With the deadline to get your gift matched just hours away, we’ll keep this quick: Left unchecked, warming temperatures could affect environmental conditions for half of the birds throughout all of the National Wildlife Refuge System’s refuges.
Some species, like the Tundra Swan, may disappear from the system altogether.
Spanning 95 million acres on land and 760 million submerged lands and waters across all 50 states, the National Wildlife Refuge System is supposed to be a place of safety and conservation for our beloved wildlife. Instead, warming temperatures are causing many birds to be pushed out of the places they call home—regardless of whether or not there is a more suitable habitat nearby.
The habitats that birds depend on are changing quickly.
Not all birds will be able to adapt.
Two-thirds of North American bird species are at increasing risk of climate extinction.
The wildlife refuge system covers a vast array of ecosystems across the country, and the consequences for the birds in the refuges tell us a lot about what could be in store for humans if we fail to take action. That’s why, with the support of bird lovers like you, Audubon is working with decision-makers and land managers to ensure the National Wildlife Refuge System has adequate funding, and to expand the system to meet the needs of birds and people as they adapt to a changing climate.
