Climate Change & Wildlife

Roscommon/Crawford Chapter

Many of us who live in Roscommon and Crawford Counties have an affinity for our wild places and wildlife as we pursue hunting, fishing and myriad other outdoor activities that our area offers. Sadly, climate change promises changes that will degrade our environment. The first to feel the impact of these changes will be wildlife that inhabit ours and other northern areas.

Most wild animals are negatively affected by our warming climate. One of the few critters that benefits from warmer weather are ticks as their populations have exploded: Ticks love warm, humid weather, just the thing that climate change is bringing to many forests in the north that were formerly too cold for their tastes. Some of the species of ticks that are on the increase are disease-carrying, including those that carry Lyme disease. Populations of ticks are projected to increase nearly twofold in the U.S. and up to fivefold in Canada as warmer, humid weather becomes common.

Spruce forests in the north have already become inundated with hungry ticks who like nothing better than landing on warm-blooded large mammals for their dinner.

47,000 Ticks on a Moose, and That’s Just Average. Blame Climate Change (see  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/18/climate/moose-ticks.html)

The biggest number of winter ticks that Peter J. Pekins ever found on a moose was about 100,000. But that moose calf was already dead, most likely the victim of anemia, which develops when that many ticks drain a moose’s blood. So, it was probably a lowball estimate, because some of the ticks had already detached. Here is a telephoto of a young moose that has scratched itself raw while trying to scrape ticks from its hide. 

But it’s not just moose that are threatened and suffering. New research estimates that 47 per cent of mammals and 23 per cent of birds on the Red List of Threatened Species are now worse off than before. Researchers from Australia, Italy and Britain looked at 130 studies covering 2,000 animal species: Of the 873 mammal species studied, 414 were negatively affected by climate change with elephants, primates and marsupials among the most vulnerable. 

Issues are also occurring with animals that call northern Michigan home for some portion of the year. Migration times of virtually all birds are changing; hummingbirds arrive in northern Michigan sooner and leave later. Butterflies have been shifting their range toward the north and to higher altitudes. These migration pattern changes affect not only the migrants but also the food chain that supports them. In many cases the changes are not good for the species that are affected. 

 Over the last half century, average annual precipitation in most of the Midwest has increased by 5 to 10 percent. But rainfall amounts during the four wettest days of the year has increased about 35 percent. During the next century, spring rainfall and annual precipitation are likely to increase, and severe rainstorms are likely to intensify. Each of these factors will tend to further increase the risk of flooding.

Climate change is projected to have a significant impact on freshwater fishing. Increasing stream temperatures and changes in stream flow are likely to transform many habitats that are currently suitable for coldwater fish (think trout and other game fish) into areas that are only suitable for warmwater species that are less recreationally valuable. Under current climate projections, coldwater fisheries are estimated to be limited almost exclusively to the mountainous West in 2100, and would almost disappear from Appalachia. In addition, substantial portions of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Florida would shift from warmwater fisheries to rough habitat (think carp and catfish). Overall, unmitigated climate change is projected to result in a 62% decline in coldwater fish habitat by 2100, which includes approximately 440,000 acres of lost stream habitat (think Au Sable River?). Meanwhile, warmwater habitats are projected to increase by 1.3 million and 450,000 acres, respectively.

The Great Lakes will continue to change as well as our rivers and lakes. Climate change is likely to harm water quality in Lake Erie and Lake Michigan first. Warmer water tends to cause more algal blooms, which can be unsightly, harm fish, and degrade water quality. During August 2014, an algal bloom in Lake Erie prompted the Monroe County Health Department to advise residents in four townships to avoid using tap water for cooking and drinking. Severe storms increase the amount of pollutants that run off from land to water, so the risk of algal blooms will be greater if storms become more severe. Severe rainstorms can also cause sewers to overflow into lakes and rivers, which can threaten beach safety and drinking water supplies. For example, heavy rains in August 2014 led to nearly 10 billion gallons of sewer overflows in southeastern Michigan, much of which ended up in Lake St. Clair and eventually Lake Erie. More severe rainstorms could also cause sewers in Milwaukee and Chicago to overflow into Lake Michigan more often, which could pollute beaches in Michigan.


The expected changes to our Roscommon/Crawford area environment are not good. We need to enact changes in our lifestyle practices that will mitigate the climate change problem if we want our children to enjoy nature’s bounty as we have. Fortunately, we have ideas for change at Citizens Climate Lobby. Stay tuned for some of these ideas in a future blog.