As our understanding of climate change evolves, so does our understanding of the resources at risk and the financial consequences of inaction. For instance, extreme weather events comprise more than 90% of natural disasters in the US (Changnon and Easterling 2000). The 14 climate- and weather-related disasters that occurred in 2011 (breaking the 2008 record of nine) resulted in the deaths of 800 people, cost an estimated US$53 billion, and took a toll on society in terms of additional injuries and the devastation of thousands of homes.
In response, federal and state natural resource management agencies have begun to integrate climate-change science into resource management plans and adaptation actions (Bierbaum et al. 2013). For example, the US National Park Service is analyzing historical and projected climate-change trends in all 401 national parks and adjusting park management plans to address specific ecosystem-level impacts and vulnerabilities. Federal and state agencies and Indian tribes will play a leading role in such adaption (Stein et al. 2013). Indeed, a new level of coordination and partnership is emerging among federal, state, and tribal governments in the form of the 2013 National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy, the first joint effort of these three levels of government to identify actions to conserve natural resources under climate change, reduce costly future damage, and take advantage of possible beneficial opportunities. Historical impacts and future vulnerabilities at the ecosystem level challenge resource agencies to manage for potential future conditions, rather than to manage for past conditions that may no longer exist under climate change.