Climate Impacts

In the Great Lakes region, conservation and resource managers are already fending off attacks by multiple invasive species. In the future, climate change will present new challenges, such as anticipating the invaders’ next move and dealing with new, emerging threats — some of which could be swimming around in your aquarium right now.

Modeling predicts that increasing greenhouse gas emissions will significantly increase thermal stress on Pacific Northwest salmon in coming decades, making the hard job of restoring endangered wild salmon even harder.

Last year on Groundhog’s Day, large swaths of the country were covered in two feet of snow or more after a large storm pounded the eastern United States. This year, Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his den on a balmy day after the third-least snowy January on record. A comparison of snowfall (or lack thereof) so far this season to last year's winter white-out shows what a difference a year makes.