Mapping new terrain climate change and America’s West:  Anticipating challenges to western mountain ecosystems and resources

By: CIRMOUNT Committee

Climate variability and sustained change presage far-reaching transformations across America’s West, an expanse dominated

by immense mountain ranges and interspersed with important urban centers. These mountains provide the region’s life

blood—water that courses through its streams and runs out its faucets, power that fuels its industries and lights its cities, and

natural resources that feed its economy and provide many of its jobs. The West is a land where life is written in water—from

vast ranchlands and farmlands, to large densely populated urban areas—and the communities of the West are intricately tied

to it.

Why should we be concerned about how climate change is affecting the mountains? Despite their imposing grandeur and

apparent fortitude, the mountains contain highly sensitive environments that support delicately balanced physical and

natural systems. A warming of only a few degrees has major implications for mountain regions—for the integrity of the

seasonal snowpack, the extensive forests that western mountains support, and for the people who make their home

there. Such changes are already affecting water supply, energy availability, fire severity, and recreational opportunities.

Continuing climate change may significantly alter the western landscape, where one encounters distinct ecological

communities as successive layers from the lowlands to the high peaks. Each of these ecosystems has specific requirements

for temperature and precipitation. As climate variability increases and global warming continues, complex changes in

montane plant and animal communities will occur, increasing vulnerability of species to dramatic shifts in distribution and

local extinctions.

Additional publication details
Publication type	Report
Publication Subtype	Federal Government Series
Title	Mapping new terrain climate change and America’s West: Anticipating challenges to western mountain ecosystems and resources
Series number	PSW-MISC-77
Year Published	2006
Language	English
Publisher	U.S. Department of Agriculture
Contributing office(s)	Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center, San Francisco Bay-Delta, Pacific Regional Director's Office
Description	28 p.
Public Comments	The Consortium for Integrated Climate Research in Western Mountains (CIRMOUNT) July 2006
Online Only (Y/N)	N
Additional Online Files (Y/N)	N
Google Analytic Metrics	Metrics page