Giving Wildlife A Helping Hand in a Changing Climate

I don't think I can recall a time since I've lived in Virginia when people have talked about the weather more than this winter. Here in Charlottesville, we've gotten more than 55" of snow this season (and personally, as a lover of winter sports, I'm game for one more big snowstorm). Weather, though, is not the same as climate, and fortunately many people and organizations in Virginia are talking about climate too. Many are hard at work planning strategies for dealing with sea level rise, warmer air and water temperatures, and other changes expected to happen due to global climate change.

Humans certainly aren't the only ones affected by climate change. Virginia has more than 900 wildlife species that are imperiled due to habitat loss and other factors, and climate change is likely to exacerbate the situation for many, if not all, of these species. The National Wildlife Federation, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, and the Virginia Conservation Network have worked together to develop a plan to help protect Virginia's wildlife in a changing climate. The plan includes strategies such as improving wildlife habitat and connecting habitats with wildlife corridors so that species can migrate more easily. Raising public awareness is a key element of the plan as well, and hopefully Master Naturalists will play an important role in that.