Within the Data Distribution Centre: Glossary ,” at https://www.ipcc-
data.org/guidelines/pages/glossary/glossary_c.html. T his report does not address the causes of multidecadal climate
change. For a discussion of climate change science, see CRS Report R43229, Clim ate Change Science: Key Points, by
Jane A. Leggett . For additional background on climate change, see CRS In Focus IF11446, Weather and Clim ate
Change: What’s the Difference?
, by Jane A. Leggett.
2 Alexa Jay et al., “Overview,” in Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate
Assessm ent
, vol. II, eds. David Reidmiller et al. (Washington, DC: U.S. USGCRP, 2018), pp. 33 -71 (hereinafter,
assessment cit ed as Reidmiller et al., Im pacts, Risks, and Adaptation).
3 For example, the USGCRP is a federal program mandated by Congress through P.L. 101-606 with the stated purpose
of developing and coordinating “ a comprehensive and integrated United States research program which will assist the
Nation and the world to understand, assess, predict, and respond to human -induced and natural processes of global
change.” For more information, see USGCRP, “ About USCGRP ,” at https://www.globalchange.gov/about . T he IPCC
“is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change” (IPCC, “ About the IPCC,” at
https://www.ipcc.ch/about/).
4 For example, see IPCC, “Summary for Policy Makers,” in Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of
Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessm ent Report of the In tergovernm ental Panel on Clim ate Change
, eds.
Core Writing T eam, Rajendra K. Pachauri, and Leo Meyer (Geneva, Switzerland: IPCC, 2014), pp. 2 and 10
(hereinafter, report cited as IPCC, Clim ate Change 2014).
5 National Centers for Environmental Information, “Climate Monitoring,” at https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/climate-
monitoring/index.php. See also Donald J. Wuebbles et al., “ Our Globally Changing Climate,” in Clim ate Science
Special Report: Fourth National Clim ate Assessm ent
, vol. I, eds. Donald J. Wuebbles et al., USGCRP, 2017, at
https://science2017.globalchange.gov/chapter/1/.
6 For example, see IPCC, “Observed Changes and T heir Causes,” in IPCC, Climate Change 2014, pp. 39-54.
7 For example, see “Regional Summary” breakdowns included in the various chapters of the Fourth National Climate
Assessm ent
(e.g., see pp. 149, 178, 238, 279, 444, 485).
8 For example, see Robert Lempert et al., “Reducing Risks T hrough Adaptation Actions,” in Reidmiller et al., Impacts,
Risks, and Adaptation
, pp. 1309-1345. Also see Jeremy Martinich et al., “ Reducing Risks T hrough Emissions
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This report does not analyze climate change science, the causes of multidecadal climate change,
or the experienced or projected effects of climate change.9 Rather, this report describes activities
related to climate change adaptation within the Department of the Interior (DOI). The information
in this report reflects the state of climate change adaptation activities within DOI and its agencies
as of the end of 2020 and does not address activities undertaken under the Biden Administration
(see text box on “Changes in Department of the Interior Climate-Adaptation Activities Under the
Biden Administration”). Climate change adaptation activities described herein have been
implemented both through administrative actions (e.g., executive and secretarial orders and
actions taken within agencies’ discretion under existing statutory authorities) and pursuant to
statutory requirements.
Changes in Department of the Interior Climate Adaptation Activities Under the
Biden Administration
As noted, this report describes Department of the Interior (DOI) climate change adaptation activities through the
Trump Administration. The Biden Administration, as wel as future Administrations, may pursue actions through
administrative mechanisms or pursuant to existing and future statutory requirements that could revoke, modify,
or supersede some of the adaptation-related policies and guidance reflected in this report. President Biden
implemented several executive actions that have the potential to affect DOI’s climate adaptation activities in the
first days of his Administration. For example, on January 20, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order (E.O.)
13990, “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.”
Among its provisions, the order revoked E.O. 13783, “Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth,”
and directed nearly al executive departments and agencies—including DOI—to review regulations and other
agency actions introduced during the Trump Administration. E.O. 13990 also established an interagency working
group, which includes the Secretary of the Interior, tasked with establishing a “social cost of carbon” (SCC), a
“social cost of nitrous oxide” (SCN), and a “social cost of methane” (SCM) for agencies to use when monetizing
the value of changes in greenhouse gas emissions resulting from regulations and other relevant agency actions.
According to the E.O., the SCC, SCN, and SCM “are estimates of the monetized damages associated with
incremental increases in greenhouse gas emissions.” Further, on January 27, 2021, President Biden issued E.O.
14008, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,” which states that it is the Administration’s policy “that
climate considerations shal be an essential element of United States foreign policy and national security” and “to
organize and deploy the ful capacity of its agencies to combat the climate crisis to implement a Government-wide
approach.”
Sources: E.O. 13783, “Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth,” May 28, 2017, 82 Federal Register
16093.
E.O. 13990, “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis,”
January 20, 2021, 86 Federal Register 7037.
Executive Order 14008, "Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad," 86 Federal Register 7619, January 27,
2021.
This report provides an overview of selected DOI departmental and agency policies, programs,
and actions (herein collectively referred to as activities) aimed at adapting to experienced and
projected effects of climate change. This report focuses on activities related to adaptation to
climate change rather than activities related to the mitigation of climate change. For the purposes
of this report, adaptation includes activities undertaken to adjust to and prepare for, including
through research, the experienced or projected effects of climate change; mitigation includes
activities directed at reducing the magnitude of climate change (see text box on “Adaptation
Versus Mitigation”).10 However, it is often difficult to differentiate and categorize activities as

Mitigation,” in Reidmiller et al., Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation, pp. 1346-1386.
9 For an overview of climate change, see CRS Report R43229, Climate Change Science: Key Points, by Jane A.
Leggett .
10 Adaptation and mitigation are defined differently by various entities and depend on the context in which the terms
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either explicitly adaptation or mitigation, due to potential overlap or differing approaches to
defining the two concepts.
The report provides updated information on selected climate change adaptation activities
undertaken by DOI and the five DOI agencies considered in the earlier CRS report (CRS Report
R43915, Climate Change Adaptation by Federal Agencies: An Analysis of Plans and Issues for
Congress
):11 Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation),
National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS).12 It is broken into six sections—one section covers DOI and DOI-wide activities; the
remaining sections cover the five listed DOI agencies. Each section contains a brief background
of the department or agency and an overview of climate change adaptation activities for that
department or agency. A brief conclusion is provided at the end that raises selected issues that
may be of interest to some Members of Congress. This report is not intended to be a
comprehensive review of DOI’s climate change adaptation activities—for example, other
agencies within DOI have undertaken climate change adaptation activities—and the information
provided should be considered il ustrative rather than exhaustive.
Congress may find information in this report pertinent with regard to its oversight and legislative
activities related to climate change adaptation as it applies to DOI and DOI agencies, the
resources they administer, and the programs they undertake.13
Adaptation Versus Mitigation
Federal attempts to address climate change and its effects include activities related to adaptation and/or mitigation.
The two concepts have been defined and interpreted differently across agencies and circumstances, and
inconsistent usage can make the terms confusing. In this report, the terms adaptation and mitigation reflect the
commonly accepted definitions of the climate change science community. For example, although specific phrasing
may vary between sources, the fol owing U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) definitions of these
terms reflect the broader usage in the climate change science community and how these terms are used in this
report:
Adaptation: “Adjustment in natural or human systems to a new or changing environment that exploits beneficial
opportunities or moderates negative effects.”
Mitigation: “Measures to reduce the amount and speed of future climate change by reducing emissions of heat -
trapping gases or removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.”
Federal agencies may employ these terms as they are defined above or in different ways. For example, the
fol owing definitions are examples of how the Department of the Interior (DOI) has defined these terms in
selected published reports.
Adaptation: Citing the Environmental Protection Agency, DOI’s 2014 Department of the Interior Climate Change
Adaptation Plan
defined adaptation, as it relates to climate change, as “the adjustments that society or ecosystems
make to limit negative effects of climate change” (p. 2). DOI further clarified that the departmental approach for
adaptation centers on increasing resiliency of DOI and its assets. Citing Executive Order (E.O.) 13653, which was
later revoked by E.O. 13783 on March 31, 2017, the adaptation plan defined resilience as “the ability to anticipate,

are being used. As used in this report, the terms reflect common usage by the climate change science community.
11 Updated information on other departmental and agency activities covered in CRS Report R43915, Climate Change
Adaptation by Federal Agencies: An Analysis of Plans and Issues for Congress
, coordinated by Jane A. Leggett , also
may be included in other CRS products; for example, see CRS Report R46454, Clim ate Change Adaptation: U.S.
Departm ent of Agriculture
, coordinated by Genevieve K. Croft .
12 Information within this report was obtained from publicly available resources and through personal communications
between CRS and the Department of the Interior (DOI) and agency congressional affairs offices, when available. Other
DOI agencies not considered in this report also may undertake climate change adaptation activities, but these activities
are outside the scope of this report.
13 For example, see shaded text box on “ Selected Congressional Appropriations Actions Related to Climate Change
Adaptation.”
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prepare for, and adapt to changing conditions and withstand, respond to, and recover rapidly from disruptions” (p.
2).
Mitigation:
Also in 2014, the DOI Energy and Climate Change Task Force issued a report titled A Strategy for
Improving the Mitigation Policies and Practices of the Department of the Interior
. The report was issued pursuant to
DOI Secretarial Order (S.O.) 3330, which required the task force to develop a DOI-wide mitigation strategy that,
among other things, included “a focus on mitigation efforts that improve the resilience of our Nation’s resources
in the face of climate change.” (S.O. 3330 was revoked by S.O. 3349 on March 27, 2017.) The report stated that
mitigation includes “activities to avoid, minimize, and compensate for adverse impacts to particular resources or
values” (p. 2).

Sources: DOI, Department of the Interior Climate Adaptation Plan, 2014, at https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/
migrated/greening/sustainability_plan/upload/2014_DOI_Climate_Change_Adaptation_Plan.pdf.
DOI, S.O. 3330, “Improving Mitigation Policies and Practices of the Department of the Interior,” Secretary of the
Interior Sal y Jewel , October 31, 2013.
J. P. Clement et al., A Strategy for Improving the Mitigation Policies and Practices of the Department of the Interior: A
Report to the Secretary of the Interior from the Energy and Climate Change Task Force
, April 2014, at
https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/migrated/news/upload/Mitigation-Report-to-the-
Secretary_FINAL_04_08_14.pdf.
USGCRP, “Glossary,” at https://www.globalchange.gov/climate-change/glossary.
IPCC, “Annex II: Glossary,” eds. K. J. Mach, S. Planton, and C. von Stechow, in Climate Change 2014: Synthesis
Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change
, eds. Core Writing Team, R. K. Pachauri, and L. A. Meyer (Geneva, Switzerland: IPCC, 2014), pp.
117-130.
Department of the Interior14
DOI has a wide range of responsibilities, many of which are related to managing lands and
resources throughout the nation.15 For example, DOI houses three of the four major federal land
management agencies.16 Together, these DOI agencies—BLM, FWS, and NPS—manage roughly
20% of the nation’s lands and related cultural and natural resources.17 The department also
manages 35,000 miles of coastline and 2.5 bil ion acres of the outer continental shelf, and it has
numerous responsibilities for water and power resources.18 Among the properties managed by
DOI are the nation’s national parks, monuments, and recreation areas; national wildlife refuges;
other public lands and resources, including certain forested lands and rangelands; lands held in
trust for American Indians; and more than 300 dams and reservoirs owned and operated by the

14 For more information on DOI and department -wide policies, guidance, and activities related to climate change
adaptation, contact Mark DeSantis, Analyst in Natural Resources Policy.
15 For a full overview of the department, see CRS Report R45480, U.S. Department of the Interior: An Overview, by
Mark K. DeSantis.
16 T he fourth major land management agency is the U.S. Forest Service (FS), within the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. For more information on climate change adaptation activities in the FS, see CRS Report R46454, Clim ate
Change Adaptation: U.S. Departm ent of Agriculture
, coordinated by Genevieve K. Croft .
17 For data and other information on federal land management, see CRS Report R42346, Federal Land Ownership:
Overview and Data
, by Carol Hardy Vincent and Laura A. Hanson , and CRS Report R43429, Federal Lands and
Related Resources: Overview and Selected Issues for the 117th Congress
, coordinated by Katie Hoover. For a brief
summary of the responsibilities of DOI land management agencies, see CRS In Focus IF10585, The Federal Land
Managem ent Agencies
, by Katie Hoover.
18 T he outer continental shelf is defined by statute as all submerged lands lying seaward of state coastal waters that are
under U.S. jurisdiction (43 U.S.C. §1331). For additional information, see Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,
“Outer Continental Shelf,” at https://www.boem.gov/oil-gas-energy/leasing/outer-continental-shelf.
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Bureau of Reclamation.19 DOI facilities provide large quantities of water and produce
hydroelectric power for communities and farmers in 17 western states.20 The department also is
responsible for managing federal energy and mineral resources located belowground and
offshore; this responsibility includes leasing lands for oil and gas production, as wel as for
certain renewable resource development. In addition, DOI provides financial and technical
assistance to U.S. territories.
Through its agencies, DOI manages and monitors certain fish and wildlife species and their
habitats. The department’s agencies are responsible for protecting federal trust species, such as
species listed as threatened and endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA),21 as wel as
ecosystems.
In addition to its cultural and natural resource stewardship responsibilities, the department plays
an important role in cooperating with, providing scientific information to, and supporting other
federal agencies, states, local and tribal governments, and other nonfederal entities. For example,
USGS and other agencies measure and monitor resources and develop science-based tools for
land and water resource managers nationwide. The department also is involved in numerous
private-public partnerships involving monitoring, research, and resource management.
Because of DOI’s widespread land and resource management responsibilities, its operations and
missions are particularly sensitive to changing climate conditions, whether due to natural y
occurring climate variability or to the projected intermediate and long-term effects of climate
change.22 Climate change effects influence DOI’s ongoing operations; these effects likely include
changes in soil, air, and water temperatures; precipitation patterns; streamflow and runoff; sea-
level rise; habitat conditions; and the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as
storms, floods, and droughts. Changing climate conditions can affect the health and habitats of
fish and wildlife; they also can expand or restrict access to and development of natural resources
and infrastructure upon which many communities and industries depend.
Status of DOI Adaptation-Related Policy and Guidance
DOI has undertaken various activities related to climate change adaptation for more than a
decade, and some related activities—such as observations of sea levels, stream flows, and ice and
snow—have been in place for even longer.23 Many of the climate change adaptation activities
conducted by DOI over the past decade have been in accordance with government-wide executive
orders, presidential memoranda, and presidential proclamations or through DOI-specific
secretarial orders. Other such activities are the result of departmental policies or specific
programs and guidance issued by the various agencies within DOI. Congress also has used a
variety of tools—including authorizing legislation, appropriations legislation, and oversight

19 Other water resource projects are administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
20 T he 17 western states are Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico,
North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, T exas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
21 T he Endangered Species Act (ESA), as amended, is codified at 16 U.S.C. §§1531 -1544.
22 For explanation of climate variability versus climate change, see CRS In Focus IF11446, Weather and Climate
Change: What’s the Difference?
, by Jane A. Leggett.
23 See, among many examples, Mark A. Ayers and George H. Leavesley, “ Assessment of the Potential Effects of
Climate Change on Water Resources of the Delaware River Basin: Work Plan for 1988-90,” U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS), 1988, at https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr88478.
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activities—to weigh in on and provide guidance to DOI and other executive agencies on whether
or how such adaptation activities are conducted.
Climate-specific executive orders and secretarial orders may be revoked, modified, or superseded.
As a result of such actions, some adaptation-related activities undertaken by DOI have been
altered or suspended in subsequent years.24 For example, DOI issued strategic sustainability
performance plans that included adaptation strategies and principles from FY2010 to FY2016, as
wel as a 2012 department-wide policy on climate adaptation.25 DOI issued these plans in
accordance with the goals outlined in Executive Order (E.O.) 13514, “Federal Leadership in
Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance,” as wel as the revised goals issued in 2015
as part of E.O. 13693, “Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade.”26 Both orders
required federal agencies to develop sustainability plans and to integrate climate change adaption
strategies into agency policies and practices.27
President Donald J. Trump revoked these requirements in May 2018 with the issuance of E.O.
13834, “Efficient Federal Operations.” Among other provisions, E.O. 13834 required federal
agencies to meet “statutory requirements related to energy and environmental performance .. in a
manner that increases efficiency, optimizes performance, eliminates unnecessary use of resources,
and protects the environment.”28 Consistent with revocation of the requirements in E.O. 13693,
DOI does not appear to have released an updated strategic sustainability performance plan since
FY2016.
In addition to sustainability performance plans, DOI issued a department-wide Climate
Adaptation Plan in 2014. 29 This plan was issued as part of DOI’s implementation of E.O. 13653,
“Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change.” E.O. 13653 directed federal
departments and agencies—including DOI—to take various steps to prepare for climate change
impacts and to support state and local resilience efforts.30 However, on March 28, 2017, President
Trump rescinded E.O. 13653 with the issuance of E.O. 13783, “Promoting Energy Independence

24 For more information regarding issuing and revoking executive orders, see CRS Report RS20846, Executive Orders:
Issuance, Modification, and Revocation
, by T odd Garvey.
25 DOI, “Department of the Interior Climate Change Adaptation Policy,” 523 DM 1, December 2012, at
https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/elips/documents/
Chapter%201_%20Climate%20Change%20Policy%20%282%29.pdf . DOI’s department -wide climate adaptation
policy outlined the department’s approach to climate change adaptation and provided guidance to for addressing
climate change impacts on DOI’s programs and resources.
26 Executive Order (E.O.) 13514, “Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance,”
October 5, 2009, 74 Federal Register 52117; E.O. 13693, “ Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade,”
March 19, 2015, 80 Federal Register 15869. (E.O. 13693 revoked E.O. 13514). E.O. 13514 also directed DOI and
other agencies to participate in the interagency Climate Change Adaptation T ask Force, which was tasked with
determining how the policies and practices of federal agencies can be made compatible with and reinforce a national
climate change adaptation strategy.
27 In addition, Section 5(b) of E.O. 13514 authorized the chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to issue
instructions to implement the E.O. In response, CEQ issued “ Instructions for Implementing Climate Change Adaptation
Planning” to federal agencies on how to integrate climate change adaption into federal agency planning, operations,
policies, and programs (CEQ, “ Instructions for Implementing Climate Change Adaptation Planning in Accordance with
Executive Order 13514,” 76 Federal Register 12945, March 9, 2011).
28 E.O. 13834, “Efficient Federal Operations,” May 17, 2018, 83 Federal Register 23771.
29 DOI, Department of the Interior Climate Adaptation Plan, 2014, at https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/migrated/
greening/sustainabilit y_plan/upload/2014_DOI_Climate_Change_Adaptation_Plan.pdf.
30 E.O. 13653, “Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change,” November 1, 2013, 78 Federal
Register
66817.
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and Economic Growth.”31 E.O. 13783 general y aimed to establish a policy to promote domestic
energy development and use and to ensure affordable and reliable electricity. To accomplish these
broad goals, the E.O. directed executive agencies to review their existing regulations and
“appropriately suspend, revise, or rescind those that unduly burden” domestic energy production
or use, “with particular attention to oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy resources.”32
DOI adaptation-related activities also are guided by department-wide secretarial orders and by
policies and programs implemented pursuant to earlier orders. Secretarial Order (S.O.) 3289,
issued in September 2009 and amended in February 2010, provides the primary guidance for DOI
agencies. The order established “a Department-wide approach for applying scientific tools to
increase understanding of climate change and to coordinate an effective response to its impacts on
tribes and on the land, water, ocean, fish and wildlife, and cultural heritage resources that the
Department manages.”33 Pursuant to S.O. 3289, DOI established the Climate Change Response
Council (CCRC), which was, among other things, responsible for overseeing the creation or
reorganization of several different department-wide initiatives. Major initiatives included the
establishment of the National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center, the creation and
renaming of eight regional Climate Service Centers, and the establishment of Landscape
Conservation Cooperatives. As of early 2021, these initiatives—as wel as S.O. 3289—remain in
place; they are briefly described below in “Selected DOI-Wide Adaptation Activities.”
Other climate-related secretarial orders and policies issued in prior Administrations have been
revoked by subsequent orders. For example, in March 2017, then-DOI Secretary Ryan Zinke
issued S.O. 3349, “American Energy Independence.” This S.O. implemented President Trump’s
E.O. 13783 by, among other provisions, rescinding a 2013 secretarial order on climate mitigation
(S.O. 3330, “Improving Mitigation Policies and Practices of the Department of the Interior”) and
ordering a review of department and agency mitigation and climate change policies issued
pursuant to that order.34 This was followed by S.O. 3360, “Rescinding Authorities Inconsistent
with Secretary’s Order 3349, ‘American Energy Independence,’” which was signed by then-DOI
Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt on December 22, 2017. S.O. 3360 revoked several directives
and policy manual components addressing climate adaptation activities, including Departmental
Manual
Part 600, Chapter 6 (600 DM 6), “Landscape-Scale Mitigation Policy” and DOI’s 2012
department-wide climate adaptation policy (523 DM 1), “Climate Change Policy”.35
Selected DOI-Wide Adaptation Activities
DOI and its agencies have undertaken multiple climate change adaptation initiatives. The
following are examples.
Federal Interagency Councils. DOI and its agencies have participated in several federal
advisory panels and councils related to climate change and adaptation. Although some of these

31 E.O. 13783, “Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth, May 28, 2017, 82 Federal Register 16093.
More specific to DOI, E.O. 13783 also required the review of November 2016 regulations for the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) on methane emissions from new and existing oil and gas operations.
32 For more information on E.O. 13783, see CRS Legal Sidebar WSLG1789, New Executive Order Directs Agencies to
Revise or Rescind Clim ate Change Rules and Policies
, by Linda T sang.
33 DOI, Secretarial Order (S.O.) 3289, “Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change on America’s Water, Land, and
Other Natural and Cultural Resources,” Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, September 14, 2009.
34 DOI, S.O. 3349, “American Energy Independence,” Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, March 28, 2017.
35 DOI, S.O. 3360, “Rescinding Authorities Inconsistent with Secretary’s Order 3349, ‘American Energy
Independence,’” Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt, December 22, 2017.
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entities have been dismantled or discontinued—such as the Interagency Land Management
Adaptation Group and DOI’s CCRC—others continue to operate. For example, DOI is, by
statute, 1 of 13 participating federal entities in the U.S. Global Change Research Program
(USGCRP).36 Congress mandated the USGCRP in the Global Change Research Act of 1990 to
improve understanding of climate science, including the cumulative effects of human activities
and natural processes on the environment; to develop science-based resources to support
policymaking and resource management; and to communicate findings broadly among scientific
and stakeholder communities.37 The development and administration of the National and
Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs) and Landscape Conservation
Cooperatives (LCCs) programs—as wel as the ongoing research conducted by USGS—
constitute DOI’s formal participation in the USGCRP.38
National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs).39 Formerly named the
National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center and the Climate Science Centers, CASCs
support research, assessment, and synthesis of global change data for use at regional levels,
including undertaking research relevant to on-the-ground resource managers. Congress authorized
the National CASC (then referred to as the National Global Warming and Wildlife Science
Center) in 2008 to be housed at the USGS headquarters in Reston, VA.40 Following the
establishment of the National CASC, DOI developed eight regional CASCs across the country.41
With the issuance of S.O. 3289, DOI and the CCRC broadened the missions of the CASCs, which
were primarily focused on providing climate change impact and analysis data to fish and wildlife
managers, to encompass other climate change-related impacts on DOI resources, such as tribal
and cultural heritage resources.42 The explanatory statement accompanying the Further
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020,43 stated that enacted FY2020 appropriations for USGS
included funding to support “the development of the Midwest Climate Adaptation Science
Center.”44 The Midwest CASC is to “focus on and address the threats to natural and human
communities in Midwest states and develop a more tailored strategic science agenda.”45 This
ninth CASC would encompass some of the 21 states currently under the purview of the existing
Northeast CASC.

36 Global Change Research Act of 1990, P.L. 101-606.
37 P.L. 101-606.
38 USGCRP, “Agencies—Department of the Interior,” at https://www.globalchange.gov/agency/department-interior.
39 For more information on Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs), see “Selected USGS Adaptation-Related
Activities.”

40 P.L. 110-161, Division F. See U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Consolidated Appropriations
Act, 2008
, committee print, 110th Cong., 1st sess., January 1, 2008, 39-564 (Washington: GPO, 2008), p. 1242.
41 T he eight regional centers cover regions named as follows: Alaska, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest,
North Central, South Central, and the Pacific Islands. T he National CASC acts as the managing entity for the eight
regional centers.
42 S.O. 3289, signed on September 14, 2009, directed the renaming of CASCs, previously known as regional hubs of
the National Climate Adaptation Science Center, to Regional Clim ate Change Response Centers. However, when S.O.
3289 was amended on February 22, 2010 (S.O. 3289A1), the regional hubs were renamed again and directed to be
called DOI Clim ate Science Centers. In the FY2018 budget, the Clim ate Science Centers were renamed the Clim ate
Adaptation Science Centers
.
43 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, P.L. 116-94.
44 Joint Explanatory Statement of the Committee of Conference on H.R. 1865, Congressional Record, December 17,
2019, p. H11288.
45 H.Rept. 116-100, p. 45.
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Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs). As part of S.O. 3289, DOI and the CCRC also
were charged with the development a Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) network to
provide science capacity and technical expertise to meet shared natural and cultural resource
priorities.46 At the time of their creation, the 22 LCCs that made up the national network were
collaborative entities comprising research institutions, federal resource managers and scientists,
tribes, nonprofit organizations, and other stakeholders. LCCs address a wide range of land-use
pressures and landscape-scale issues—including climate change—and help coordinate regional
adaptation efforts through partnerships and collaboration. FWS has indicated the agency “no
longer provides dedicated staff, administrative functions, and funding” for the initiative.47 Rather
than providing direct financial support, FWS has shifted to providing technical and collaborative
support for landscape conservation science and coordinating directly with state fish and wildlife
agencies and tribes on shared conservation priorities.48 The status of al 22 LCCs is not clear,
although there are some indications that a portion of these LCCs are on hiatus or have been
dissolved.49 Congress provided funding for LCCs in the FY2020 and FY2021 appropriations acts,
with instructions for DOI to report on the current status of LCCs and on the department’s plans
for future engagement.50
Selected Congressional Appropriations Actions Related to
Climate Change Adaptation
Congress has addressed DOI-based climate change adaptation efforts through various actions, including
appropriations. Congress has directed agencies within DOI to undertake and report on various activities related
to climate change adaptation. For example, in the explanatory statements accompanying the FY2020 Department
of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations (Further Consolidated Appropriations Act,
2020; P.L. 116-94, Division D) and the FY2021 Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
(Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021; P.L. 116-260, Division G), Congress directed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to undertake specified activities related to the Landscape
Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) and the National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs).
Enacted appropriations for the LCCs and CASCs differed from the Administration’s requests for programmatic
funding in FWS and USGS budget justifications for FY2020 and FY2021.
With regard to the LCC funding in FY2020, in the explanatory statement accompanying P.L. 116-94, Congress
included
$12,500,000 for Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs). Within 60 days of enactment of
this Act, the Service shal provide a report to the Committees outlining how this program
deviates from that which was presented to Congress in the annual budget justifications. This
report must include how the Service wil engage previous stakeholders and how conservation

46 Landscape Conservation Cooperative Network, “Landscape Conservation Cooperatives,” at https://lccnetwork.org/
cooperatives. Also see National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, A Review of the Landscape
Conservation Cooperatives
(Washington, DC: T he National Academies Press, 2016).
47 Personal correspondence between U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Congressional and Legislative Affairs
Office and CRS on January 7, 2020.
48 Personal correspondence between FWS Congressional and Legislative Affairs Office and CRS on August 27, 2020.
49 Prepared Statement of Dr. Lara J. Hansen, Chief Scientist and Executive Director, EcoAdapt, in U.S. Congress,
House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands, Clim ate Change
and Public Lands: Exam ining Im pacts and Considering Adaptation Opportunities
, 116th Cong., 1st sess., February 13,
2019, 116-5 (Washington: GPO, 2019): “ Today, most ... [Landscape Conservation Cooperatives] are in limbo without
dedicated funding and some have been redesigned and renamed (i.e., Landscape Conservation Partnerships) in
instances where there were non-Federal partners that could provide interim support.” See also Mallory Pickett, “ Trump
Administration Sabotages Major Conservation Effort, Defying Congress,” Guardian, April 8, 2019.
50 H.Rept. 116-100; S.Rept. 116-123; Joint Explanatory Statement of the Committee of Conference on H.R. 1865. See
also H.Rept. 116-448; Joint Explanatory Statement of the Committee of Conference on P.L. 116-260. According to
FWS, Office of Legislative Affairs, as of August 2020, the report was in development and under review. Personal
correspondence between FWS Congressional and Legislative Affairs Office and CRS on August 27, 2020.
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efforts are aligned with partners, especial y what wil be done to ensure there is col aborative
conservation efforts on a landscape scale in fiscal year 2020. In addition, the report should
include how the Service wil engage in areas where LCCs have been diminished or dismantled.
This report must also include the detailed information outlined in House Report 116 –100 and
Senate Report 116–123. Until this report is received by the Committees, $1,000,000 of the
funding provided for General Operations, Central Office Operations, is not available for
obligation.
For FY2021, in the explanatory statement accompanying P.L. 116-260, Congress provided that “the agreement
includes $12,500,000 for Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs). The Service is directed to promptly
submit the required report outlining how this program deviates from that which was presented to Congress in the
annual budget justifications.”
In its FY2020 and FY2021 budget justifications, FWS did “not request funding for the Landscape Conservation
Cooperatives program.” However, the justifications stated, FWS “programs wil continue to coordinate with State
resource management agencies and other partners.”
Congress also addressed the CASCs in the FY2020 DOI appropriations for USGS. Specifical y, in the explanatory
statement accompanying P.L. 116-94, Congress provided “$38,335,000 for National and Regional Climate
Adaptation Science Centers for the purposes outlined in House Report 116–100. This funding level supports the
development of the Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center, which was first requested in the fiscal year 2017
Congressional budget justification.” In the explanatory statement accompanying P.L. 116-260, which provided
appropriations for FY2021, Congress stipulated that “the recommendation provides $60,488,000 of which
$41,335,000 is for the National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers for the purposes outlined in
House Report 116–448. This funding level provides no less than $4,000,000 for the development and operation of
the Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center as provided for in Public Law 116 –94.”
In the annual budget justifications, USGS requested $23.901 mil ion in FY2020 and $20.866 mil ion in FY2021 to
fund the Climate Adaptation Center program.
Sources: P.L. 116-94, Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020; Explanatory Statement Accompanying H.R.
1865, Congressional Record, vol. 165, part 204, Book III (December 17, 2009), pp. H11284 and H11288; P.L. 116-
260, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021; Explanatory Statement Accompanying H.R. 133, Congressional Record,
vol. 166, part 218, Book IV (December 21, 2020), pp. H8530 and H8533; FWS, Budget Justifications and
Performance Information, FY2020; FWS, Budget Justifications and Performance Information, FY2021; USGS,
Budget Justifications and Performance Information, FY2020; USGS, Budget Justifications and Performance
Information, FY2021.
Bureau of Land Management51
BLM administers more onshore federal lands than any other agency, with BLM lands heavily
concentrated in 12 western states.52 BLM lands, official y designated the National System of
Public Lands, include grasslands, forests, high mountains, Arctic tundra, and deserts. BLM lands
often are intermingled with other federal or private lands, and the agency has authority to acquire,
dispose of, and exchange lands under various authorities.53
Under law, BLM general y manages its lands under principles including sustained yield and
multiple use. Land uses and resources include recreation, grazing, energy and mineral
development, timber, watershed, wildlife and fish habitat, and conservation.54 Some lands have

51 For more information on BLM, contact Carol Hardy-Vincent, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy.
52 T he 12 western states are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idah o, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon,
Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
53 See, for example, 43 U.S.C. §§1713, 1715, 1716. See also CRS Report RL34273, Federal Land Ownership:
Acquisition and Disposal Authorities
, coordinated by Carol Hardy Vincent .
54 BLM responsibilities are defined in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C. §§1701 et seq.
“Multiple use” is defined at 43 U.S.C. §1702(c) and “sustained yield” is defined at 43 U.S.C. §1 702(h).
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been withdrawn (restricted) from one or more uses or managed for a predominant use. The
agency inventories its lands and resources, and it develops land use plans for its land units. The
public uses BLM lands for their diverse attributes and opportunities.
DOI and other sources have cited climate change as a contributing factor to changes in western
lands and resources and to chal enges in their management.55 The magnitude and effects of
climate change on BLM lands—as wel as the lands’ vulnerability to such effects—likely vary
considerably among locations.56 Possible effects of climate change on public lands are currently
being observed and are projected to occur in the future.57 For example, effects may include the
desertification of some public lands and changes in the availability and quality of water and
forage. These effects may result in part from increased temperatures and/or changes to the
quantity and timing of precipitation.58 Changing climate also may increase the vulnerability of
BLM forested lands to damage from insects and disease, due directly to climate stressors (e.g.,
temperatures near the threshold that species can tolerate) as wel as indirectly to changes in
ranges or lifecycles of pests (e.g., when longer warm seasons al ow two birth cycles of insects
rather than one).59 As temperatures and precipitation patterns change, some locations may
experience an increase in the size and frequency of wildfires and an expansion of noxious weeds
and invasive species.60 Melting of glaciers and permafrost in Alaska has increased as wel ,
contributing to erosion and a loss of soil stability in some locations.61 Another chal enge pertains
to management of freshwater ecosystems, as climate change could alter water quality and the
ranges of both cold-water and warm-water fish.62
Selected BLM Adaptation-Related Activities
Under government- or DOI-wide policies, BLM has considered the effects of climate change
through various actions. For instance, BLM has considered impacts of climate change in
environmental assessments related to proposed uses of its lands, such as certain energy

55 DOI and other sources have addressed the issues in this paragraph. See, for example, testimony of USGS Senior
Advisor for Global Change Programs T homas R. Armstrong, in U.S. Congress, House Committee on Natural
Resources, Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands, Com bating Clim ate Change, hearings, 111th
Cong., 1st sess., March 3, 2009; and BLM, “ Fisheries and Aquatics,” at https://www.blm.gov/programs/fish-and-
wildlife/fisheries-and-aquatics/about -the-program. See also Elaine M. Brice et al., “ Impacts of Climate Change on
Multiple Use Management of Bureau of Land Management Land in the Intermountain West, USA,” Ecosphere, vol.
11, no. 11 (November 2020), at https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.3286 (hereinafter,
Brice et al., “Impacts of Climate Change”).
56 See for example, Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for Colorado
Bureau of Land Managem ent
, eds. Karin Decker et al. (Fort Collins, CO: Colorado Natural Heritage Program,
Colorado State University, 2015).
57 Brice et al., “Impacts of Climate Change.”
58 See, for example, Alisher J. Mirzabaev et al., “Desertification,” in Climate Change and Land: An IPCC Special
Report on Clim ate Change, Desertification, Land Degradation, Sustainable Land Management, Food Security, a nd
Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Terrestrial Ecosystem s
, eds. Priyadarshi R. Shukla et al. (IPCC, 2019), pp. 249 -343. See
also Brice et al., “Impacts of Climate Change,” pp. 14-15, and citations therein.
59 Brice et al., “Impacts of Climate Change,” p. 14, and citations therein.
60 See, for example, T ania Schoennagel et al., “Adapt to More Wildfire in Western North American Forests as Climate
Changes,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 18 (2017), pp. 4582-5690, at https://www.pnas.org/
content/114/18/4582, and Stephen P. Boyte, Bruce K. Wylie, and Donald J. Major, “ Cheatgrass Percent Cover Change:
Comparing Recent Estimates to Climate Change-Driven Predictions in the Northern Great Basin,” Rangeland Ecology
and Managem ent
, vol. 69, no. 4 (2016), pp. 265-279, at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2016.03.002.
61 Carl J. Markon et al., “Alaska,” in Reidmiller et al., Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation, pp. 1185-1241.
62 Brice et al., “Impacts of Climate Change,” p. 15, and citations therein.
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development activities.63 The agency also has considered climate change in developing and
amending land use plans.64 Further, BLM might undertake actions that in part address the effects
of climate change without explicitly referencing such change—for instance, by addressing
desertification and other range health issues that affect livestock grazing and other land uses.65
The current extent and types of climate change adaptation activities at BLM are unclear. BLM
does not appear to have broad, agency-specific guidance focused on climate change adaptation.66
In the last few years, some former guidance on this topic was rescinded directly by executive or
secretarial orders or based on directives in those orders.67
In the early in the 2010s, BLM began to focus on two efforts in part to adapt to climate change: a
landscape approach to managing lands and rapid ecoregional assessments (REAs). Though these
efforts have continued, the extent to which they currently are used to inform climate change
adaptation is uncertain. The activities’ goal is to help BLM managers understand land conditions
and trends, as wel as influences and opportunities for land use, from a broader perspective that
may not be apparent when focusing on smal er areas. The landscape approach looks at large,
connected geographic areas defined by their similar ecological characteristics, such as the
Sonoran Desert or Colorado Plateau. In conducting REAs, BLM uses a landscape classification
known as ecoregions, which span land ownerships, including both federal and nonfederal land.
REAs collectively cover about 800 mil ion acres and are prepared in cooperation with other
federal and state land management agencies.68 Part of the intent is to synthesize scientific
information about natural resource conditions and trends; highlight and map areas of high
ecological value; and help BLM to identify and coordinate resource conservation, rehabilitation,
and development priorities over the long term. BLM has used REAs to inform resource

63 See, for example, the following environmental assessments: BLM, Bakersfield Field Office, Oil and Gas Lease Sale:
Environm ental Assessm ent
, DOI-BLM-CA-C060-2020-0120, December 2020, at https://eplanning.blm.gov/
public_projects/2000634/200384596/20024911/250031115/DOI-BLM-CA-C060-2020-0120-EA%202020.08.26.pdf;
BLM, Cam ino Solar Project: Environm ental Assessm ent, DOI-BLM-CA-D050-2020-0011-EA, February 2020, at
https://eplanning.blm.gov/public_projects/nepa/1503669/20012915/250017709/Camino_Solar_Project_EA_508.pdf;
BLM, June 2019 Com petitive Oil and Gas Lease Sale, Salt Lake Field Office Area Parcels: Environm ental Assessm ent,
DOI-BLM-UT -0000-2019-0002-EA-SLFO, February 2019, at https://eplanning.blm.gov/public_projects/nepa/119572/
166661/203017/SLFO_OG_DOI-BLM-UT -0000-2019-0002-EA_(Box_Elder)_2-14-2019.pdf; and BLM, Miles City
Field Office: Draft Supplem ental Environmental Impact Statement and Resource Management Plan Am endment
, May
2019, at https://eplanning.blm.gov/public_projects/lup/116998/172730/209874/
MCFO_DEIS_RMPA_201905(508).pdf.
64 See, for example, BLM, Miles City Field Office, Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and Resource
Managem ent Plan Am endment
, May 2019, at https://eplanning.blm.gov/public_projects/lup/116998/172730/209874/
MCFO_DEIS_RMPA_201905(508).pdf.
65 BLM also has modified activities to comply with court orders in legal actions alleging the agency improperly
accounted for the effects of climate change. See, for example, WildEarth Guardians v. U.S. Bureau of Land Mgmt., 457
F. Supp. 3d 880, 891-895 (D. Mont. 2020).
66 In February 2020 communications between CRS and the BLM Legislative Affairs Division, BLM indicated the
agency did not have broad, agency-specific guidance on climate change adaptation.
67 See, for example, BLM, “Rescinding the Washington Office Permanent Instruction Memorandum No. 2017 -003,
T he Council on Environmental Quality Guidance on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Effects of
Climate Change in National Environmental Policy Act Reviews,” Instruction Memorandum IM 2018-002, October 24,
2017. See also DOI, SO. 3360, “ Rescinding Authorities Inconsistent with Secretary’s Order 3349, ‘American Energy
Independence,’” Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt, December 22, 2017. T his secretarial order rescinded
BLM Manual Section 1794 -Mitigation and BLM’s Mitigation Handbook H-1791-1, both of which were issued on
December 22, 2016, and contained provisions related to addressing climate change.
68 BLM issued its first rapid ecoregional assessment (REA), for the Colorado Plateau, on February 26, 2013. T he
documents released to date for the various REAs are on the BLM website at https://landscape.blm.gov/geoportal/
catalog/REAs/REAs.page.
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management planning and to integrate landscape-scale analyses into BLM programmatic activity,
among other uses.69 Moving forward, it is unclear as to whether and to what extent BLM might
use a landscape approach and REAs for climate change adaptation.
Bureau of Reclamation70
DOI’s Bureau of Reclamation manages water resource projects primarily in 17 western states.71
Reclamation’s mission is to “manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an
environmental y and economical y sound manner in the interest of the American public.”72
Reclamation built and manages most of the large federal dams in the West, in addition to
hundreds of other dams and diversion projects; it now operates more than 300 storage reservoirs
and 53 hydropower plants serving approximately 30 mil ion people.
Temperature, precipitation, and runoff conditions in the western United States already have
changed in some areas and are expected to change further if the projected effects of global
climate change are realized. Such changes may affect Reclamation’s ability to reliably deliver
water to project users in the future. Changes to soil and air temperature, precipitation, seasonal
runoff, long-term streamflow, and extreme events are of particular concern.73 As most of the
surface water “stored” in the West is stored in snowpack, changes that reduce snowpack or that
accelerate or alter the timing of runoff may result in less effective reservoir storage and major
changes in reservoir and river operations. Extreme weather events—such as severe drought, heat
waves, and mega-storms—pose additional risks. Much of the West, particularly the Southwest, is
natural y semiarid and arid, and has experienced periods of natural y occurring decades-long
drought in past mil ennia. Some observers note that if climate change projections prevail, the
Southwest may face a synergistic or “double-whammy” impact on water supplies due to recurrent
mega-drought as wel as consequences from greenhouse gas-induced climate change.74 Irrigated
agriculture, hydropower production, municipal water deliveries, and aquatic species that rely on
the Lower Colorado River and the Rio Grande may be especial y at risk.75 Planning for potential
conditions is difficult, particularly for the Colorado River Basin, which has multiple storage

69 BLM communication with CRS on March 24, 2020.
70 For more information on the Bureau of Reclamation, contact Charles V. Stern, Specialist in Natural Resources
Policy.
71 Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma,
Oregon, South Dakota, T exas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. For more information on the Bureau of Reclamation
(Reclamation), see CRS Report R46303, Bureau of Reclam ation: History, Authorities, and Issues for Congress, by
Charles V. Stern and Anna E. Normand.
72 See Reclamation, “Bureau of Reclamation: About Us,” at http://www.usbr.gov/main/about/mission.html.
73 T emperature, precipitation, and runoff conditions in the western United States already have changed in some areas
and are expected to change further if the projected effects of global climate change are realized. Such changes may
affect Reclamation’s ability to reliably deliver water to project users. T hey also may affect hydropower production,
species habitat, and recreation in areas projected to receive less precipitation and runoff or experience severe weather
events. For discussion of one illustrative example, see Connie A. Woodhouse et al., “Increasing Influence of Air
T emperature on Upper Colorado River Streamflow,” Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 43 (March 9, 2016), pp. 2174-
2181.
74 Reed D. Benson, “Federal Water Law and the ‘Double Whammy’: How the Bureau of Reclamation Can Help the
West Adapt to Drought and Climate Change,” Ecology Law Quarterly, vol. 39, no. 4 (2012), p. 1050, quoting
testimony of University of Arizona climate scientist Dr. Jonathan Overpeck, in U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources, Drought and Clim ate Change on Water Resources, field hearing, 112th Cong., 1st sess.,
April 27, 2011, S.Hrg. 112-16 (Washington, DC: GPO, 2011). (Hereinafter cited as Benson, “ Federal Water Law.”)
75 Benson, “Federal Water Law.”
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reservoirs across a wide geographic area—some parts of which may see less precipitation and
other parts of which may see the same or more precipitation, according to different climate
models.76
Reclamation facility operations are closely intertwined with numerous stakeholders, including
other federal agencies, states, Indian tribes, local water and irrigation districts, and other
nongovernmental organizations. Although Reclamation built, owns, and operates much of its
infrastructure, local sponsors play a large role in system operations and maintenance; these local
sponsors also are obligated to reimburse the federal government for a portion of construction
costs. Thus, many stakeholders are likely to play a role in ensuring that Reclamation facilities
continue to provide water, power, and ecosystem services into the future under varying climatic
conditions.
Selected Reclamation Adaptation-Related Activities
In response to E.O. 13514, Reclamation published its Climate Change Adaptation Strategy in
2014.77 The document built on existing work by the bureau to extend climate change adaptation
efforts across Reclamation’s mission responsibilities. The strategy was divided into four goals:
1. Increase water management flexibility
2. Enhance climate adaptation planning
3. Improve infrastructure resiliency
4. Expand information sharing
Reclamation last reported on progress under its climate change adaptation strategy in 2016, with
the publication of its Climate Change Adaptation Strategy: 2016 Progress Report.78 The report
highlighted several individual Reclamation programs’ progress toward each of the
aforementioned goals. For example, several Reclamation programs support the first goal of the
2014 strategy (increased water management flexibility), including the bureau’s WaterSMART
Grants program,79 Title XVI Water Reuse/Recycling Program, and Reservoir Operations Pilot
Initiative.80 Similarly, Reclamation’s Basin Studies Program, in which the bureau collaborates
with partners to assess and respond to water supply and demand imbalances, contributes to the
second goal (enhance climate adaptation planning).
After Reclamation’s climate change adaptation strategy was last updated in 2016, the Trump
Administration continued to solicit and award funding for new projects under the programs noted

76 One Reclamation study noted there appears to be “climate model consensus agreement” on temper ature increases;
however, there is less model agreement on precipitation changes. Additionally, such changes vary geographically,
which makes predictions for large river basins with multiple storage reservoirs, such as the Colorado and Missouri,
especially difficult. See Reclamation, SECURE Water Act Section 9503(c)—Reclam ation Clim ate Change and Water
2011
, pp. vii –viii, at https://www.usbr.gov/climate/secure/docs/SECU REWat erReport.pdf.
77 Reclamation, Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, November 2014, at https://www.usbr.gov/climate/docs/
ClimateChangeAdaptationStrategy.pdf.
78 Reclamation, Climate Change Adaptation Strategy: 2016 Progress Report, November 2016, at
https://www.usbr.gov/climate/docs/2016ClimateStrategy.pdf. (Hereinafter cited as Reclamation, 2016 Progress
Report.
)
79 Some of Reclamation’s primary climate change adaptation-related activities have been carried out pursuant to
authority in the 2009 SECURE Water Act (P.L. 111-11, Subtitle F, §§9501-9510), which is implemented through the
bureau’s WaterSMART program. For more information, see Reclamation, “WaterSMART ,” at https://www.usbr.gov/
watersmart/.
80 Reclamation, 2016 Progress Report, p. 9.
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above contributing to the first and second goals.81 In some cases, funding for these programs has
increased since 2016. Other programs and initiatives emphasized by Reclamation’s 2016
Progress Report
were not proposed for funding in Trump Administration budget requests, and
Congress has not added funding for these programs. For example, West Wide Climate Risk
Assessments were noted contributors to the strategy’s second goal (enhance climate adaptation
planning
) but have not been funded since FY2016. Similarly, the Western Watershed
Enhancement Program, which contributed to the strategy’s third goal (improved infrastructure
resiliency) was last funded in FY2016.
National Park Service82
NPS administers the 423 units of the National Park System, which face a diverse array of impacts
from climate change. Warming temperatures, precipitation changes, streamflow changes, sea-
level rise, wildfire, invasive species, and wildlife migration, among others, al have the potential
to alter park resources (depending on their location and vulnerability) and to affect tourism and
recreation in the parks.83 Some researchers have suggested the units of the National Park System
are experiencing a higher magnitude of climate change than other parts of the country because
they are disproportionately located in strongly impacted areas such as the Arctic, the high
mountains, and the arid Southwest.84 For example, mean annual temperatures in the park system
increased at double the national rate and precipitation decreased in a higher proportion of park
system areas than for the nation general y for the period between 1895 and 2010.85 Some natural
resource changes have attracted popular attention, such as ongoing glacial retreat in Glacier
National Park (Montana), threats from rising temperatures to the Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) at
Joshua Tree National Park (California), and sea-level rise that could damage or submerge parts of
Everglades National Park (Florida).86 Attention also has focused on potential impacts of climate-

81 For more information on these grant announcements, see Reclamation, “WaterSMART ,” at
https://www.usbr.gov/watersmart/.
82 For more on the National Park Service, contact Laura Comay, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy.
83 For studies documenting climate change impacts in the National Park System, see, for example, Patrick Gonzalez et
al., “Disproportionate Magnitude of Climate Change in United St ates National Parks,” Environmental Research
Letters
, vol. 13 (September 2018), at https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aade09/pdf (hereinafter cited
as Gonzalez et al., “ Disproportionate Magnitude”); Patrick Gonzalez, “ Climate Change T rends, Impacts, and
Vulnerabilities in U.S. National Parks,” in eds., Steven R. Bessinger et al., Science, Conservation, and National Parks
(University of Chicago Press, 2017), pp. 102-140; Maria A. Caffrey, Rebecca L. Beavers, and Cat Hawkins Hoffman,
Sea Level Rise and Storm Surge Projections for the National Park Service, National Park Service (NPS) Natural
Resource Report Series NPS/NRSS/NRR—2018/1648, May 2018, at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/climatechange/
upload/2018-NPS-Sea-Level-Change-Storm-Surge-Report -508Compliant.pdf; Joanna X. Wu et al., “ Projected
Avifaunal Responses to Climate Change Across the U.S. National Park System,” PLoS One, vol. 13, no. 3(March
2018), at https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190557; and William B. Monahan and Nicholas A. Fisichelli, “ Climate
Exposure of U.S. National Parks in a New Era of Change,” PLoS ONE, vol. 9, no. 7 (July 2014), at
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0101302 (hereinafter cited as Monahan and
Fisichelli, “Climate Exposure”). Also see studies of specific effects to individual parks or geographic regions at NPS,
“Climate Change: Effects in Parks,” at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/climatechange/effectsinparks.htm.
84 Gonzalez et al., “Disproportionate Magnitude”; also see testimony of Patrick Gonzalez, University of California,
Berkeley, in U.S. Congress, House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and
Public Lands, Clim ate Change and Public Lands: Exam ining Im pacts and Considering Adaptation Opportunities,
hearing, February 13, 2019, at https://naturalresources.house.gov/imo/media/doc/Gonzalez,%20Patrick%20-
%20Written%20Testimony%202019-02-13.pdf.
85 Gonzalez et al., “Disproportionate Magnitude.”
86 See USGS, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, “Retreat of Glaciers in Glacier National Park,” at
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/norock/science/retreat -glaciers-glacier-national-park?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-
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related events to the iconic cultural resources administered by NPS, such as the Statue of Liberty
National Monument (New York), an NPS unit that experienced significant damage in Superstorm
Sandy of 2012.87
NPS has addressed climate change and associated effects through research, education, and
adaptive management, as wel as through efforts to reduce its own carbon footprint. Some have
suggested managing the parks for adaptation would require a fundamental rethinking of NPS
mission, from one that historical y has focused on preserving lands in an unimpaired state to one
that would “steward NPS resources for continuous change that is not yet fully understood.”88


science_center_objects; NPS, “ Glacier National Park: Climate Change,” at https://www.nps.gov/glac/learn/nature/
climate-change.htm; NPS, “ Climate Change in Joshua T ree,” at https://www.nps.gov/articles/climate-change-in-joshua-
tree.htm; and NPS, “ Everglades National Park: Climate Change,” at https://www.nps.gov/ever/learn/nature/
climatechange.htm.
87 See NPS, “Statue of Liberty: Hurricane Sandy Recovery,” at https://www.nps.gov/stli/after-hurricane-sandy.htm. On
climate change and NPS cultural resources generally, see resources available at Advisory Counc il on Historic
Preservation, “Climate Adaptation and Resilience,” at https://www.achp.gov/initiatives/sustainability-climate-
resilience/climate-adaptation-resilience.
88 National Park System Advisory Board (NPSAB), Revisiting Leopold: Resource Stewardship in the National Parks,
August 25, 2012, p. 11, at http://www.nps.gov/calltoaction/PDF/LeopoldReport_2012.pdf (hereinafter cited as NPSAB,
Revisiting Leopold). Also see box on “ Gray Wolves at Isle Royale National Park.”
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Gray Wolves at Isle Royale National Park:
Rethinking National Park Service Intervention in an Era of Climate Change
Foundational to the NPS mission is the mandate to preserve the resources of the National Park System
“unimpaired” for future generations (54 U.S.C. §100101). Traditional y, NPS has aimed to fulfil this mission by
al owing natural processes to unfold in parks, where possible, without human intervention. Some stakeholders
have asked whether this policy should apply if the natural processes are partly shaped by human-induced climate
change. NPS scientists and managers are confronting this question at Isle Royale National Park in Michigan. This
park also is a congressional y designated wilderness area, where “the earth and its community of life” are to
remain “untrammeled by man” (16 U.S.C. §1131).
Isle Royale, an island in Lake Superior, has supported a population of gray wolves sin ce the 1940s. NPS has stated
that the wolves play a “critical role” as predators on the island, managing the moose population and, by extension,
island vegetation. The wolves crossed from the mainland to the island via a natural ice bridge that historical y
formed in most winters. In recent decades, however, owing to warmer temperatures, the ice bridge has formed
less often. For this and other reasons, the wolf population on the island became increasingly inbred and eventual y
shrank to two wolves.
In 2018, NPS released a record of decision authorizing the introduction of 20 -30 new wolves to the island. The
decision could be seen as a departure from the traditional NPS policy of nonintervention. In its final environmental
impact statement (EIS) on the proposal, NPS wrote: “The National Park Service must determine how to fulfil the
mandate of the park in the context of rapid and continuous climate change that wil likely result in different
environmental conditions than have existed in the past.” NPS stated that the agency could “find novel approaches
to lessen the impacts, slow down change so that species and populations can adapt, and assist species movements
where it is deemed appropriate.”
There is disagreement about whether the animals’ decline, and the role of climate change in this decline, justifies
this step. Many factors over the years have caused the island populations of wolves and moose to fluctuate, and
scientists’ role previously had been to monitor the changes. In comments on the EIS, some questioned whether
the present decline was so singular as to warrant more aggressive action and wondered if the intervention could
have unforeseen consequences. Some expressed concerns about where future lines would be drawn once human
manipulation of the ecosystem began.
Others contended an intervention was justified to prevent an extinction that could have severe impacts for the
island’s species and vegetation. They commented that the action was necessary and appropriate in light of effects
to the island’s ecosystem from human-induced climate change. Some have viewed the Isle Royale project as
potential y il ustrating a “new meaning of wilderness,” as a “place where concern for ecosystem health is
paramount, even if human action is required to maintain it.”
Sources: NPS, Final Environmental Impact Statement to Address the Presence of Wolves at Isle Royale National Park,
March 2018, at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=140&projectID=59316&documentID=86353.
Unless otherwise noted, comments referenced above are from Appendix C of the final EIS.
NPS, Record of Decision: Final Environmental Impact Statement to Address the Presence of Wolves at Isle Royale National
Park
, June 2018, at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=140&projectID=59316&documentID=
88676.
J. A. Vucetich et al., “Predator and Prey, a Delicate Dance,” New York Times, May 8, 2013, at http://www.nytimes.
com/2013/05/09/opinion/save-the-wolves-of-isle-royale-national-park.html?_r=0. Also see J. A. Vucetich, M. P.
Nelson, and R. O. Peterson, “Should Isle Royale Wolves Be Reintroduced? A Case Study on Wilderness
Management in a Changing World,” The George Wright Forum, vol. 29, no. 1 (2012), pp. 126-147, at
http://isleroyalewolf.org/sites/default/files/tech_pubs_files/Vucetich%20et%20al%202012%20GW%20Forum.pdf.
Selected NPS Adaptation-Related Activities
NPS has long engaged in efforts to assess climate change impacts and consider adaptation in the
parks.89 During the Obama Administration, NPS published multiple policy and planning

89 For example, the agency undertook such efforts as part of its participation in the multi-agency Cooperative
Ecosyst em Studies Units Network, established in 1999 pursuant to the National Parks Omnibus Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-
391, §203). See, for example, testimony of NPS Regional Director for the Pacific West Region Jonathan B. Jarvis, in
U.S. Congress, House Committee on Natural Resources, The Im pacts of Clim ate Change on Am erica’s National Parks,
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documents addressing climate change adaptation. The agency released a Climate Change
Response Strategy
in September 2010, focusing on four types of actions: science, adaptation,
mitigation, and communication.90 It followed this with a Climate Change Action Plan in
November 2012, emphasizing the same four response areas and detailing over 50 immediate
actions to incorporate climate change considerations into NPS operations.91 The actions, some of
which have been implemented since 2012 (or were implemented in earlier years), included
training park personnel on climate change issues, assessing park management plans and project
plans for climate considerations, partnering with universities to research park-specific climate
trends, developing a “risk screening tool” to assess the vulnerability of park facilities to erosion
and sea-level rise, creating interpretive exhibits on climate effects for park visitors, and initiating
youth outreach programs, among others.92
The planning documents also focused on NPS’s unique role as an “extraordinary educational
institution where mil ions of people learn about the environment.”93 Thus, they included as a key
component of NPS strategy the goal of raising public awareness of climate change and potential
responses.94 Other documents released by the agency included a Scenario Planning Handbook
(2013), detailing how park managers can use climate change scenario planning to inform actions
and strategies, and a Green Parks Plan, published in 2012 and updated in 2016, which explored
ways to make parks more sustainable by reducing energy and water consumption, limiting waste,
and making other management changes.95 Also in 2016, NPS released a Cultural Resources
Climate Change Strategy and a National Climate Change Interpretation and Education

oversight field hearing, 111th Congress, 1st sess., April 7, 2009, at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-
111hhrg48662/html/CHRG-111hhrg48662.htm.
90 NPS, Climate Change Response Strategy, September 2010, at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/climatechange/upload/
NPS_CCRS-508compliant.pdf. Development of the strategy accorded with authorities including Executive Order
13514, “Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance,” October 5, 2009; and DOI
Secretarial Order 3289, “Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change on America’s Water, Land, and Other Natural and
Cultural Resources,” September 14, 2009.
91 NPS, Climate Change Action Plan 2012-2014, November 2012, at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/climatechange/
upload/CCActionPlan-508compliant.pdf. For further discussion of NPS climate change adaptation activities through
2012, see U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), Clim ate Change: Various Adaptation Efforts Are Under
Way at Key Natural Resource Managem ent Agencies
, GAO-13-253, May 2013, at http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/
654991.pdf.
92 For updates on NPS implementation of climate change response actions, see the quarterly Climate Change Response
Program Newsletters
, available at http://www.nps.gov/subjects/climatechange/resources.htm.
93 NPS Director Jonathan B. Jarvis in NPS, Climate Change Response Strategy, September 2010, at
http://www.nature.nps.gov/climatechange/docs/NPS_CCRS.pdf.
94 See, for example, White House Office of Science and T echnology Policy, “Lifting America’s Game in Climate
Education, Literacy, and T raining,” fact sheet, December 3, 2014, at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/
microsites/ostp/climateed-dec-3-2014.pdf, which describes the Administration’s Climate Education and Literacy
Initiative. Among several Administration commitments was to equip NPS employees with climate-relevant resources to
support park interpreters “in the creation and delivery of effective climate-change messages in the programs and
exhibits across all National Parks” (p. 2).
95 NPS, Using Scenarios to Explore Climate Change: A Handbook for Practitioners, July 2013, at
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/climatechange/upload/scenarioshandbook-july2013-508compliant -smaller.pdf; NPS,
Green Parks Plan: Advancing Our Mission Through Sustainable Operations, April 2012 and Spring 2016, at
https://www.nps.gov/orgs/socc/upload/NPS-Green-Parks-Plan-GPP.pdf (2012 version) and https://www.nps.gov/
subjects/sustainability/upload/NPS-Green-Parks-Plan-2016.pdf (2016 version).
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Strategy.96 Additional y, then-NPS Director Jonathan Jarvis issued Director’s Order 100,
“Resource Stewardship for the 21st Century,” which was rescinded in 2017.97
NPS’s Climate Change Response Program (CCRP), established in 2007, continues to operate as a
resource for park system adaptation planning under the guidance provided by these planning
documents (other than the rescinded Director’s Order 100). The CCRP provides training,
technical expertise, educational products, and in some cases funding support for projects in the
park system aimed at preserving natural and cultural resources in the context of climate change.98
Examples of recent CCRP activities include training courses for park interpretive staff on climate
change communication, an internship program for students to work on climate change-related
park management issues, a series of regional roundtables for NPS staff on findings from the
National Climate Assessment, and assistance to individual NPS units with climate change
scenario planning, as wel as a January 2020 report on scenario planning.99 Other agency
programs and activities that are not primarily focused on climate change also may play roles in
NPS’s adaptation efforts.100 In addition, broader DOI entities such as the USGS National Climate
Adaptation Science Center have provided support for some NPS projects related to climate
change adaptation.101
The scope of climate change adaptation activities across individual park units is unclear. A 2012
survey of public land managers in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming found 78% of surveyed NPS
managers and staff reported that either no climate change adaptation planning was taking place at
their unit or they did not know whether such planning was occurring.102 More recently, the NPS

96 NPS, Cultural Resources Climate Change Strategy, 2016, at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/climatechange/upload/
NPS-2016_Cultural-Resoures-Climate-Change-Strategy.pdf; and NPS, National Clim ate Change Interpretation and
Education Strategy
, at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/climatechange/upload/FINAL-NCCIES-508-LowRes.pdf.
97 NPS Director’s Order 100, “Resource Stewardship for the 21 st Century,” issued December 20, 2016, rescinded
August 16, 2017, at https://www.nps.gov/policy/DOrders/DO_100.htm. T his order aimed to implement the National
Park System Advisory Board’s recommendation that “the overarching goal of NPS resource management should be to
steward NPS resources for continuous change that is not yet fully understood, in order to preserve ecological integrity
and cultural and historical authenticity, provide visitors with transformative experiences, and form the core of a
national conservation land- and seascape” (NPSAB, Revisiting Leopold). Among other provisions, the order directed
that park managers adopt a “precautionary principle” whereby, when an activity raised “plausible or probable threats of
harm to park resources and/or human health,” managers should “take anticip atory action even when there is
uncertainty.” T he order also directed an “adaptive management approach” under which decisions would be adjusted in
response to changing outcomes.
98 NPS, “Climate Change Response Program,” at https://www.nps.gov/orgs/ccrp/index.htm; and “Climate Change
Response Program: What We Do,” at https://www.nps.gov/orgs/ccrp/whatwedo.htm. For recent activities, see Climate
Change Response Program
Newsletters at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/climatechange/resources.htm.
99 NPS, Climate Change Response Program Newsletters, available at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/climatechange/
resources.htm; NPS, “ Climate Change Scenario Showcase,” at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/climatechange/
scenarioplanning.htm; A. N. Runyon et al., “ Repeatable Approaches to Work with Scientific Uncertainty and Advance
Climate Change Adaptation in U.S. National Parks,” Parks Stewardship Forum , vol. 36, no. 1 (2020), pp. 98-104, at
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/76p7m8rz (hereinafter cited as Runyon et al., “ Repeatable Approaches”); NPS, Clim ate
Change Response Program
Newsletter, December 2019, at http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?preview=
true&m=1120693565783&ca=92bd8b62-791c-4d98-9188-97de8cd3cea5&id=preview.
100 For example, NPS’s Invasive Plant Management T eams work with park units to combat invasive plants, whose
spread has been linked to climate change in some cases. For more information, see NPS Biological Resources Division,
“Invasive Plant Management Teams,” at https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1103/epmt.htm.
101 See, for example, NPS, Climate Change Scenario Planning for Resource Stewardship: Applying a Novel Approach
in Devils Tower National Monum ent
, December 2019, at https://irma.nps.gov/Datastore/DownloadFile/632857.
102 Kelli M. Archie et al., “Climate Change and Western Public Lands: A Survey of U.S. Federal Land Managers on the
Status of Adaptation Efforts,” Ecology and Society, vol. 17, no. 4 (2012), p. 20, at http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-05187-
170420. Staff cited budget constraints, lack of information at a relevant scale, and uncertainty of available information
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CCRP reported some ongoing efforts at the individual park level, including work to incorporate
climate scenario planning into each park’s Resource Stewardship Strategy.103
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service104
The mission of DOI’s FWS is “working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish,
wildlife, and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.”105 FWS
is responsible, among other activities, for
 administering the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) and the National
Fish Hatchery System;
 enforcing many of the nation’s federal wildlife and conservation laws and
international treaties;
 working with federal and nonfederal partners on conservation activities; and
 managing hundreds of mil ions of dollars in grant funding each year.
The effects of climate change have the potential to impact many FWS activities related to fish,
wildlife, and habitat and FWS-administered resources. As such, the agency may consider climate
change adaptation in many of its activities. Such activities may include, for example,
administration of agency resources, such as national wildlife refuges; management of federal trust
species, such as those listed under the ESA;106 and provision of training and information to
resource management staff on how to incorporate climate change adaptation into their
conservation activities.107 However, many such activities may not explicitly reference climate
change, and it can be difficult to ascertain how adaptation to climate change is incorporated into
certain FWS actions.
Selected FWS Adaptation-Related Activities
Over the years, FWS has undertaken several activities, pursuant to multiple authorities, related to
climate change adaptation. FWS described adaptation as follows: “adaptation involves planned,
science-based management actions, including regulatory and policy changes, that we take to
reduce the negative impacts of climate change on fish, wildlife, and their habitats.”108 FWS

as barriers to adaptation planning. For an earlier study that similarly assessed barriers to adaptation at th e individual
park level, see Lesley C. Jantarasami et al., “ Institutional Barriers to Climate Change Adaptation in U.S. National Parks
and Forests,” Ecology and Society, vol. 15, no. 4 (2010), p. 33, at https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol15/iss4/art33/
ES-2010-3715.pdf.
103 As of 2020, the Climate Change Response Program was working to “help NPS meet an ambitious goal to produce a
new or updated Resource Stewardship Strat egy (RSS) for managing natural and cultural resources for over 200 national
parks…. For each RSS, we present information on historical (observed) and projected climate trends, park -specific
impacts, and climate change adaptation” (Runyon et al., “Repeatable Approaches”). For more information, see NPS,
“Climate Change Scenario Showcase,” at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/climatechange/scenarioplanning.htm, which
included eight case studies as of the publication date of this report .
104 For more on FWS, contact R. Eliot Crafton, Analyst in Natural Resources Policy. See also CRS Report R45265,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: An Overview, by R. Eliot Crafton.
105 T his official mission statement was adopted on June 15, 1999; see FWS, “Mission Statement,” National Policy
Issuance #99-01, at http://www.fws.gov/policy/npi99_01.html.
106 T he ESA, as amended, is at 16 U.S.C. §§1531-1544.
107 Personal correspondence between FWS Congressional and Legislative Affairs Office and CRS on January 7, 2020.
108 FWS, “Climate Change Adaptation,” 056 FW 1, §1.4, July 22, 2013, at https://www.fws.gov/policy/056fw1.pdf. For
more information on FWS climate change adaptation activities, see FWS, “Conservation in a Changing Climate,” last
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“policy and staff responsibilities on climate change adaptation” are outlined in Chapter 056 FW 1
of the agency’s Service Manual, which was issued on July 22, 2013, pursuant to E.O. 13514, S.O.
3289, and 523 DM 1.109 Although E.O. 13514 has been revoked, the remaining two listed
directives are active and FWS policy in the Service Manual is stil in effect.110 (For FWS’s
climate change adaptation policy, see shaded text box.)
In addition to the agency’s climate change adaptation policy as stated in Service Manual Chapter
056 FW 1, the service established the FWS Climate Change Adaptation Network in 056 FW 2.111
The network comprises a team of senior-level FWS personnel, and its mission is “to guide the
Service to enhance preparedness, adaptation, and resilience in the face of the impacts of climate
change and its interaction with non-climate influences on fish, wildlife, plants, ecosystems,
cultural resources, and facilities.”112
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Climate Change Adaptation Policy
Section 1.6 of Chapter 056 FW 1 of the FWS Service Manual states that FWS policy is to
effectively and efficiently incorporate and implement climate change adaptation measures into
the Service’s mission, programs, and operations. Ful y implementing and in accordance with
Departmental policy (523 DM 1), [FWS] must:
A. Use the best available science to increase understanding of climate change impacts among al
Service employees, to better inform decisionmakers, and to coordinate an appropriate adaptive
response to impacts on: (1) Lands and waters; (2) Fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats; (3)
Cultural and tribal resources; and (4) Other assets under our jurisdiction.
B. Integrate climate change adaptation strategies into al aspects of [FWS] policies, planning,
programs, and operations, from facilities maintenance to public use of lands, and from habitat
restoration and refuge management to endangered species recovery plans.
C. Work with partners to implement: (1) The Service’s climate change strategic plan (Rising to
the Urgent Chal enge: Strategic Plan for Responding to Accelerating Climate Change); (2) The
National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy; and (3) 523 DM 1.
D. Conduct and support research that wil help [FWS] better monitor change and facilitate
adaptation.
E. Work with Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) to develop vulnerability
assessments, decision support tools, biological plans, landscape conservation designs, and
regional and local responses that advance conservation at broad, landscape scales in
consideration of climate change and other stressors.
F. Deliver landscape conservation actions that build resilience or support the ability of fish,
wildlife, and plants to adapt to climate change.
G. Monitor populations and habitats to assess the impacts of our management strategies in the
face of climate change.

updated January 11, 2017, at https://www.fws.gov/home/climatechange/index.html.
109 FWS, 056 FW 1. For more information on E.O. 13514 and S.O. 3289, see section above on “Status of DOI
Adaptation-Related Policy and Guidance.”
For more information on 523 DM 1, see DOI, “ Climate Change Adaptation;
Climate Change Policy,” in Department of the Interior Departmental Manual, 523 DM 1, December 20, 2012, at
https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/elips/documents/
Chapter%201_%20Climate%20Change%20Policy%20%282%29.pdf .
110 Personal correspondence between FWS Congressional and Legislative Affairs Office and CRS on January 7, 2020.
111 FWS, “T he Service Climate Change Adaptation Network,” 056 FW 2, June 20, 2014, at https://www.fws.gov/
policy/056fw2.pdf. Although the commission is still active, it is unclear when it meets. Personal correspondence
between FWS Congressional and Legislative Affairs Office and CRS on January 7, 2020.
112 FWS, 056 FW 2, §2.2(A).
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H. Implement and support carbon sequestration projects that protect and promote healthy fish,
wildlife, and plant populations and habitats.
I. Engage Service employees and work with LCCs in col aborative conservation with the
fol owing groups to seek solutions to the impacts of climate change and other stressors on fish
and wildlife: (1) Our local, State, tribal, national, and international partners in the public and
private sectors; (2) Congressional Members and staff, other key constituencies, and
stakeholders; and (3) The general public.
Source: FWS, “Climate Change Adaptation,” 056 FW 1, §1.6, July 22, 2013, at https://www.fws.gov/policy/
056fw1.pdf.
FWS has published or partnered in publishing two climate change-related documents:
 the service’s climate change strategic plan, Rising to the Urgent Challenge:
Strategic Plan for Responding to Accelerating Climate Change, 2010
(hereinafter, the Strategic Plan);113 and
The National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy, 2012
(hereinafter, the Climate Adaptation Strategy).114
The purposes of the first document, the FWS’s Strategic Plan, were to
(1) lay out our vision for accomplishing our mission to “work with others to conserve,
protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit
of the American people” in the face of accelerating climate change; and (2) provide
direction for our own organization and its employees, defining our role within the context
of the Department of the Interior and the larger conservation community.115
The second document, the Climate Adaptation Strategy—which was published by an
intergovernmental working group of federal, state, and tribal representatives, including FWS—
included as its purpose “to inspire and enable natural resource administrators, elected officials,
and other decision makers to take action to adapt to a changing climate.”116 According to FWS,
both the FWS Strategic Plan and the Climate Adaptation Strategy are active documents; the FWS
Strategic Plan is available as a “resource for FWS programs,” and efforts are underway to
“review and update” the Climate Adaptation Strategy.117
According to FWS, service personnel consider climate change adaptation in numerous
programmatic activities.118 For example, FWS may consider climate change in ESA listing

113 FWS, Rising to the Urgent Challenge: Strategic Plan for Responding to Accelerating Climate Change, September
2010, at https://www.fws.gov/home/climatechange/pdf/CCStrategicPlan.pdf (hereinafter cited as FWS, Rising to the
Urgent Challenge
).
114 National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Partnership, National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate
Adaptation Strategy
, 2012, at https://www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov/ (at the time of publication, the listed website
was no longer functional; however, the plan was available at https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/Assets/ecosystems/
documents/NFWPCAS-Final.pdf). Congress urged the Council on Environmental Quality and the DOI “ to develop a
national, government -wide strategy to address climate impacts on fish, wildlife, plants, and associated ecological
processes” in the Committee Report (H.Rept. 111-316, pp. 76-77) accompanying H.R. 2996, the Department of the
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-88).
115 FWS, Rising to the Urgent Challenge, p. 3.
116 National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Partnership, National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate
Adaptation Strategy
, 2012, p. ii.
117 Personal correspondence between FWS Congressional and Legislative Affairs Office and CRS on January 7, 2020.
118 Personal correspondence between FWS Congressional and Legislative Affairs Office and CRS on January 7, 2020.
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decisions.119 In making these decisions, FWS and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration within the Department of Commerce,
the two agencies responsible for administering the ESA, must consider five factors specified in
the ESA to determine whether a species should be listed as threatened or endangered. Two of the
five factors are “the present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of [species’]
habitat or range” and “other natural or manmade factors affecting [species’] continued
existence.”120 While evaluating these factors, FWS and NMFS may be required to consider
climate change as a potential threat in some cases.121 FWS also may consider climate change
adaptation activities in the administration of the NWRS, which is administered pursuant to the
National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act (NWRSAA), as amended.122 The NWRSAA
requires that each refuge in the NWRS is managed to “fulfil the mission of the System, as wel as
the specific purposes for which that refuge was established.”123 For example, FWS may
implement actions to address sea-level rise, which can be an effect of climate change, at certain
coastal wildlife refuges.124
Climate Change and the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
FWS and the National Marine Fisheries Service in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration within
the Department of Commerce (hereinafter referred to as the Services) are jointly responsible for administering the
ESA. In August 2019, the Services promulgated a final rule (84 Federal Register 45020) that amended the regulations
for implementing the ESA. As part of the rule, which went into effect on September 26, 2019, the Services defined,
for the first time, the scope of the term foreseeable future as it relates to how the Services make decisions on the
listing of species as either endangered or threatened and the designation of critical habitat:
The term foreseeable future extends only so far into the future as the Services can reasonably
determine that both the future threats and the species’ responses to those threats are likely.
The Services wil describe the foreseeable future on a case-by-case basis, using the best available
data and taking into account considerations such as the species' life-history characteristics,
threat-projection timeframes, and environmental variability. The Services need not identify the
foreseeable future in terms of a specific period of time.
The rule may have implications for how the Services make decisions about species and critical habitat that may be
affected by climate change. For example, because the foreseeable future extends, per the rule, only so far as both
the threats and the species’ responses to threats are likely, the Services may be less able to assess threats, such as
climate change, that occur on a longer time scale or with a high degree of variability. However, the Services state
that the rule is simply a codification of how they applied the term foreseeable future prior to the rule’s
promulgation (i.e., the Services wil continue to consider foreseeable future on a case-by-case basis, as they did
prior to the rule). The rule’s implementation wil be shaped by both the outcome of any litigation over the rule
and how the Services apply the new definition.

119 T he Endangered Species Act (ESA) is at 16 U.S.C. §§1531 et seq. For more information on the ESA, see CRS
Report R46677, The Endangered Species Act: Overview and Im plem entation, by Pervaze A. Sheikh, Erin H. Ward, and
R. Eliot Crafton. For more information on climate change as it affects the ESA, see CRS Report R45926, The
Endangered Species Act and Clim ate Change: Selected Legal Issues
, by Linda T sang.
120 16 U.S.C. §1533(a)(1).
121 For a discussion of how and when climate change is considered in listing decisions, see CRS Report R45926, The
Endangered Species Act and Clim ate Change: Selected Legal Issues
, by Linda T sang.
122 T he National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act, as amended, is at 16 U.S.C. §§668dd-668ee. Personal
correspondence between FWS Congressional and Legislative Affairs Office and CRS on January 7, 2020.
123 16 U.S.C. §668dd(a)(3)(A). T he mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System is “ to administer a national
network of lands and waters for the conservation, management, and, where appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife,
and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of
Americans.” 16 U.S.C. §668dd(a)(2).
124 Personal correspondence between FWS Congressional and Legislative Affairs Office and CRS on January 7, 2020.
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Sources: FWS and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and
Plants; Regulations for Listing Species and Designating Critical Habitat," 84 Federal Register 45020-45053, August
27, 2019. For more information, see CRS Report R45926, The Endangered Species Act and Climate Change: Selected
Legal Issues
, by Linda Tsang.
U.S. Geological Survey125
The mission of USGS is to deliver integrated scientific understanding and forecast natural
systems to improve the nation’s economic wel -being, reduce societal risks from hazards, and
inform natural resource stewardship.126 USGS has eight interdisciplinary program areas: (1)
Water Resources, (2) Land Resources, (3) Energy and Minerals and Environmental Health, (4)
Natural Hazards, (5) Ecosystems, (6) Core Science Systems, (7) Science Support, and (8)
Facilities. Much of the work relevant to climate change adaptation is done through the Land
Resources program area, although portions of several other program areas also relate to climate
change adaptation.127
USGS is primarily a science agency. Unlike some other DOI agencies, USGS does not manage
large tracts of lands, construct infrastructure, or modify waterways or habitat. Further, the agency
does not have regulatory authority under any laws. Consequently, USGS addresses climate
change adaptation by conducting scientific studies; collecting and analyzing data related to
climatic variables; modeling and predicting the effects of climate variability on natural resources,
natural processes (e.g., natural hazards), wildlife, and ecosystems; and monitoring resources such
as water flows, habitat changes, and wildlife. For example, USGS provides data on natural
resources and scientific analysis to support adaptive management strategies implemented by DOI
land management agencies (as wel as by other federal agencies, state and local governments, and
others) that address climate change adaptation. DOI agencies rely on USGS for scientific data and
interpretations to inform their land management decisions. In a 2020 report, USGS committed to
reporting to DOI at least once every five years (or sooner, as needed) on significant new findings
in climate science and advances in best practices for incorporating climate information into
planning and policymaking activities.128 The report also outlined best practices the agency wil
continue to follow, such as modeling potential future impacts over timescales ranging from the
near term to a century or longer, depending on the management decision under consideration.
Memoranda of understanding and scientific agreements between USGS and other federal and
state agencies al ow USGS to provide research results on climate change processes and impacts,
as wel as data for making decisions related to specific geographic areas.
Selected USGS Adaptation-Related Activities
USGS does not have a formal plan to evaluate or implement adaptation strategies related to the
potential effects of climate change on its facilities.129 USGS evaluates facility projects through a

125 For more information on USGS, contact Anna Normand, Analyst in Natural Resources Policy.
126 DOI, FY2020 Interior Budget in Brief, 2019, p. BH-51, at https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/
fy2020_bib_bh051.pdf.
127 For information on USGS funding trends across mission areas, see CRS In Focus IF11181, The U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS): FY2020 Appropriations Process and Background
, by Anna E. Normand.
128 Adam T erando et al., Using Information from Global Climate Models to Inform Policymaking —The Role of the U.S.
Geological Survey
, USGS, Open-File Report 2020-1058, 2020, p. 2, at https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20201058.
129 Personal correspondence between USGS Congressional Liaison Office and CRS on December 12, 2019.
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capital planning and investment review process. An Investment Review Board analyzes
agreements and the costs and benefits of actions related to facilities. When funding is available,
USGS invests in “hardening” its observational equipment, which may be vulnerable to natural
hazards.130 For example, Congress provided supplemental funding in FY2018 and FY2019 for
USGS to aid recovery from wildfires, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes.131 With the
funding, USGS repaired and replaced equipment and facilities, often to be more resilient, and
conducted scientific observations and assessments.132
Beyond these efforts, USGS conducts several scientific and monitoring activities that directly and
indirectly relate to climate change adaptation. The following provides an overview of some of
these activities.
Climate Adaptation Science Centers.133 As noted above, one of the primary functions of the
Land Resources program area under USGS is the implementation and maintenance of the
National CASC and its regional entities, the Regional CASCs.134 These centers support research,
assessment, and synthesis of global change data to assist in the management of DOI-administered
resources, including federal lands, at regional levels. The centers aim to evaluate global climate
change models at scales appropriate for research managers of species and habitats, and they
facilitate applied science and outreach to collaborators and stakeholders, including federal
agencies. As noted, the FY2020 appropriations explanatory statement directed increased funding
for Land Resources to develop a Midwest CASC to “focus on and address the threats to natural
and human communities in Midwest states and develop a more tailored strategic science
agenda.”135 This ninth CASC would encompass some of the 21 states currently under the purview
of the existing Northeast CASC.
Climate Change Research and Development Program.136 The objectives of USGS’s Climate
Change Research and Development Program include understanding regional effects of climate
change and estimating how climate change might affect future scenarios or processes. Research
areas under this program include understanding the effects of sea-level rise on coastal
communities and infrastructure, studying the long-term effects of drought, and documenting the
retreat of glaciers. Although the program focuses more on basic science than on management, its
findings may help to inform adaptation actions.

130 USGS may strengthen (or harden) its observational equipment, such as one of its 10,300 streamgages, to withstand
major natural hazard events. In most cases, hardening a streamgage involves raising the structure to a higher elevation,
improving the structural integrity of the instrument shelter, and upgrading the data transmission capabilities. USGS,
“Recent Improvements to the U.S. Geological Survey Streamgaging Program ,” fact sheet 2007-3080, December 2007,
at https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2007/3080/fs2007-3080b.pdf.
131 USGS received $42.2 million from t he Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-123) and $98.5 million from the
Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 ( P.L. 116-20).
132 USGS, “ Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Recovery Activities,” at https://www.usgs.gov/natural-hazards/
usgs-supplemental-disaster-recovery-activities.
133 CASCs also are discussed in this report in the section on “ Selected DOI-Wide Adaptation Activities.”
134 T hese centers, formerly named the National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center and DOI Climate Science
Centers, were authorized in an appropriations law, DOI, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008
(P.L. 110-161). For more information, see USGS, “ Climate Adaptation Science Centers,” at https://www.usgs.gov/
ecosystems/climate-adaptation-science-centers.
135 Explanatory statement for the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (P.L. 116-94), available at
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CPRT -116HPRT38679/pdf/CPRT -116HPRT38679.pdf, and H.Rept. 116-100.
136 USGS, “Climate Research and Development Program,” at https://www.usgs.gov/ecosystems/climate-research-and-
development -program.
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Biologic Carbon Sequestration. The USGS’s “biologic carbon sequestration assessment
program,” known as LandCarbon, “investigates ecosystem carbon cycle problems and develops
carbon management science and monitoring methods.”137 USGS completed assessments of
biologic carbon sequestration for the conterminous United States, Alaska, and Hawaii.138 Program
activities now include (1) researching carbon processes and management in ecosystems and (2)
completing carbon sequestration application studies in support of DOI land management
decisionmaking. Information gleaned from this program may be used to help inform future DOI
land management practices.
Data Collection and Monitoring. USGS collects data and monitors natural processes that are
relevant to climate change adaptation. For example, the USGS Streamgaging Network monitors
streamgages, which collect data on streamflow, throughout the country.139 These data can be
analyzed to determine changes in water flows and water quality over time, and they can be used
in projecting future flows under various climate scenarios to inform federal land managers,
federal infrastructure investments and preparedness, and nonfederal decisionmaking.
Issues for Congress
DOI and its agencies have undertaken various climate change adaptation activities over the years,
many of which were conducted in accordance with government-wide and DOI- or agency-
specific authorities. Many of these activities were undertaken pursuant to executive and
secretarial orders, and selected climate change adaptation activities continued to operate in some
capacity during the Trump Administration. Selected orders from previous Administrations, such
as the Obama Administration, that initiated certain adaptation activities were revoked during the
Trump Administration, at times resulting in the cessation of certain activities. Other adaptation
activities have been undertaken pursuant to statutorily authorized programs or congressional
directions or when compatible with statutory purposes. The status of some adaptation activities
also is unclear, and activities may have been altered, suspended, or set aside at times. Further,
with available information, it can be difficult to identify the full breadth of climate change
adaptation activities that DOI and its agencies have undertaken and the current status of such
activities.
One concrete measure of how approaches to climate change adaptation have changed throughout
the years and across Administrations is the issuing, amending, and/or revoking of executive and
secretarial orders related to climate change adaptation. General y, climate change-related
executive and secretarial orders issued during the Trump Administration focused on rescinding
climate adaptation orders, including several executive and secretarial orders that required various
climate change adaptation activities to be conducted, issued during prior Administrations. Rather,
the Trump Administration focused on certain other activities, including energy production. As a
result, there apparently was less focus on undertaking new DOI-wide climate adaptation
initiatives during the Trump Administration than during some previous Administrations, although

137 USGS, “LandCarbon,” at https://www.usgs.gov/ecosystems/land-change-science-program/science/landcarbon?qt-
science_center_objects=0#qt -science_center_objects. Section 712 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of
2007 (P.L. 110-140) authorized the Secretary of the Interior to complete a national assessment of the quantity of carbon
stored in and released from national ecosystems and the annual flux greenhouse gases in and out of ecosystems.
138 T o access the assessments, see USGS, “LandCarbon,” at https://www.usgs.gov/apps/landcarbon/.
139 For more information, see CRS Report R45695, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Streamgaging Network: Overview
and Issues for Congress
, by Anna E. Normand.
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agencies within DOI continued to implement certain policies and programs relevant to climate
change adaptation.
The extent to which individual agencies within DOI were pursuing climate change adaptation
activities at the end of 2020 varied by agency and activity and, in some cases, is unclear. For
example, pursuant to the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020,140 USGS was required
to establish a new Midwest CASC and FWS was required to provide a report updating Congress
on the status of the LCC network. However, information regarding the status of these activities
was not publicly available at the time of this report’s publication. As of the end of 2020, the
National and Regional CASCs were operational, and FWS reportedly was providing scientific
support for the LCC network but was no longer providing direct funding to the individual
cooperatives.
In other instances, climate change adaptation activities undertaken by DOI agencies have been
more readily identifiable. For example, the USGS’s scientific and monitoring activities listed
above that directly and indirectly relate to climate change adaptation are documented examples
where climate change adaptation activities have continued. In addition, the USGS commitment in
2020 to report to DOI on significant new findings in climate science and advances in best
practices for incorporating climate information into planning and policymaking activities reflects
ongoing climate change adaptation activities.
In its oversight capacity and to bolster its legislative activities, Congress may be interested in
seeking additional information related to the full breadth of climate change adaptation activities
within DOI and its agencies that have been undertaken pursuant to both administrative directives
and statutory requirements, as wel as the current status of such activities. Congress has shown
this type of interest in the past; for example, Congress has required DOI or its agencies to produce
reports—at times with potential repercussions for an agency’s appropriations—to inform
Congress on the status of certain activities. For example, in FY2020 Congress required FWS to
provide a report on the status of the LCC program prior to receiving certain appropriated funds.
In addition to oversight of ongoing programs, some Members of Congress in the 116th Congress
expressed interest in pursuing legislation related to climate change adaption.
A more complete public understanding of DOI’s climate change adaptation activities, such as
those presented herein, may be useful to inform congressional responsibilities for authorizations,
appropriations, and oversight. For example, Members of Congress may be interested in
examining legislation related to whether, how, or under what circumstances DOI agencies might
incorporate climate change adaptation activities into the pursuit of fulfil ing their statutory
responsibilities.

140 T he Further Consolidated Appropriations Act , 2020, P.L. 116-94.
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Author Information

R. Eliot Crafton, Coordinator
Carol Hardy Vincent
Analyst in Natural Resources Policy
Specialist in Natural Resources Policy


Laura B. Comay
Anna E. Normand
Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
Analyst in Natural Resources Policy


Mark K. DeSantis
Charles V. Stern
Analyst in Natural Resources Policy
Specialist in Natural Resources Policy




Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should n ot be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in
its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or
material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to
copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

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