Extreme temperatures and the risks of flooding and fire will put more USDA facilities at risk in coming years, the department said in a new climate adaptation plan for 2024-2027 released Thursday.
As illustrated by blistering temperatures across the U.S. this week, “the most widespread risk to USDA facilities is extreme heat, which will affect all facilities under all scenarios,” the plan said. “This is followed by extreme precipitation, which will affect over 95 percent of USDA facilities in all scenarios, and wildfire, which poses a high to extreme degree of risk to 42 percent of USDA facilities.”
USDA has 42,673 facilities, which include “laboratories and field study sites, roads, housing, recreation, and communications systems, as well as office space,” the plan said.
“Extreme temperatures can stress the U.S. energy system and place USDA facilities at risk, as cooling systems are overcome by the added burden, especially in the Southwest, Southeast, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands,” the plan said.
Facilities and structures at the Forest Service, which is part of the department, account for 82% of USDA’s asset portfolio; the Agricultural Research Service manages another 12%. Geographically, facilities in California, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Washington, Colorado and Arizona make up 60% of the portfolio.
"Forest Service buildings in the wildland-urban interface are at substantial risk for increased damage from wildfire, particularly in the West," the plan said.
Not just facilities but employees are at risk, as well.
“Exposure to extreme heat will become an increasing concern for many USDA agencies,” the plan said.
“Physical disruptions and health risks will be an acute concern with more intense or impactful extreme weather events, including increased risk of flooding. Finally, firefighters in USDA’s Forest Service are already feeling the burden of longer and more intense wildfire seasons that are associated in part with higher temperatures and intense drought.”
The department’s mission will also face challenges.
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For example, climate change will increase demand for “conservation technical and financial assistance, disaster assistance programs, risk management products, and other services,” the plan said. “The Marketing and Regulatory Program agencies will be challenged to keep apace of climate-driven changes to pests and pathogens that pose a threat to agriculture and to maintain continuity of critical grading and inspection services.”
In addition, climate change “will affect the ability of the nation’s forests and grasslands to furnish important services to the public, including clean water and air, carbon storage and uptake, timber and nontimber forest products, productive grazing land, and recreation opportunities. These benefits may be lost or altered due to changes in wildfire regimes, extreme events, and chronic stresses on watersheds and ecosystems.”
USDA said it’s working with the Transportation Department to develop a climate hazard exposure and resilience (CHER) tool for USDA property and infrastructure. That “will be used to identify facility-level climate vulnerabilities and develop actions to address these risks, with the aim to increase USDA operational resilience.”
USDA plans to complete climate resilience assessments of 1,000 mission-critical facilities, in accordance with the USDA 2021 Climate Action Plan.
The department also is re-launching the Sustainable Operations Council, or SOC, which will include senior management officials who will advise the assistant secretary for administration on sustainable operations, including climate adaptation at USDA facilities.
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