Climate Change and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge by Defenders of Wildlife
© JAMES L. STANFIELD Climate Change and Chincoteague NWR Featured Image
Dune-grazing wild ponies-- descendents of horses that swam ashore from a wrecked Spanish galleon according to one legend-- may be its most well-known residents, but Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge has many other claims to fame. A choice parcel of more than 14,000 acres of beach, dunes, salt marshes, brackish wetlands and maritime forest on the Atlantic Flyway, Chincoteague is one of the top five resting and feeding spots for migratory birds east of the Rockies.
Chincoteague is one of the National Wildlife Refuge System's most popular units, with more than 1.5 million visitors a year. Amid the traffic and crowds, more than 300 species of birds, myriad turtles, otters, muskrat, deer and the endangered Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel go about their business.
The Threat
Assateague Island, the 37-mile-long barrier island on which the Chincoteague refuge sits, has always been on the move, in slow geologic terms, and has always weathered changes brought about by the whim of the ocean. But changes in sea level and temperature generally occurred over many thousands of years. Now the pace has quickened due to global warming and scientists expect sea level to rise significantly in the next century. If the rise happens somewhat gradually, some predict the island may narrow, losing some of its habitat for wildlife and impacting roads, visitor facilities, and other infrastructure of this top tourist attraction. However, if change comes too quickly, Chincoteague roads and facilities and the critical habitat it provides for resident wildlife and migrating birds would be overwhelmed.
For animals that require certain niche habitats, such as piping plovers, least terns, and Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrels, any added stressor may be too much. For example, unlike its smaller and readily adaptable cousin, the gray squirrel, the endangered Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel needs a mature forest with an open understory to survive. Piping plovers and least terns require beach habitat that is not vulnerable to erosion or flooding given sea level predictions. Further loss of habitat for these and other rare species would make their continued survival questionable.
A warmer than usual climate can also lead to large and severe outbreaks of herbivorous insects. If warmth-loving southern pine beetles are not controlled as temperature and sea levels rise on Chincoteague NWR, further mature forest necessary for Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel survival could be decimated.
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