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Sportsmen are already witnessing the affects of climate change on trout, big game and birds in Montana. Here's a sample of what we're seeing:
Trout - For trout in the interior West, a hotter climate is the single greatest threat to their survival. Late summer low flows and more frequent stream closures are already occurring. In 2007, twenty-nine of Montana’s best known trout streams were closed that season as flows decreased and water temperatures warmed. Without immediate steps to curb climate pollution, streams in Montana could warm up enough to reduce trout habitat by 50 percent or more by the end of the century. About 90 percent of bull trout, which live in Montana rivers in some of the country’s most wild places, are projected to be lost due to warming.
Big Game - Many factors, including an increase of disease, pests, and changing habitat have the potential to affect Montana's legendary big game species. Pronghorn antelope are affected by the warmer temperatures, as fawn survival is threatened by summer droughts. Moose populations are being impacted by a significant increase in tick infestations, with upwards of 100,000 ticks on one single moose. Deer, bighorn sheep, and elk, are altering their behavior as a result of changing snowpack. In recent years, general big-game seasons have twice been extended by about two weeks into December. This has been at least partially due to wildlife remaining at more remote high elevations later into the hunting season.
Birds - The potential impacts of climate change on game birds and waterfowl are serious and range from the disappearance of coastal habitats in all four flyways to changing water patterns on the breeding grounds of North America. It is estimated that the prairie pothole region could lose up to 90 percent of its wetlands, reducing the number of the region's breeding ducks by as much as 69 percent. Vegetative changes due to late and diminished stream flows is expected to profoundly affect upland birds by changing cover conditions, such as restricting forage or removing barriers to predation, and changing the availability and nutritional quality of food sources.
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Visit www.seasonsend.org for more information on the effects of climate change on outdoor recreation
