Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: New York
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

This project is developing a novel rapid assessment tool to (1) assess the vulnerability of New York species of greatest conservation need to climate change and to prioritize the management of these species, and (2) identify highly vulnerable and resilient areas of the northeastern United States. The tool is based on both spatial and non-spatial aspects of vulnerability, including projected climate stress, potential for the landscape to buffer the effects of climate stress, and local-scale landscape connectivity. Each of these components will be mapped throughout the northeastern United States, resulting in a composite index of “landscape vulnerability”. This composite index will identify places on the landscape that are projected to (1) have high exposure to climate change, and (2) limit the ability of species to adapt to climate change.