Populations of ducks and geese could decline across North America during this century due to global warming, according to a new National Wildlife Federation report.  The Waterfowler's Guide to Global Warming reports that ducks and geese face substantial loss of breeding grounds, reduction of their coastal winter habitat, and disruptions to their migration patterns.  According to National Wildlife Federation President Larry Schweiger, "Global warming is opening a Pandora's box of problems that could diminish populations of ducks and geese across the nation."  The changes caused by global warming would impact waterfowl in Louisiana as well as across the country.

Currently, more than three-quarters of ducks found in Louisiana originate in the Prairie Pothole region of the upper Midwest and South Central Canada.  The millions of shallow depressions and ponds in this area, known as "America's Duck Factory," make up one of the most important waterfowl breeding areas on the continent.  Research indicates that warmer temperatures could reduce wetland habitats in these vital duck breeding grounds up to 91 percent, impacting populations of ducks that winter in Louisiana such as mallards, gadwall, blue-winged teal, northern pintails, canvasbacks and redheads.

According to Patty Glick, global warming specialist for the National Wildlife Federation and the report's author, "As the climate warms, many of these ponds are likely to dry up or be wet for shorter periods, making them less suitable habitat for breeding pairs and duck broods.  If this comes to pass, there will be implications for the numbers of ducks in Louisiana."  In addition to causing a reduction in the number of ducks nationwide, warmer temperatures in northern parts of the country could relieve the need for waterfowl to fly as far south as Louisiana for the winter.

"Along with smaller duck populations overall, we may see fewer of the remaining ducks wintering here," said Randy Lanctot, executive director of the Louisiana Wildlife Federation.  "Louisiana is known as a waterfowler's paradise, but the specter of global warming presents a threat to this heritage and its contribution to the state's economy."  A 2001 US Fish and Wildlife Service survey found that migratory bird hunters spent $86.7 million on trips and equipment in Louisiana, ranking the state 6th nationally.

"We must not allow global warming to take our nation's waterfowl legacy away from our children," Schweiger says.  "Global warming poses a basic threat to our conservation tradition. It challenges our responsibility to be good stewards of the water, land and wildlife.  I am confident that sportsmen will lead the way in confronting this challenge."

The report, the first comprehensive look at how global warming's multiple effects threaten North American waterfowl, was issued by the National Wildlife Federation and 27 of its affiliated state conservation organizations, including the Louisiana Wildlife Federation.  It compiles the latest scientific research into how changes in climate are affecting waterfowl and how increased temperatures will likely affect breeding, migration and populations of ducks, geese and other waterfowl.

Global warming is already having an impact on waterfowl.  In northern breeding habitats, where average temperatures have risen significantly, ducks and geese are responding by breeding earlier and expanding their ranges farther north, the report states.  "We are looking at a potent combination of forces all coming together over the next decades.  The effect on ducks and geese could be dramatic," says Glick. 

The report highlights additional challenges that waterfowl throughout North America will likely face if global warming continues unabated.  For example, changes in precipitation patterns and declines in average mountain snowpack are expected to affect the quality and quantity of water in marshes and estuaries along the Pacific Coast.  Thawing permafrost and changes in the vegetation of boreal forests and tundra regions of Alaska and Canada also could affect important breeding habitat for a number of waterfowl species.  Waterfowl also are facing the loss of up to 45 percent of the coastal wetlands they depend on in winter due to a rise in average sea levels, the report states.  Especially vulnerable are the shallow wetlands of the Gulf and Atlantic coasts.  These regions provide important wintering habitat for diving ducks such as canvasbacks, redheads, ruddy ducks and scaup.

Climate scientists point to carbon pollution as the primary culprit behind global warming.  In the last 100 years, global temperature rose by an average of 1 degree Fahrenheit, faster than at any time in recorded history.  In places such as Alaska, the change has been even more dramatic.  The average temperature in Alaska has risen by 5-7 degrees Fahrenheit over the last century, and is causing problems associated with softening permafrost and erosion along the state's coastline.  Temperatures globally are projected to rise on average from 2-10 degrees Fahrenheit in the coming decades, primarily because of carbon pollution from burning fossil fuels that is trapping heat from being released in the atmosphere.

The report includes a plan of action to reduce global warming pollution and help waterfowl and other wildlife adapt to the changes already occurring.  Among the recommendations:
• Enact policies that limit the nation's global warming pollution; protect and enhance forests, grasslands, wetlands and other natural systems that absorb and store carbon; promote energy efficiency and accelerate deployment of renewable energy technologies.
• Manage floodplains, coastal zones and water resources so both people and wildlife are better able to cope with the effects of global warming; and
• Maintain Clean Water Act wetland protections and Farm Bill conservation programs and expand and improvise other programs that encourage protection and restoration of wetlands.

The full report and executive summary can be found at www.nwf.org/news.