Let’s take a look at how communities and wildlife are being impacted, and what we can do to prevent and manage future megafires, which burn 100,000 acres or more.

California Infernos

The Golden State is at the epicenter of the current fire season:

The Mendocino Complex fire, which became the largest wildfire in California history on Monday night, had burned more than 290,000 acres as of Tuesday morning, officials said. The sprawling blaze, which is actually a combination of the Ranch and River fires in Lake County, has frustrated firefighters as it continues to leap natural and man-made barriers. … Prolonged drought and extreme heat have made California ripe for dangerous fire conditions in recent months and years. Of the five largest wildfires in state history, four have occurred since 2012.

Those records are hard to comprehend. If all that wasn’t enough, the Carr fire in Northern California that destroyed more than 1,000 homes also continues to grow, with 167,113 acres burned so far. And down in Orange County, firefighters are battling a 4,000-acre brush fire in the Cleveland National Forest.

Beth Pratt, NWF’s Regional Executive Director for California, lives outside Yosemite National Park and has experienced two major fires the last two years. “Last year the Detwiler Fire scorched through our community and destroyed 63 homes—we had to evacuate but our home was luckily spared. This summer, fire struck again in our community, with the Ferguson Fire. Sadly, it’s becoming the new normal here in California with climate change and drought.”

Harm to Wildlife

While natural wildfires can have some beneficial effects on ecosystems, megafires threaten to destroy huge swaths of habitat. Birds and adult animals can often flee the flames, they can’t take their nests or dens with them.

The National Wildlife Federation’s Lauren Anderson has detailed how all fires aren’t the same – these hotter, more intense burns can be much more devastating to fish and wildlife:

Fire that burns through built-up dead vegetation, caused in part by overly aggressive fire suppression practices, can burn so hot that it damages the root systems that hold soil in place. This can increase the risk of erosion and runoff when rains return. The runoff and associated mudslides can damage the streams, rivers, and lakes that fish and other wildlife depend on. Severe megafires can also burn so hot that they destroy native seed banks, which makes it harder for native vegetation to regenerate following a fire. When native vegetation isn’t able to grow back it leaves habitat more vulnerable to invasive species.

Climate change is part of the problem. As the National Wildlife Federation detailed in our Megafires report last fall, global warming has pushed us into a new era of hotter, more intense, and more frequent fires. The eight worst fire seasons on record have all occurred in the past 15 years. The Washington Post’s Angela Fritz also reported recently that firefighters say fires are behaving differently than in the past, with unpredictable winds making them harder to fight.

Trump’s Tweets

President Trump issued a series of tweets in recent days, pointing fingers at forest management and policies that give some limited protections to the natural water flow fish depend on. As the Los Angeles Times’ Michael Hiltzik writes, the president’s criticisms are off-base:

The likeliest explanation for his take on water is that he’s confused by the demands for more irrigation water he’s hearing from Republican officeholders in the Central Valley. They’re the people who grouse about water being “wasted” by being diverted to the ocean, rather than into their fields.

Their demands have nothing to do with the availability of water for firefighting. Fire agencies haven’t been complaining about a lack of water, especially water “diverted” to the Pacific. Major reservoirs are near the worst fire zones; the Carr fire is near Lake Shasta and Whiskeytown Lake and the Mendocino Complex fire is near Clear Lake. All are at or near their historical levels.

Long-Term Solutions

Congress took a step forward earlier in 2018 when it included a firefighting funding fix in a forestry reform package, but much more is needed:

• We need federal legislation to cut climate-disrupting carbon pollution
• Congress should prioritize forest restoration, advance outcome-driven wildfire management practices, and encourage more responsible and fire-wise development in wildland areas
• Wildlife need dedicated investment in protecting and restoring habitat through the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act

We’ll be watching the fires out west. Follow National Wildlife Federation Action Fund on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated on how you can help protect wildlife from megafires and other extreme weather caused by climate change.

The communities being hit are busy trying to save wildlife, clean waterways and beaches, and working to help coastal businesses manage during summer season. But it’s worth looking at the causes of the crisis to see what policy lessons we can learn.

The Algae Crisis & Its Impacts

There are two separate kinds of toxic algae outbreaks hitting Florida from two different directions:

• Red tide algae forming along Florida’s southern Gulf coast. Red tide is a microscopic organism known as dinoflagellate, which produces harmful effects on public health and marine resources.
• Blue-green algae being discharged from Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie River to the Atlantic coast and the Caloosahatchee River to the Gulf coast.

While algae is natural, it’s fueled by runoff pollution and warmer water. From the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes, global warming is making algae blooms worse.

The red tide algae has proved especially deadly for fish and wildlife, as the Miami Herald’s Jenny Staletovich reports:

Dead fish by the thousands have clogged inlets and canals. Since Sunday, 10 dead Goliath grouper, the massive reef fish that can live four decades or more, have floated to the surface. At least 90 sea turtles have been found stranded as the tide stretches well into nesting season. And Tuesday, as hundreds of residents packed a standing-room-only Cape Coral yacht club to hear about the federal government’s efforts to deal with water conditions, a dead manatee washed up at a nearby boat ramp.

The list goes on: earlier this month the carcass of a whale shark was found on a Sanibel beach with red tide in its muscles, liver, intestines and stomach. Hundreds of double-breasted cormorants, brown pelicans and other seabirds have been sickened or died.

The algae is also sickening people. At least 15 people have been treated and released at local hospitals, but doctors suspect a much larger number of people are feeling mild nausea from the algae without seeking medical attention. Dogs who swim in algae can be at risk of illness or even death, but it seems like Florida dog owners have kept their pets safe so far.

“Florida’s algae crisis is a case study of what we’re seeing play out across the country, as water pollution and worsening climate disruption degrade important fish and wildlife habitat, turning what might’ve once been just a bad summer into a prolonged disaster,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “If we want to reverse America’s rising tide of wildlife crisis, Congress needs to face the problem on every front by enacting common-sense clean water protections, passing a Water Resources Development Act that commits to Everglades restoration and water infrastructure, and investing in proactive, collaborative conservation through the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act.”

Water Policy Must Rise to Meet Challenge

Water in Florida historically flowed south, through Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades and Florida Bay. To pave the way for development and agriculture, humans altered this natural flow of water by digging canals and building dams, diverting more water to the east and west coasts through the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Rivers. This re-plumbing upset the natural flow of life-giving water through the Everglades that sustains South Florida’s unique wildlife habitat and heralded fishing grounds.

“Too little freshwater is flowing through the Everglades to Florida Bay, while too much polluted water is flushed from Lake Okeechobee to coastal estuaries, causing outbreaks of toxic green algae to slime Florida’s beaches,” wrote NWF’s Glenn Watkins last year, detailing the harm it was having on Florida’s fish and the anglers who depend on them.

I asked Manley Fuller, president of our state affiliate the Florida Wildlife Federation, to explain some of the policy choices that have led us here:

The current nightmare is largely due to the way the Everglades is engineered and needs to be corrected through moving forward expeditiously with key facets of Everglades restoration including increased water storage capacity, treatment and conveyance of clean water south from the Lake Okeechobee. This will reduce the frequency of destructive estuarine discharges. In the short term, the high water discharges from Lake Okeechobee should be pulsed to the greatest extent possible rather than continuous outflow. The Everglades Agricultural Area water storage capacity should be increased to share in the adversity along with natural areas. Sugar cane can tolerate short term inundation. During these high water circumstances, adversity must be shared.

This week Florida Gov. Rick Scott has announced funds to help fix the Herbert Hoover Dike surrounding Lake Okeechobee, as well as money for Lee County to combat the algae directly. Rep. Brian Mast also introduced a bill designed to free up more federal funds to help fight algae.

However, fixing this problem requires restoring the Everglades by changing the way that water moves through the system to mimic the historic flow. Congress must approve construction of a critical reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee – part of the Central Everglades Project – in the water resources bill that is awaiting floor time in the Senate. This project will significantly alleviate the damaging discharges to the fragile coastal estuaries, instead cleaning and sending that water south to the Everglades and Florida Bay where it is desperately needed.

We’ll continue monitoring the harm the algae is doing – and the National Wildlife Federation will keep working to deliver the policy necessary to protect Florida’s outdoor treasures for future generations.

Let’s walk through what the National Environmental Policy Act is, why it’s so important, and why the National Wildlife Federation is rallying to protect it.

What is the National Environmental Policy Act?

The National Environmental Policy Act is one of the most important laws ever passed for protecting wildlife habitat, public health, and public input into projects in their communities. It guides decisions on the construction of highways, the permitting of pipelines, construction of federal water projects, the management of public lands and waters, and the consideration of climate change. We teach our children to “look before you leap” – this act sensibly requires our government to do the same.

Simply put: NEPA safeguards your voice and the voices of communities and everyday Americans who want a say in the decisions that affect their water, land, and air — as well as wildlife. Without this law, policymakers would lose the information and perspectives they need to make the best-informed decisions.

The legislation was part of a wave of landmark environmental changes passed in the wake of the air, water and public health crises that drew national attention during the 1960s. The desire for protection and public input embodied by NEPA were fueled in particular by federal highway projects cutting up American communities and wildlife habitat, as well as the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill that devastated seabirds, dolphins, elephant seals and sea lions. The National Environment Policy Act passed into law with an overwhelming bipartisan majority in Congress and was signed by President Nixon on January 1, 1970.

At the heart of this review process is the common sense directive to look before you leap with the support of information provided by members of the public and experts. It gives you the right to participate in government decisions that affect the environment and your health and safety.

What Does NEPA Protect?

NEPA success stories are as numerous as they are varied – from the construction of the Hoover Dam Bypass to the redevelopment of the country’s largest brownfield site in Atlanta to the continued preservation of Giant Sequoia National Monument, to the protection of 50,000 acres of wetlands that constitute the last connection between the Mississippi River and its natural floodplain in the state of Missouri. Thanks to this law, hundreds of millions of Americans have participated in important federal decisions.

Public input is important to ensure all relevant information is considered, resulting in better projects. A thorough vetting of alternatives and accounting for varying stakeholder views leads to money better spent, conflicts avoided, and a more strategic approach toward major federal investments and decisions.

“Public involvement and careful consideration of alternatives has produced better outcomes – for the agencies themselves, for the nation, and for the human environment,” said the late Russell Train, former Republican CEQ Chair, Environmental Protection Agency head and NWF’s 1975 Conservationist of the Year

Some other notable successes:

• Mississippi River Delta Restoration: As we confront an unprecedented restoration opportunity in the Gulf of Mexico following the BP oil spill settlement, NEPA is a critical tool in ensuring that all stakeholders, from industry to local communities, have a say in how the work of restoration unfolds in a manner that protects communities, a massive array of migratory seabirds, fish and wildlife, and their habitat.
• Colorado’s Canyon of the Ancients National Monument: Citizens groups in southwestern Colorado were able to use the National Environmental Policy Act to work with the Bureau of Land Management to design an oil & gas exploration project that enabled lessees to obtain the seismic information they needed while avoiding the land’s most significant cultural features and fragile habitats that support mule deer, bobcats, and dozens of species of birds.
• Protecting the Pearl River: The One River, No Lake Coalition opposes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ attempt to dredge, widen and dam the Pearl River in Jackson, MS. The National Environmental Policy Act has ensured thoughtful public input that so far has kept the project on the shelf. The Pearl River is home to more than a hundred species, including the threatened Gulf sturgeon and ringed sawback turtle.
• New Hampshire & Maine’s Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge: Moose, white-tailed deer, river otters, and beavers are among the many wildlife that call Umbagog home, and a truly incredible 229 bird species have been seen there. With more people living near the refuge leading to more desire for public access, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service used the National Environmental Policy Act to engage local communities on how they wanted to enjoy their public lands. The refuge’s new master plan balances conservation and public use – including dog-sledding, horseback riding, expanded turkey hunting, bicycling, and increased boat access – while also identifying areas for expansion.

Natural Resources Defense Council has a list of NEPA success stories in every U.S. state and territory.

What Cuts Are Possible?

We’re still learning details of the Trump administration’s plans, but here are some likely avenues of attack:

• Restrictions on public input: The administration is considering limiting the public’s ability to participate in decisions in their communities by limiting the scope of NEPA reviews, the types of harms considered, and the amount of time the public has to provide comments.
• Limiting consideration of reasonable alternatives: The administration is considering rolling back the requirement for agencies to look for reasonable alternatives to a project that may cost less, have fewer impacts on wildlife and the environment, or show that the project may be unnecessary and unwise.
• Prioritizing Speed Over Accuracy: What the administration is considering could impose extremely short and strict hard deadlines for project approval, regardless of project size, complexity, and potential harm to wildlife or the degree of public controversy over a proposal.

Why Attack NEPA?

If the National Environmental Policy Act is such a useful tool for ensuring public engagement and smart federal decision-making, why would anyone want to change it? Because ultimately, this act empowers local communities to protect themselves and their environment from dangerous, rushed, or poorly planned federal projects. As the saying goes, time is money, and proponents don’t want to see their projects delayed or killed, no matter the reason.

The National Environmental Policy Act guards against shortcuts that may save project proponents money by exploiting public resources for private gain. For example, digging up nearby wetlands to use the soil sure can save truckloads of money on construction materials! But that costs us all in lost fish and wildlife habitat and degraded stormwater management.

There’s also a political component here. NEPA opponents are testing the waters right now, seeing how far they can go to cut environmental and public voice protections without a massive backlash.

That’s why it’s so critical that we speak up – now and loud – to oppose any cuts to NEPA protections.

What Can We Do?

The National Wildlife Federation, from our DC-based National Advocacy Center to our regional centers to our state and territorial affiliates, is working to defend strong NEPA protections.

“The National Environmental Policy Act has led to better, smarter projects nationwide and has saved taxpayers money time and time again. Our rivers are healthier, our air is cleaner and our communities are safer thanks to this historic piece of legislation,” says Jim Murphy, the National Wildlife Federation’s senior counsel. “Citizen input has changed a great many projects for the better and has stopped a handful of unwise projects from ever being built. Without NEPA at its full strength, our nation’s quality of life and wildlife heritage will suffer.”

We’ll be working to educate our elected officials and policymakers in DC, and to tell the story in towns, cities and states across the country of how this act benefits our communities and wildlife by protecting our natural resources and our ability to weigh in on decisions that affect our lives.

You can donate now to support the National Wildlife Federation’s work, and contact your members of Congress directly and ask them to protect the National Environmental Policy Act.

Congressional negotiators have agreed on a massive spending bill known as the fiscal year 2018 omnibus appropriations bill, and from a wildlife conservation perspective, there’s a lot to like. The $1.3 trillion bill passed the House today and now heads to the Senate.

“If you want to know what really matters to members of Congress, put them in a room, shut the door, and ask them to write a budget. When members hammer out a deal and have to stand up for what’s really important to them, we see the importance of wildlife, land conservation, and clean air and water shining through across party lines,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “No one ever gets everything they want in a bill, but this is a budget deal that both Republicans and Democrats can be proud of.”

As E&E News reports:

Energy and environmental programs would be boosted or escape cuts in a massive fiscal 2018 funding package that reverses years of mostly austere federal spending.

Congressional leaders announced the accord late yesterday after weeks of arduous negotiations. The House is expected to pass the legislation as soon as today with the Senate likely to follow suit tomorrow in order to avoid a shutdown when current spending expires at midnight tomorrow. […]

U.S. EPA is funded at $8.1 billion in the bill, which is equal to current funding levels, despite White House calls to slash it by nearly one-third.

That amount includes $2.9 billion for the Clean Water and Drinking Water state revolving funds, an increase of $600 million, as well as $1.15 billion for the Superfund program, a $66 million boost for a priority of Administrator Scott Pruitt, according to committee summaries.

Importantly, the fire funding fix, which the National Wildlife Federation pushed hard for to protect wildlife and public lands, is currently included in the final bill.

A bill this huge impacts the National Wildlife Federation’s priorities in countless ways. Let’s walk through some of the headlines.

Protecting America’s Great Waters

Impacted species include, but are not limited to: river otters, horseshoe crabs, oysters, blue crabs, great blue heron, lake sturgeon 

• The new program in the Delaware River Watershed will kick off a new restoration effort thanks to $5 million, the first funding of its kind for the Delaware River. It’s the culmination of years of work to convince Congress to invest in protection by the National Wildlife Federation and our affiliates, New Jersey Audubon, PennFuture, Delaware Nature Society, and Environmental Advocates of New York. The funds will support state and local projects that conserve and restore fish and wildlife habitat, help keep water clean and healthy, improve natural defenses to storms, and create more ways and places for people to enjoy the Delaware River and its waterways. One great example of the type of work proposed is seen as USFWS worked with local and national partners to remove dams along the Musconetcong River in New Jersey. The result: the return of shad to the river.
• Includes $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), which helps provide much needed funding to help protect and restore our Great Lakes and helps keep invasive species, like Asian carp, out of the Great Lakes.
• It contains the exact amount the National Wildlife Federation had pushed for to fund Chesapeake Bay restoration, including $73 million for the Chesapeake Bay Program, with $6 million going to the Small Watershed Grants and $6 million going to Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Grants.
• The Environmental Protection Agency’s National Estuary Program received level funding at $26.7 million.
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program took a small hit and is down at $65 million (from $72.8 million last year).
• The National Estuarine Research Reserve Program will increase from $23 million to $25 million.
• The omnibus includes $30 million in NOAA-administered coastal resilience grants, a significant increase from past years.
• Great news that the omnibus does NOT contain a rider facilitating the Trump Administration’s proposed repeal of the Clean Water Rule, a 2015 rule clarifying protections for smaller streams and wetlands.

Agriculture

Impacted species include, but are not limited to: lesser prairie chicken, swift fox, bobolink

• The bill does not cut Farm Bill conservation programs, marking the first time in a decade that funding for Farm Bill conservation programs has been left entirely intact in an appropriations bill
• Conservation Operations are funded at $874.1 million, very close to what the National Wildlife Federation had been seeking.
• Unfortunately, the bill seeks to legislate science by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to treat all biomass energy as “carbon neutral” no matter how much climate pollution it releases or how many years it takes for trees to regrow. The National Wildlife Federation will keep pushing for sustainable biomass energy policies.

Wildlife Conservation

Impacted species include, but are not limited to: swallow-tailed kite, Louisiana black bear, Canada lynx

• Land and Water Conservation Fund gets a $25 million increase ($400 million to $425 million).
• State and Tribal Wildlife Grants, the nation’s core program to fund states and tribes to prevent wildlife from becoming endangered, increased by $1 million a year. NWF will continue pushing for the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, which will redirect $1.3 billion of existing revenue annually to state-led wildlife conservation efforts.
• As detailed above, the fire fix funding mechanism included to increase US Forest Service funding for fighting catastrophic wildfires, without taking money from other non-fire purposes like conservation.
• The final bill does NOT include a rider that would’ve forced construction of the $400 million Yazoo Pumps in Mississippi, as NWF’s Lacey McCormick called it, “what may be the world’s largest hydraulic pumping station to destroy 200,000 acres of wetlands for no discernable benefit.” Sen. Tom Carper in particular fought to keep the Yazoo Pumps out of the final bill. NWF will continue opposing this proposal that would damage or destroy an area of wetlands larger than all five boroughs of New York City.

Climate and Clean Energy

Impacted species included, but are not limited to: loggerhead sea turtle, piping plover, moose, wolverine, polar bears, snowshoe hares, pika, brook trout

• The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy gets a $200 million increase.
• US Geological Survey funding for Climate Science Centers – now called National and Regional Climate Adaptation and Science Centers – remains at FY17 levels, which is good as the President’s budget proposed cuts.
• $3.6 billion is included for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) Program, which is $250 million more than the FY17 level.
• Just as important as what’s in this bill – what it does NOT include. There were a series of attacks that could’ve made it into the final bill but were kept out by Congressional clean energy and climate champions. Here’s a list of those wins:
  • No provision included to block spending on the Bureau of Land Management’s 2016 rule to limit methane waste from oil and gas wells on public & tribal lands.
  • No provision included to block or delay implementation of updated ozone air pollution standards (EPA).
  • No provision included to block use of a social cost of carbon metric in writing climate change rules.
  • No provision prohibiting the use of funds for activities related to wind turbines off of Maryland’s coastline.
  • No provision prohibiting EPA from using funds to implement Section 115 of the Clean Air Act (regarding transboundary international pollution).
  • No provision prohibiting EPA from implementing its 2016 methane pollution rule for oil and gas facilities.
  • No provision included to prohibit funds for the Green Climate Fund, which assists developing nations with climate adaptation and mitigation practices.

Environmental Education Wins

• EPA’s Office of Environmental Education is funded at $8.7 million, maintaining 2017 levels for the National Environmental Education Act.
• NOAA’s Bay Watershed Education and Training and Environmental Literacy Program grants received a combined $12.5 million.
• Title IVA of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants, are funded at $1.1 billion, a $700 million increase over 2017. These formula grants will give school districts nation-wide flexibility to support a wide range of programs, including environmental education, and field-based, hands on, and service learning opportunities to support STEM skills.
• Title IVB of ESSA, 21st Century Community Learning Centers, received level funding of $1.2 billion to support afterschool and out of school time programing, including environmental literacy.

From Florida to Maine, the East Coast is being hit by a “Bomb Cyclone” – an ordinary winter storm that experienced explosive strengthening over warm Atlantic waters. It comes during a stretch of record cold over much of the continental United States. Meanwhile, it’s been six degrees warmer than usual in the Arctic. “Anchorage, Alaska, was warmer Tuesday than Jacksonville, Florida.” reported Seth Borenstein of the Associated Press. “The weather in the U.S. is that upside down.”

What’s the link to climate change? How will this extreme weather impact America’s wildlife? Can our energy grid handle our new normal of extreme weather? What can we do to make it more ready for the next storm? And finally, what can you do right now to take action?

More Extremes to Come as Climate Changes

If you think extreme winter weather events are becoming stronger and more common, it’s not your imagination. Terms like “polar vortex” and “bombogenesis,” once limited to scientific reports, have suddenly become regular lingo on the evening news.

As Climate Signals reports, scientists say carbon-fueled climate disruption is throwing our traditional winter weather patterns out of whack:

The intense cold hitting the United States during the first week of 2018 is set to continue with a heavy snowstorm predicted to hit the Northeast seaboard beginning the night of January 3. Science studies and models report that the outbreak of arctic air bringing freezing temperatures to the lower United States is consistent with the climate disruption expected on a warming planet where the arctic heats up faster and cold air is displaced to the south.

Researchers also report the conditions fueling the current nor’easter are consistent with the long-term trends linked to climate change that intensify nor’easters. The current storm headed towards the Northeast is strengthened by unusually warm offshore waters that are amplifying the temperature contrast between land and ocean surfaces that generally fuels nor’easters.

The National Wildlife Federation issued a report in 2010 on how climate change is increasing oddball winter weather events.

Wildlife (Mostly) Weathers Winter Extremes

Whether it’s a heavier winter coat, a thicker layer of fat, or an ability to burn calories much faster to keep warm, most wildlife on the East Coast is ready to survive a short stretch of extreme cold, especially early in the winter when food remains available and fat stores are high.

A notable exception has been the thresher shark, which migrates depending on food availability and temperatures. The cold snap took them by surprise and at least four were frozen when they got caught in the crook of Cape Cod Bay as temperatures plummeted.

Want to help local wildlife and birds survive the cold? Making your yard or community space a Certified Wildlife Habitat can help provide what they need.

Extreme Cold Increases Power Demand

The extended cold snap has increased demand for electricity, with ISO New England reporting as much as 25 percent higher demand over recent weeks than at the beginning of December. Energy Secretary Rick Perry has tried to use past problems with the grid to justify multi-billion dollar taxpayer subsidies for coal and nuclear power. But as Benjamin Storrow reports for E&E News, the Northeast’s power grid has been standing strong so far:

U.S. grid operators appear to have made considerable strides since the 2014 cold snap, when plunging temperatures caused a slew of unexpected power plant outages. Unlike in 2014, Northeastern grid operators said their systems had ample power reserves and were largely untroubled by the freezing temperatures of the last week.

“We’ve seen much better generator performance than what we saw during the polar vortex, for sure,” said Chris Pilong, director of dispatch at PJM Interconnection, the grid operator for 13 states running from Maryland to Illinois.

While it’s good news for New Englanders that grid operators are better equipped than in years past to meet demand during cold snaps, heavy reliance on fossil fuels means that these spans of increased energy usage wreak havoc on local air and water quality. Looking ahead, cold snaps make a strong case for embracing a source of power that could both thrive during extreme weather AND cut climate-disrupting carbon pollution: offshore wind energy. As old, dirty power plants retire in New England, yes, we need to keep the lights on. But we also need to protect the long-term health of communities and wildlife, keep energy rates stable and affordable, and invest in resources that create local jobs. Offshore wind energy is ready to help meet all of those challenges at once.

Offshore Wind Going Strong During Cold Snap

When it has been coldest, America’s first (and so far only) offshore wind farm has been producing lots of power. Deepwater Wind’s Block Island Wind Farm has been going strong, producing power over 96 percent of the hours during December’s frigid final two weeks.  Average wind speeds were 27 miles per hour, which is 33 percent stronger than the average wind speeds for the year, reports Deepwater Wind.

More from Alex Kuffner in the Providence Journal:

Jeffrey Grybowski, CEO of Providence-based Deepwater Wind, said that offshore wind power, especially when paired with batteries or pumped hydropower, offers a cleaner alternative.

The company’s Block Island Wind Farm, the first offshore wind farm in the United States, has been operating nearly around the clock in the strong winds during the cold snap, bolstering the case, Grybowski said, for larger wind projects proposed off Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

“Offshore wind produces power in these super-peak periods in the winter. These cold spells tend to correlate with storm events and Arctic fronts … that happen to produce a fair amount of wind,” he said. “The good news is that there really are viable alternatives that are available today.”

Meanwhile, Pilgrim Nuclear Power plant had to be taken offline during the Bomb Cyclone. And Rick Perry thinks nuclear is what we should be subsidizing for grid reliability?

Take Action

To increase our grid’s resilience to extreme weather, we’re going to need a lot more offshore wind energy than Block Island’s five turbines. States like Massachusetts, New York, and Maryland have made large-scale commitments to offshore wind, and that accounts for just a tiny fraction of what is available off the U.S. Atlantic Coast.

To protect our children, grandchildren and future generations from worsening weather extremes, we need to act now to cut carbon pollution.

If you live on the Atlantic Coast, please take a moment to ask your governor to support offshore wind power for wildlife.

Take Action

It can be a helpless feeling to watch from home, but there are ways we can help right now. You can donate to the American Red Cross online or text HARVEY to 90999 to donate $10. To help lost pets and injured wildlife, you can give to TWRC Wildlife Center, Houston Pets Alive or the Houston Humane Society.

Wildlife Impacts

To state the obvious, wildlife can’t heed hurricane warnings. Even birds that have the ability to fly away may not know which way to flee. As we documented in Hurricane Irene’s wake in 2011, wildlife can be harmed by hurricanes in a number of ways, seeing their habitats destroyed, being stripped of food sources, or being blown far off course.

Wildlife rehabilitators are bracing for a flood of injured animals and there are already early reports of how Hurricane Harvey has impacted wildlife. As alligators, rattlesnakes and deer seek higher ground, some are encountering people (though there are also some hoaxes going viral). An injured, exhausted and desperate hawk took refuge in a taxicab. A reporter spotted fire ants banding together to float out the storm. This woman grabbed her net and rescued bats trapped under a bridge by rising water:

Alicia Plunkett is saving bats from drowning in Houston, as water reaches the top of bridges pic.twitter.com/wHnrbN3Sy8

— Jason Allen (@JasonAllenLive) August 27, 2017

Perhaps unexpectedly, fish and wildlife agency staff were among the first to get the call to help and folks from around the Gulf Coast have been racing toward Texas. Their flat-bottomed boats that normally guide them gently over swamps and bayous are ready-made for rescuing people from flooded neighborhoods. Louisiana sportsmen known as the “Cajun Navy” have also generously donated their boats and their time to make rescues. 

What to Watch For

Unfortunately, the forecast remains bleak for the next several days as Harvey is expected to remain over the Gulf Coast dumping rain on already-flooded areas for several more days.

Even after Harvey passes, its ripple effects will continue to become evident:

• Industrial facilities and wastewater plants are likely to be overwhelmed and discharge pollution into local waterways
• The extreme flood waters could create a boom for mosquitoes and all the illnesses they carry (an example of how our warming climate is a great for pests)
• Homes and businesses that survive the storm intact may still have to fend off the threat of mold
• Harvey is likely to make for yet another bleak year for Texas oysters, which have been devastated by a series of floods

Houston has been hammered repeatedly in recent years by major floods like those wrought by Harvey. As ProPublica has documented, local officials have relied more on hard, man-made infrastructure and paved over natural defenses like wetlands and prairie grasses. Harvey may force a re-examination of that strategy.

The Road Ahead

Once the storm has moved on, it will be up to policymakers to help support cleanup and rebuilding efforts. Even before Harvey, there were questions about whether agencies like the Army Corps of Engineers had learned the lessons of past storms like Katrina. “Storms are natural events, but floods are usually manmade disasters. That’s because flood damage depends not only on how much water is involved, but on how many people and structures are in its path and how prior human intervention had affected that path,” writes Michael Grunwald in Politico. 

“Five years ago, I lived through Superstorm Sandy and we vowed that we would make sure no other communities had to suffer in the same ways by making resiliency a national priority. Yet we are watching heartbreaking suffering by the residents of Houston and the Gulf coast because we as a nation have failed to act,” says Collin O’Mara, the National Wildlife Federation’s president and CEO. “For the safety of our communities, we must invest in risk reduction and natural defenses, and find the political courage to adopt policies from removing incentives for developing flood-prone areas to acting on climate. We must act.”

Congress will likely be asked to pass a bill to provide direct funds as it did after superstorm Sandy, a bill that the National Wildlife Federation worked hard to pass. We pushed to make sure rebuilding was done to maximize reliance on nature-based “green infrastructure” solutions that protect both communities and wildlife from storms and floods being worsened by global warming. 

The National Flood Insurance Program, already struggling, is also sure to be newly stressed by Harvey. So far, Congress has tried to bail out the boat of the financially-strapped program rather than plugging its leaks. The National Wildlife Federation has been pushing for real reform to better protect communities and homeowners. Once the storm has passed, Congress will need to take a fresh look at how to fix the NFIP.

We’ll also have to reckon with the fact that yet another American city has been devastated by a storm worsened by climate change. Climate scientists have been warning for a very long time now that warming ocean waters add fuel to storms like Katrina, Sandy, and now Harvey. The National Wildlife Federation has worked to help policymakers connect the dots between climate change and extreme weather. But when it comes to dealing with climate pollution and helping communities adapt to changes already happening, our federal government has responded in fits and starts, at best.

The National Wildlife Federation’s South Central Regional Center is located in Austin, which has seen steady rain but has avoided the brunt of the storm. Our staff there will be monitoring Harvey’s impact on people and wildlife in the coming days and will continue working with our many partners and friends along the coast to assist in the recovery from this catastrophic event.

Wednesday’s hearing on the nominee for Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency may prove to be the most important hearing for the EPA since it was established 47 years ago by Republican President Nixon and Bill Ruckelshaus. One common trait shared by the twelve men and women who have been confirmed by the Senate to serve as Administrator was a deep respect for sound science.  There have of course been differing priorities, disagreements about the appropriate balance within the cooperative federalism relationship, and the budget and size of the Agency, but no Administrator has fundamentally questioned science or deeply questioned the authorities of the agency.

That is until now. If confirmed, Oklahoma’s Attorney General Scott Pruitt would be the first EPA Administrator to have openly questioned established science and expressed broad disdain for the work of the Agency.  He has sued over whether carbon pollution is dangerous and to stop the Clean Power Plan.  He sued to stop rules to reduce mercury pollution, oxides of nitrogen, and sulfur dioxide.  He sued to stop EPA from reducing water pollution entering upstream tributaries and wetlands. The issue that he made the most sense on was his opposition to the harmful Renewable Fuel Standard, a position he’s shifted since being nominated.

These actions have lead multiple former EPA Administrators appointed by Republican presidents to question the nomination.  Bill Reilly, EPA Administrator under President George H.W. Bush, put it this way, “Science is the secular religion underlying everything EPA does, and one who cannot rely on it, or is determinedly contemptuous of it, cannot effectively lead the agency or serve as the country’s environmental conscience.”  Christine Todd Whitman, EPA Administrator under President George W. Bush, was even more candid, saying “I don’t recall ever having seen an appointment of someone who is so disdainful of the agency and the science behind what the agency does.”

But it’s not just questions about whether the nominee will support sound science and uphold federal environmental laws, there are also growing questions about Pruitt’s close relationship with industry and whether those relationships influenced various lawsuits and correspondence.

At Wednesday’s Environment and Public Works (EPW) committee hearing, Scott Pruitt will speak publicly for the first time since his nomination about his record and his views on clean air, clean water, and protecting America’s wildlife and great outdoors. Before any Senator considers voting for confirmation, it is essential that serious questions are answered about his views on science, his willingness to uphold federal protections for wildlife, clean air, and clean water, and his relationships with regulated industries.

On Thursday last week, we stood with Delaware Senator Tom Carper, ranking member of EPW, and his colleagues to reaffirm the importance of ensuring that EPA is guided by science. The National Wildlife Federation, including 36 of our state and territorial affiliates, also wrote to the members of the EPW Committee detailing the long list of threats facing wildlife, fish, birds, and their habitats. While we look forward to working with the Trump administration and members of Congress from both political parties to protect wildlife, it’s important to get clear answers to these critical questions.

Here’s a long excerpt from our letter to EPW senators:

Over the past fifty years, as much as half of the world’s wildlife has disappeared, while in the United States one-third of our native species are at elevated risk of extinction. Thousands of our species, including birds, pollinators, fish, amphibians, reptiles and small mammals, have suffered significant population losses since 1970. While decades of conservation efforts and investments have resulted in significant conservation achievements, the pressure and trends on overall wildlife populations must be recognized and confronted by our governing leaders.

As the Senate begins its review and confirmation of the new Administration’s cabinet nominees, we will hope and expect to see nominees demonstrate an understanding and commitment to these basic conservation principles:

• Sound science must be the basis for making natural resource policy and management practices; and investment in natural resource/conservation science research must continue.
• Overall investments in wildlife conservation must be increased to help counter population declines and pressures on the Endangered Species Act, while helping to grow jobs and the more than 646 billion dollar outdoor economy.
• Public ownership and management of America’s 600 million acres of public lands and forests that for generations have been the inherited legacy of all Americans must be protected and preserved so that they can provide essential habitat systems for wildlife, provide public access for hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation, and support the economy by generating billions of dollars and millions of jobs.
• Development activities on public lands, particularly for energy purposes, must be carefully managed to protect the most fragile and important conservation areas.
• Wildlife is not livestock and must be managed by wildlife professionals and held in public trust for all Americans
• National protections and investments must be ensured and enhanced for the nation’s lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, and coastal and marine waters for fish, wildlife, and human communities, particularly for fragile and minimally protected water resources, as well as America’s great water treasures such as the Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay, Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi River, and Delaware River.
• Conservation on private land and working landscapes (such as agricultural lands) plays an essential role in supporting healthy fish and wildlife populations and providing and connecting their habitat.
• Climate change is real, global greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced, and wildlife habitat and communities must be managed to be more resilient to the changes already taking place.
• The Administration must embrace the economic growth and public benefits of moving the nation to cleaner energy sources and investments in energy efficiency.
• The Administration must respect the intent and authorities of keystone environmental protection laws such as the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Antiquities Act, and others that have served as global models for protecting people, communities and wildlife.

America needs an EPA Administrator who respects sound science, protects America’s outdoor heritage, and will uphold our bedrock conservation protections, and puts the interests of all Americans above special interests.  We’ll keep encouraging the Senate to raise tough questions to ensure that EPA will continue to fulfill its mission of protecting public health and the environment—and we’ll be listening for clear answers, because America’s public health and natural resources are depending upon it.

UPDATE, 12/16: Officials declared all fires out as of Tuesday, December 13. After 15 days of fires, it was confirmed that 14 people have died and 191 others were injured from the wildfires. The state received assistance from the National Guard and donations are flowing to the area for those affected by the fire.

Wildfires in Tennessee have now killed three people and injured 14 others, and caused untold damage to wildlife and natural resources. As the fires continue to rage out of control, they’re raising questions about whether we’re doing enough to prepare for worsening wildfires in a warming world.

“Over 150 structures in the county have been damaged or destroyed. 70 homes in Wears Valley, 70 homes Cobbly Nob,” reports WVLT’s Casey Wheeless.

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It’s estimated over 500 acres of national park lands have been burned. The National Park Service has announced that “Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials have closed all facilities in the park due to the extensive fire activity, and downed trees.”

Fortunately, reports indicate the Ripley Aquarium escaped damage and bald eagles from the Eagle Mountain Sanctuary were successfully evacuated. But wildfires pose a variety of threats to wildlife, fish and birds and the damage will take weeks to total.

“The Great Smoky Mountains are one of the most biologically diverse places in the United States, partly due to the geologically ancient nature of the landscape, as well as the wet and humid forests covering their slopes and hollows,” says Bruce Stein, associate vice president for conservation science & climate adaptation at the National Wildlife Federation. “While fire is a natural phenomenon in Appalachian forests, these extreme, drought-fueled fires are not. Rather, they are a glimpse into what many southeastern forests and communities will experience as climate change continues to intensify.”

The New York Times connects the dots from the wildfires to global warming:

The fires spread through Tennessee as much of the South has been enduring a crippling drought, even though rainfall this week offered some relief. The United States Drought Monitor reported last week that 60 percent of Tennessee was in “exceptional” or “extreme” drought, the two most severe ratings. […]

Wildfires, once a seasonal phenomenon, have become a consistent threat, partly because climate change has resulted in drier winters and warmer springs, which combine to pull moisture off the ground and into the air.

In January, Tom Vilsack, the United States agriculture secretary noted the increasing frequency of wildfires in the United States in 2015.

“We take our job to protect the public seriously, and recently, the job has become increasingly difficult due to the effects of climate change, chronic droughts and a constrained budget environment in Washington,” he said.

Laura Potts is the National Wildlife Federation’s social media manager and a Tennessee native. Here’s her reaction to the fires:

As a native east Tennessean, I tear up with every news update and Facebook post from friends and family scrambling to help the humans and animals affected by the wildfires. The Great Smoky Mountain National Park is the pride of the area, with more annual visitors than any other park in the country. Those mountains, rivers, wildlife, and history have a way of transporting each of us to a simpler time. They slow us down, take our breath away, and remind us of what’s truly important. Sharing our mountains with the world is what made Gatlinburg the tourist area it is now. And watching those cherished areas be destroyed is heartbreaking. But I know first-hand that Tennesseans are resilient, positive, “volunteering” people who will come back and build better than ever.

Wildfires have hit home time and time again in recent years across the NWF family, from Tennessee to California to Colorado.

As the threat of wildfires grow across America, the need to fight climate change becomes even clearer. It’s critical that our members of Congress act now to protect our communities and natural resources from the worsening impacts of climate change.

Our Federation includes fifty state and territorial affiliate organizations and six million members and supporters. In my travels to meet all fifty of our affiliates, I’ve witnessed firsthand that our Federation is a fabric as diverse and layered as our country: conservatives and progressives; Republicans, Democrats, and Independents; women and men; people of color and Caucasians; people of all faiths; members of the LGBTQ community; individuals with disabilities; veterans; and many others.

Our Federation’s broad diversity is our strength and collaboration is our brand. I have seen folks from widely disparate backgrounds repeatedly find ways to collaborate with each other, work out their differences, and make progress for conservation. They may disagree on the role of government, the most effective strategies or tactics, or the priorities for limited funding, but in each case these amazing conservationists have come together for conservation and found ways forward that were almost always better than where they started.

This stands in stark contrast to the violence and hate speech that too many Americans, including several members of the National Wildlife Federation family, are experiencing across our nation. There is no place for violence or hate speech in conservation… or anywhere in society. 

It’s not enough to simply hope that these attacks stop; we must not embolden prejudice through silence but instead must renounce violence and hate speech against people of color, non-Christians, LGBTQ people, or anyone else targeted for bigotry. The National Wildlife Federation will continue to vigilantly oppose and speak out against violence and intolerance.

Two years ago, the Federation’s fifty affiliates gathered at our annual convention and unanimously adopted a “We Believe” statement that sets out the values of our Federation. In it, our affiliates stated:

“We embrace a national responsibility… to broaden the conservation movement so that it encompasses America in all its diversity. We dedicate ourselves to share respectfully with our neighbors our understanding and appreciation of our natural environment, of conservation, of cultural preservation, and of America’s outdoor heritage. We commit to nurturing with resources, attention, and talent a diverse national conservation movement that inspires local, state, and national action and engagement on issues that transcend political boundary.”

Respect. Inclusion. Collaboration. Diversity. Equity. Non-partisanship. These are values that the National Wildlife Federation holds dear.

As Americans, we have proven throughout our history that we can do great things when we stand together; that our greatest strength comes from our nation’s rich diversity of cultures, beliefs, ideas, and experiences.

At a time when our nation faces unprecedented challenges — including unparalleled threats to America’s wildlife and our natural resources — embracing and supporting the full diversity of America is needed now more than ever.

Collin O’Mara is president and chief executive officer of the National Wildlife Federation

As Hurricane Matthew hits Florida, the top priority is evacuating people from the danger zones and preparing communities for the storm’s impact. We’re grateful to the public officials, first responders, forecasters, and all the other people working around the clock to keep people safe.

In addition to impacts to homes, businesses and infrastructure, the National Wildlife Federation will be monitoring some potential impacts to Florida’s wildlife and natural resources:

• The storm poses a new threat to Florida’s sea turtles, all of which are threatened or endangered, after Hurricane Hermine destroyed 668 sea turtle nests last month. Sea turtles continue hatching through late October. Manatees were rescued after being stranded miles inland after Hermine. The storm could also damage coastal reef ecosystems.
• Lake Okeechobee is already near capacity and Matthew will add new pressure on its dike. Even if the dike holds, sending more polluted water from Lake Okeechobee to the Gulf and Atlantic coasts could further stress systems struggling to recover from this summer’s toxic algae outbreak. Gov. Scott’s appointees on the South Florida Water Management District board had a chance to ease pressure on the lake by buying adjacent sugar farm land, but turned it down last year in part because US Sugar preferred not to sell.
• In the big picture, Matthew is only the latest storm that’s getting added fuel from extremely warm ocean water. The National Wildlife Federation has reported on how global warming is fueling stronger hurricanes.
• Previous storms like Katrina and Sandy sent the National Flood Insurance Program into billions of dollars in debt and Matthew will be yet another stress on its budget. The National Wildlife Federation continues urging Congress to reform the NFIP, among other changes needed to deal with rising sea levels and stronger coastal storms.

The National Wildlife Federation and our state affiliate, the Florida Wildlife Federation, will continue monitoring Hurricane Matthew and its impacts on communities and wildlife. We hope everyone stays safe and heeds evacuation orders where necessary.

Take ActionUrge your members of Congress to support climate action now to curb the supply of added fuel that’s turning major storms into monsters.