This report obtained info. from 13 selected federal departments and agencies on their current and planned climate change adaptation efforts as part of a broader review of climate change adaptation. It provides a more complete picture of the activities that federal agencies consider to be related to climate change adaptation than has been available publicly. This info. was obtained directly from the agencies participating in the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which include: USDA; DoC; DOD; DoE; HHS; DHS; DoI; DoS; USAID; DoT; EPA; NASA; and NSF. The agency activities compiled in this report should not be considered a comprehensive list of all recent and ongoing climate change adaptation efforts across the federal government. Illus.

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has an obligation to work with its partners to address climate change and other landscape scale impacts on America's natural and cultural resources. Secretary Salazar signed Secretarial Order 3289 on September 14, 2009, and amended it February 22, 2010, titled, "Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change on America's Water, Land, and Other Natural and Cultural Resources." The document coordinated the application of scientific tools to increase understanding of climate change and determine an effective response to its impact on tribes and on land, water, ocean, fish and wildlife, and cultural heritage resources managed by DOI.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is committed to identifying and responding to the challenges that a changing climate poses to human health and the environment. Scientific evidence demonstrates that the climate is changing at an increasingly rapid rate, outside the range to which society has adapted in the past. These changes can pose significant challenges to the EPA's ability to fulfill its mission. The EPA must adapt to climate change if it is to continue fulfilling its statutory, regulatory and programmatic requirements. The Agency is therefore anticipating and planning for future changes in climate to ensure it continues to fulfill its mission of protecting human health and the environment even as the climate changes. In February 2013, the EPA released its draft Climate Change Adaptation Plan to the public for review and comment. The plan relies on peer-reviewed scientific information and expert judgment to identify vulnerabilities to EPA's mission and goals from climate change. The plan also presents 10 priority actions that EPA will take to ensure that its programs, policies, rules, and operations will remain effective under future climatic conditions. The priority placed on mainstreaming climate adaptation within EPA complements efforts to encourage and mainstream adaptation planning across the entire federal government. This Implementation Plan provides an overview of the opportunities available to the Office of Water within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to respond to the challenges that a changing climate poses for the successful operation of national programs to protect the quality of the national water resources and drinking water. This Plan is organized using the framework adopted by the EPA for each of its major national offices and regional offices. Key elements of the Plan address: Vulnerability of water resources, including clean water and drinking water programs, to climate change; Priority actions for water program response to climate change; Office of Water contribution to meeting EPA strategic measures on climate change; Legal and enforcement issues; Training and outreach for climate change adaptation; Partnerships with Tribes; Populations and places vulnerable to a changing climate; and Program evaluation and cross-Agency pilot projects.

Scientists have been warning for years that human activity is heating up the planet and climate change is under way. We are only just beginning to acknowledge the serious effects this will have on all life on Earth. The federal government is crafting broad-scale strategies to protect wildland ecosystems from the worst effects of climate change. One of the greatest challenges is to get the latest science into the hands of resource managers entrusted with vulnerable wildland ecosystems. This book examines climate and land-use changes in montane environments, assesses the vulnerability of species and ecosystems to these changes, and provides resource managers with collaborative management approaches to mitigate expected impacts. Climate Change in Wildlands proposes a new kind of collaboration between scientists and managers--a science-derived framework and common-sense approaches for keeping parks and protected areas healthy on a rapidly changing planet.

With a long history and deep connection to the Earth’s resources, indigenous peoples have an intimate understanding and ability to observe the impacts linked to climate change. Traditional ecological knowledge and tribal experience play a key role in developing future scientific solutions for adaptation to the impacts. The book explores climate-related issues for indigenous communities in the United States, including loss of traditional knowledge, forests and ecosystems, food security and traditional foods, as well as water, Arctic sea ice loss, permafrost thaw and relocation. The book also highlights how tribal communities and programs are responding to the changing environments. Fifty authors from tribal communities, academia, government agencies and NGOs contributed to the book. Previously published in Climatic Change, Volume 120, Issue 3, 2013.