The effects of climate change on individual species are specific and highly variable including range shifts, disruptions in natural cycles, population declines, increased disease, pest and non-native invasions. In the US, the overall response of plants and animals to climate change pressures is a northward (in some cases, upward) shift in geographic ranges.

In the past, extinction and extreme hardship were avoided as species adapted to climate change by expanding their range, migrating or evolving. Today, climate change is inextricably linked to the juggernaut of modern industrial society which destroys and degrades wildlife habitat at an unprecedented rate.

Wildlife adaptation to climate change has become increasingly difficult due to the degradation of suitable habitat, the loss of landscape connectivity and migration corridors (and subsequent isolation of communities), and the accelerated nature of climate change.

Ecological restoration has a critical role to play in mitigating the adverse effects of climate change and interrelated anthropogenic disturbances on wildlife by creating and expanding resilient habitat. “When it comes to mitigating impacts we need to improve resiliency of habitats and communities to prepare for unknown, unpredicted, and synergistic impacts.” (Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, General Session Summary 2007)

Habitat restoration is one of the more potent tools that wildlife managers have in preparing for and preventing the deleterious effects of climate change. An “ecosystem approach” to wildlife conservation and restoration is generally regarded, by restoration ecologists and conservation biologists alike, as the most effective in achieving results - a holistic approach that focuses on the structures/processes and goods/services that affect the viability of wildlife populations.

Reconnecting fragmented landscapes, establishing wildlife corridors and expanding healthy ecosystems are essential in maintaining resilient habitats and species persistence. “In highly fragmented habitats, the placement of conservation areas on a north–south axis may enhance movements of habitats and wildlife by in essence providing northward migration corridors. Efforts to conserve habitats for single, or small numbers of species, should be concentrated in northern portions of their range(s), where suitable climate is more likely to be sustained.” (The Wildlife Society Technical Review 04-2, December 2004)

The practice of adaptive management, which addresses the uncertainty of climate change and other unforeseen events, is now an integral part of implementation and monitoring in many ecological restoration projects. Specific actions, based on the information available at the onset of the project, are indicated for future responses to uncertainty or variable outcomes.

The variables most commonly associated with climate change are sea level rise, changes in precipitation, temperature, and/or humidity, and severe weather events. So for example:

1. The restoration of coast wetland habitats and the creation of buffer zones that would allow wildlife to migrate inland are important when combating the effects of sea level rise.

2. Aggressive fire and fuel load management techniques in forests and woodlands are prescribed in order to avoid potential catastrophic fires (and subsequent habitat destruction) as a result of hotter and drier conditions.

3. The creation and expansion of large, resilient habitats can minimize the effects of severe (localized) weather events by maintaining multiple, widely dispersed populations.

It is clear that the northward expansion of plant and animal species will be accompanied by highly competitive non-natives. Today, it is rare for an ecological restoration project to not include an aggressive invasive species component that attempts to control exotics until natives can reestablish themselves.
 
The abandonment of farms and ranches in the western United States often creates an excellent opportunity for NGOs and wildlife managers to collaborate on conservation and restoration. Similarly, new opportunities for industry-financed projects and other public-private partnerships are opening up as the need for habitat restoration gains prominence.

When ecological restoration is not an option and the development of natural areas is imminent, wildlife conservation plans should be designed and implemented to guarantee maximum porosity while minimizing the effects of non-climate stressors.

The Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan in Pima County, Arizona promotes large working reserves around the Tucson metropolitan area that allow for sustainable development while conserving and restoring critical landscape linkages. Wildlife managers should be nurturing these so-called “novel ecosystems”, thriving combinations of plants, animals and habitat that have never occurred together before, and adjusting their conservation strategies.

On an extremely limited basis, assisted migration could be considered if a suitable habitat is available and predator/prey/forage/pollinator relationships are historically justified. This point to point translocation of species should be treated as a reintroduction with all extraordinary precautions and considerations.