Water Quality and Quantity

A study conducted in 2005 by Responsive Management for the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies noted that water quality is a major fish and wildlife issue facing the southeastern states, and that water resources are one of the greatest concerns for the health of people, fish and wildlife. Many government agencies, private organizations, businesses, and citizens recognize the value of aquatic resources and work every day to conserve them, but past efforts to halt their decline have been conducted independently on federal, state and local scales. SARP is addressing this issue on multiple scales and working to strengthen the efforts of our partners regionally.

Read more
Southeastern Instream Flow Network
Southeast Aquatic Habitat Plan

Climate change

Changing temperature and precipitation trends could profoundly affect aquatic habitats in the Southeast over the remainder of this century.

• Climate models project that the Southeast’s temperatures will increase on average by 4-10 degrees F (Carter 2000).
• Based on recent precipitation trends in the region, increases and decreases in precipitation and temperature exacerbate existing droughts and developing water shortages.
• Existing trends in the Southeast predict more intense rainfall events, resulting in increased erosion and siltation and other aquatic habitat damages. Read more

Historical data on temperature, precipitation, and other environmental factors are being analyzed in various models to predict the effects of these climate changes. Some changes that may occur in the Southeast include:

• Fewer continuous acres of forests
• Increased agricultural productivity in the short term but decreased productivity later
• Reductions and changes in fish and shellfish populations
• Increased electricity demand.
• Areas experiencing drought will likely increase pressure on groundwater and rivers, streams, and lakes for irrigation and water supply, impacting natural systems.

We can expect these climate trends to negatively impact aquatic species:

• Increased stress on species near the upper ranges of their temperature tolerances in the Southeast
• Specific habitats negatively impacted by changes in hydrology.
• Establishment of populations of tropical aquatic nuisance species currently restricted to south Florida.

These factors, combined with already fragmented and degraded habitats, will likely cause increased rates of extinction and imperil some native species across the region. 

The most dramatic and predictable effect of climate change in the Southeast will be coastal wetland loss and major coastline changes. During the 20th century sea levels rose by 4-8 inches (Burkett et al 2001). The International Panel on Climate Change predicts that this trend will increase 2-5 times during the 21st century. Under this scenario:

• A sea level rise of approximately one meter is possible by the end of the century.
• The Louisiana coastline would variably move from 10 to over 100 miles inland, altering just about all of the coastal wetlands that support the bulk of the productive fisheries of the northern Gulf of Mexico.
• New Orleans would be inundated, and much of Miami, Florida, would be under water.
• Similar impacts, but on a lesser scale would occur in all coastal areas of the Southeast, including all of the Florida Keys and the Everglades,

Although the earth has always undergone climate variation, the effects appear to be in a period of acceleration and must be considered in planning actions (Technical Review Committee on Global Climate Change and Wildlife, 2004). While there are many uncertainties related to climate change, we know that health, thriving habitats and populations are the most resilient, and have the greatest ability to survive and succeed when changes occur. SARP is working to build and maintain healthy and thriving aquatic habitats that support healthy populations of animals and people.

Literature Cited:
Burkett, V., R. Ritschard, S. McNulty, J.J. O’Brien, R. Abt, J. Jones, U. Hatch, B. Murray, S. Jagtap, and J. Cruise. 2001. “Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change for the Southeastern United States.” Ch. 5 in National Assessment Synthesis Team, Climate Change Impacts on the United States: The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change. Report for the U.S. Global Change Research Program, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

Carter, L. 2000. U.S. National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change. Educational Resources Regional Paper: The Southeast. U.S. Climate Change Science Program/U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, D.C. Online at http://www.usgcrp.gov/usgcrp/nacc/education/southeast/default.htm. Accessed September 2007.

Technical Review Committee on Global Climate Change and Wildlife. 2004. Global Climate Change and Wildlife in North America. The Wildlife Society, Technical Review 04-2.

Read more
Climate Change Inpacts on US Water Resources and Aquatic Habitats (from presentation) by USDA Forest Service

Climate Change Impacts on the U.S. (Introduction of report) by National Assessment Synthesis Team

Vulnerability of the Southeastern United States to Climate Change (Executive Summary) by USDA Forest Service, Southern Global Program