Media Contacts
Cat Lazaroff
Communications Director
(202)
772-3270
Christine Merker
Communications Coordinator
(202) 772-0284
Not a journalist but need help? Contact our Member Services
team:
1-800-385-9712
Sign up for our Press List
Get Defenders Headlines
Get the latest wildlife conservation news and information... right when we post it online.
For Immediate Release
Reaction to GAO Report on Climate Change - Statement by Jamie Rappaport Clark
The following is a statement by Jamie Rappaport Clark, executive vice president of Defenders of Wildlife, and former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Clinton administration in reaction to the Government Accountability Office report released today that evaluates how federal resource management agencies are managing the impacts of climate change on federal lands.
WASHINGTON: “Today’s report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) confirms that climate change is one of the greatest threats currently facing federal lands and our nation's wildlife. The GAO’s findings underscore that the federal land management agencies lack the capacity and guidance to address global warming, which is already impacting 600 million acres of parks, refuges, forest and other federally managed lands.
“The GAO report is a wake-up call to the nation that the federal government is not responding effectively to manage the impacts of global warming on our federal lands and wildlife. Global warming is and will continue to contribute to species extinctions, flooding of coastal refuges and massive movements of wildlife populations in search of more hospitable habitat. Polar bears and other imperiled species, wildlife refuges, parks and myriad natural resources are at risk and Congress clearly needs to provide more legislative direction because the agencies have failed to do so.
“Fortunately, the Global Warming Wildlife Survival Act, championed by Reps. Norm Dicks (WA) and Nick Rahall (WV) was recently passed by the House as part of its energy package (H.R. 3221). This legislation would ensure that responding to global warming impacts is a top priority of the federal land management agencies. The survival act directly responds to GAO’s critical findings by giving the federal agencies the national policy direction and mandate to plan for and respond to global warming’s impacts on wildlife and its habitat. The survival act also enhances critical scientific capacity through a national interagency global warming scientific center.
“The House has taken an important and necessary first step in passing the Global Warming Wildlife Survival Act. Hopefully this report spurs Congress to embrace this provision through the energy legislation conference.”
Read more on the Global Warming Wildlife Survival Act.
###
Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 900,000 members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit www.defenders.org.
