Climate Consideration in Environmental Effects Analyses on Federal Public Lands in the United States.

ABSTRACT: Effects of a changing climate, including drought, wildfire, and invasive species encroachment, are evident on public lands across the United States. Decision making on Federal public lands requires analyses under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and there are guidelines for considering climate in NEPA analyses. To better understand how climate most recently has been considered, we analyzed a stratified random sample of 130 environmental assessments (EAs) completed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from 2021 to 2023 across the contiguous United States. We assessed whether EAs considered (1) potential effects of the proposed action on climate (2) potential climate effects on the proposed action, and (3) potential climate effects on resources of concern. We also identified w

SUBMITTER: Whipple SE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12457520 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature