A Vulnerability Assessment for Terrestrial Ecosystems

Symposium Banner

How might climate change affect Apostle Islands National Lakeshore? It’s a simple question with lots of potential answers! This presentation will describe a recently published climate change vulnerability assessment for the terrestrial ecosystems throughout the park.

Peggy Burkman will describe why the park felt it was necessary to complete this vulnerability assessment, and she’ll also cover some of the important context of the Apostle Islands landscape that might cause climate change to play out differently than on the mainland. Stephen Handler will explain how the assessment was completed and share some of the results and remaining questions. 

Click to access Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for Terrestrial Ecosystems at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

Click to access Park Service page on climate change.

Additional reading

Click to access Invasive Plant Management in the Apostle Islands

Click to access Formation of the Stockton Island Tombolo; A 6,000 Year Process

Click to access Bees on the Brink Research at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

Presenter biographies
Stephen Handler, Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science

Stephen Handler is a climate change specialist with the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station and Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science.

His main role with NIACS is to coordinate the Northwoods Climate Change Response Framework, which involves building partnerships, assessing climate change risk, and working with forest managers and landowners to develop real-world projects to adapt and prepare for future change. Stephen moved to Houghton, MI, in 2011 and loves being a Yooper. 

Peggy Burkman, Apostle Islands NL

Peggy Burkman is the Biologist at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (2002) with former experience as a wildlife biologist, fire ecologist, and landscape ecologist in the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the Forest Service.

Peggy coordinates several long-term monitoring projects in the park, works with researchers to address various questions, and maintains healthy vegetation through exotic plant management and restoration efforts. She fell in love with Lake Superior during her youth and has spent her life in the Great Lakes.

Questions and answers

“If you could look into your crystal ball, 50 years from now, what major differences would you expect to see, given that the lake is warming and shorelines are being reshaped faster.”

I tend to think first about the on-going trend toward warming winters, so that’s what I imagine when I look into my crystal ball. Right now, the Apostle Islands and other areas in the lake-effect snow belt are still consistently cold enough during the winter to receive plenty of lake-effect snow. In fact, as the lake has warmed over the past 40 years and lake ice has declined, areas like the Keweenaw Peninsula and northern Wisconsin are actually experiencing more total snowfall during the winter. But this feels a bit like Wiley Coyote running out over the cliff edge. At some point we will cross that threshold where more of our winter precip is delivered as rain and sleet, and consistent snowfall will most likely be constricted to the middle of winter. I hope I’m wrong about this because I love winter and northern ecosystems depend on winter. But that’s what I expect, and we need to be thinking about this change when we plan for the future.
Stephen Handler

To sample more sessions choose below

50 Years of Archeology at the Apostle Islands

50 Years of Archeology at the Apostle Islands

As we look to the future of the Lakeshore, this knowledge will inform preservation planning and further study for ...
A Retrospective – Research and Resource Management at Apostle Islands NL

A Retrospective – Research and Resource Management at Apostle Islands NL

An overview of the history of natural resource management and research at the national lakeshore over the past 5 ...
A singing wilderness: Songbirds of the Apostle Islands

A singing wilderness: Songbirds of the Apostle Islands

Monitoring bird populations helps us keep an ear out for troubling changes in the island soundtrack.
A Vulnerability Assessment for Terrestrial Ecosystems

A Vulnerability Assessment for Terrestrial Ecosystems

How might climate change affect Apostle Islands National Lakeshore? It’s a simple question with lots of potential ...
American Martens on the Apostle Islands

American Martens on the Apostle Islands

Our findings suggest that the Apostle Islands were naturally recolonized by progeny of translocated individuals ...
Amphibians of the Apostle Islands

Amphibians of the Apostle Islands

The Apostles support 6 species of salamanders and 7-9 species of frogs.
Apostle Islands Flora

Apostle Islands Flora

Diverse physical landforms and a variety of habitats contribute to the high total plant diversity of 810+ species ...
Emerging Water Resource Issues in the Apostle Islands

Emerging Water Resource Issues in the Apostle Islands

The lake is big, omnipresent, and seemingly resistant to change. However, a closer look reveals a variety of ...
Fifty Years of Cultural Resource Research at Apostle Islands NL

Fifty Years of Cultural Resource Research at Apostle Islands NL

This presentation will look at the Lakeshore’s half century of efforts to study, understand, and steward these ...
Gaylord Nelson: mover, shaker, deal-maker

Gaylord Nelson: mover, shaker, deal-maker

Without Gaylord Nelson’s unmatched political acumen and years of commitment to public service, the Apostle Islands ...
Longitudinal Trends and Ecology of the Small Mammal Community

Longitudinal Trends and Ecology of the Small Mammal Community

Long-term changes in small mammal populations across the archipelago likely reflect reduction of human extractive ...
New Insights Into the Dynamics of Apostle Islands Carnivore Communities

New Insights Into the Dynamics of Apostle Islands Carnivore Communities

To determine how human activity and footprint affect the spatiotemporal activity of wildlife on the Apostle ...
Past, Present and Future of Fire in the Apostle Islands

Past, Present and Future of Fire in the Apostle Islands

We reconstructed fire history from fire-scarred red pine stumps collected on Stockton Island tombolo to better ...
Past, present and future of fisheries management in the Apostle Islands

Past, present and future of fisheries management in the Apostle Islands

New challenges are emerging and will direct fisheries management for the future.
Past, present, and future of piping plovers in the Apostle Islands

Past, present, and future of piping plovers in the Apostle Islands

Partnerships with tribal, state, and federal officials have been key to monitoring piping plovers in the islands.
Resiliency and vulnerability of Apostle Islands coastal wetlands

Resiliency and vulnerability of Apostle Islands coastal wetlands

We investigated wetland hydrology, geomorphology, vegetation, macro-invertebrates, and fish to identify ...
Through the eyes of 4th graders

Through the eyes of 4th graders

Through the Eyes of Fourth Graders is a book written and illustrated by students about their experiences in the ...
Traditional Ecological Knowledge

Traditional Ecological Knowledge

What is TEK? How does it relate to scientific knowledge? Traditional knowledge is embedded within the very fabric ...
Under the surface and Zaaga’igan Ma’iinganag (lakewolves)

Under the surface and Zaaga’igan Ma’iinganag (lakewolves)

In this presentation, program directors Ian Karl and Toben Lafrançois highlight the photos and reflections from ...
Underwater Landscapes of the Apostle Islands

Underwater Landscapes of the Apostle Islands

Since 2010, NPS and partners have developed high resolution benthic habitat maps for six coastal parks in the ...

You may also like…