Where the wild things thrive: Finding and protecting nature’s climate change safe havens

By: Toni Lyn Morelli, UMass Amherst; U.S. Geological Survey and Diana Stralberg, University of Alberta, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: December 17, 2025

Words: 1,080

Last Updated: 3 weeks, 4 days ago

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By Toni Lyn Morelli, UMass Amherst; U.S. Geological Survey and Diana Stralberg, University of Alberta

The idea began in California’s Sierra Nevada, a towering spine of rock and ice where rising temperatures and the decline of snowpack are transforming ecosystems, sometimes with catastrophic consequences for wildlife.

The prairie-doglike Belding’s ground squirrel (Urocitellus beldingi) had been struggling there as the mountain meadows it relies on dry out in years with less snowmelt and more unpredictable weather. …

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