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Recording: Results for the Southeast from the 2022 AFWA Climate Adaptation Survey Report

November 27, 2023

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Results for the Southeast from the 2022 AFWA Climate Adaptation Survey Report
Jacob Blandford (AFWA)
December 13, 2023 | 11AM ET

The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) conducted a survey of U.S. state and Canadian provincial and territorial fish and wildlife agencies to assess perspectives, needs, gaps, challenges, and opportunities for climate change adaptation in fish and wildlife management. This biennial survey has been conducted since 2012 and is intended to gather information that was useful and useable in helping AFWA members advance climate change adaptation. In this webinar, results for the southeast region from the 2022 Climate Adaptation Survey will be highlighted and next steps will be discussed.

The responses demonstrate that all responding agencies are taking action to address climate change. Some agencies are changing hunting, fishing, and other regulations governing outdoor recreation due to climate change, most agencies are incorporating climate change considerations into management decisions, and the large majority of agencies are incorporating climate change considerations into management plans. Still, climate adaptation planning outpaces efforts for on-the-ground implementation of climate-adaptive management. This discrepancy between planning and implementation is reflected in the top needs identified by respondents which focused on best management practices and training for implementing fish and wildlife management under future climate conditions, as well as additional funding and capacity for climate adaptation.

Read the report here.

About the speaker:

Jacob Blandford is the Climate Adaptation Program Manager for the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. He works to support state fish and wildlife agencies efforts to incorporate climate change considerations into fish and wildlife management through the development and sharing of climate adaptation science, resources, decision-support tools, and funding opportunities. Jacob also serves as Network Coordinator for the National Fish, Wildlife, and Plant Climate Adaptation Network, a national network that brings together federal and state governments, Tribal, and NGO members to coordinate and collaborate on climate adaptation for fish, wildlife, plants, and the habitats that support them.