Agencies start refocusing on climate change challenges

Starting this year, top Forest Service managers are encountering an added yardstick in their performance evaluations: how well they are meeting benchmarks for confronting the effects of climate change in the national forests? The standards will apply to some 80 Senior Executive Service members, said David Cleaves, the forest service's climate change adviser. In addition, forest managers will be expected to monitor for the effects of climate change on watersheds and wildlife, set targets for reducing adverse environmental impacts from their operations, and have at least one employee serving as a point person for climate change issues, according to a scorecard released last month. "We're looking for 100 percent compliance by 2015," Cleaves said. The move puts the Forest Service at the forefront of federal agencies looking to retool for a warming planet. The long-term challenges are immense: Not only are billions of dollars worth of government real estate potentially at risk, but officials could be faced with politically delicate decisions on how to run programs and manage resources. Ten months after President Obama issued an executive order summoning federal agencies to "lead by example," many are still in the study phase...more