“This report is shocking,” said Adirondack Council Executive Director William C. Janeway. “Without immediate action to curb the warming climate, EPA is predicting that all Adirondack trout and salmon populations will be dead within 85 years. A change like that would fundamentally alter the nature of this park, its water, wildlife and the economy of the communities. The Adirondack Park would never be the same again.”
According to a federal study released this week, all cold-water fisheries—aka all of the trout and salmon fishing destinations—could disappear from New York by the end of the century unless global action is taken to prevent the climate from overheating its rivers, lakes and streams. The study, done by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), claims that global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG mitigation) could save as much as 70 percent of our threatened trout and salmon from extinction. If no action is taken, however, the report also predicts widespread damage to public health, clean water, electricity grids, roads and bridges, forestry, agriculture and coastal communities.
Without global intervention, according to the report entitled Climate Change in the U.S.: Benefits of Global Action, all habitat necessary to the survival of cold-water fish would disappear almost entirely from the Northeast by the year 2100, resulting in substantial financial losses to local communities that host trout or salmon waters. Janeway said that while acid rain has already taken a toll on the park’s fish, recent pollution reductions have saved many places and others are on the mend. While acknowledging that there is hope of recovery nearly everywhere, he said continuing unbridled climate change would wipe out all of that progress.
Janeway also noted that many Adirondack trout and salmon populations are genetically unique and vital to the six-million-acre park’s ecosystem. They provide food for loons and other wildlife, and are a top predator in the waters they inhabit. Their loss would significantly impact the park’s “web of life.”
“In terms of people,” he added, “the loss of our trout and salmon would strike a horrendous blow to the Adirondack Park’s tourism economy. The bass and sunfish that would replace trout and salmon are fun to catch, but they live almost everywhere. People will not drive hundreds of miles through the mountains to angle for the same fish that swim back home.” Trout and salmon, as well as char and whitefish are among the most desired game fish on the planet, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and they can be found in all types of local waters—brooks, lakes, main river channels. Atlantic salmon migrates from the northern Atlantic Ocean and down the Saint Lawrence River; Lake Trout, often stocked for sport fishing, have been prevalent in Lakes Ontario and Erie although overfishing and invasive species have already begun to threaten their survival; the elusive Pink Salmon is actually native to the western US but can also be found in Lakes Erie and Ontario; the Round Whitefish is native to the Adirondacks.
Global GHG mitigation is a non-specific term that refers to a general agreement among states and countries to make significant efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “We’ve taken steps here and have worked with Canada to reduce the amount of acid rain that falls here in the Adirondacks and that has worked really well,” said John Sheehan, director of communications at the Adirondack Council. “California has implemented some good things too on an even wider scale and it has worked there, so it is possible. Ideally, we’re looking to switch to cleaner sources of energy and put more restrctions on the production of these gases that are destroying our planet and our health.”
According to the EPA findings, habitat suitable for cold-water fisheries is estimated to decline nationally by approximately 62 percent through 2100 under the projected model based on inaction, but by only 12 percent under the GHG mitigation scenario. Global GHG mitigation is projected to preserve cold-water habitat in most of Appalachia and the Mountain West. Compared to the same reference model, mitigation isalso projected to avoid an estimated $380 million to $1.5 billion in total recreational fishing damages nationally through 2100.
When asked if he was optimisic that the report might compel US legislators to take necessary action, Sheehan mentioned a federal bill set to pass in the House this session that would extend the deadlines for states to comply with new emmissions laws, shield them from having to adopt their own emission-reduction plans and excuse those states entirely if they can prove that they could adversely affect tax rates or negatively impact energy systems. “And it seems likely that the Senate will pass it too since they’re now also Republican-controlled. So there’s definitely a sense of concern. Out hope was that enacting and adequately enforcing legislation to prevent these emissions would also motivate companies to find other, less polluting ways to do business and ultimately save them money.” Fortunately, he added, President Barack Obama has indicated that he will veto any legislation that would interfered with his plans to curb greehouse gas emissions.
“We are thankful to the Obama Administration for providing this clear illustration of how climate change is harming the environment and the economy of the Adirondack Park and the entire nation,” Janeway said. “Which of us wants to explain to our grandchildren that we ignored this information and allowed these terrible things to happen?”
