Number: 2003-03
WHEREAS, salmon and steelhead species are important for ecosystem health, subsistence cultures, sport and recreational fishing, and commercial fishing in California and the Pacific Northwest; and
WHEREAS, these species are already adversely affected by human activities such as agriculture, flood control, hydroelectric power production, forestry, grazing and development, and several stocks throughout the region have either become extinct or are at risk of extinction in the near future; and
WHEREAS, natural changes in ocean, freshwater, and land conditions affect the productivity of salmon and steelhead and have implications for species populations from one year to the next; and
WHEREAS, there is broad scientific consensus that historical and current greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels for energy and the destruction of global forests, are altering these conditions by causing average global temperatures to rise and the Earth’s climatic systems to change; and
WHEREAS, scientists project that this human-induced climate change will affect salmon and steelhead habitat in a number of ways, affecting both their freshwater and marine cycles. These changes could include: increased average ocean and stream temperatures, shifts in ocean currents, a reduction in zooplankton as a food source, earlier and reduced snowmelt in spring, and reduced streamflows in spring and summer months; and
WHEREAS, the impact of climate change on salmon and steelhead and their habitat constitutes one example of the expected impact of climate change on species and ecosystems in the United States and around the world; and
WHEREAS, the National Wildlife Federation previously adopted resolutions in 1995 strengthening its legal, political and grassroots efforts to recover wild salmon and steelhead, and supporting the development of coordinated, comprehensive, ecosystem-based plans (for federal lands in the Columbia River Basin) that comply with existing laws and are based on the best available scientific information and sound principles of conservation biology and sustainable economic activity; and
WHEREAS, the National Wildlife Federation previously also adopted a resolution in 1998, urging governments, corporations and others to respond to the scientific consensus on the threat posed by climate change and to promote the adoption of appropriate domestic and international policies to enhance research and promote reduction in greenhouse gas emissions,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, at its annual meeting assembled March 27-29, 2003, in Washington, D.C., hereby supports efforts to improve scientific understanding of the impact of climate change and related factors on salmon and steelhead in the Pacific Northwest regions and to share this scientific information with stakeholders and the public; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that NWF urges resource managers and other relevant stakeholders to develop and implement coordinated, comprehensive, ecosystem-based plans throughout the Pacific Northwest regions that take into consideration both the short- and long-term threats to salmon and steelhead stocks, including adapting those plans to reflect increased scientific understanding of both natural and human-induced climatic variables; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that NWF calls upon public officials and private stakeholders to take similar action with respect to other species and ecosystems nationwide based on assessment of the vulnerability to the expected effects of climate change; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that NWF calls upon the states in the region, as well as the federal government, to incorporate into their plans and to otherwise develop and support policies and programs that will result in reduced emissions of greenhouse gases regionally, nationally and internationally.