More than 100 conservation leaders from around the country met in New Orleans last week to push for the restoration of iconic U.S. waters such as the Chesapeake Bay, Coastal Louisiana, Florida Everglades, Great Lakes, Gulf of Maine, Long Island Sound, Puget Sound, and others.

“Restoring American’s great waters will benefit the country’s economy and environment—and will be vital in addressing the impacts of global warming,” said Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, the host of the summit.

Austin, Texas has been named the largest city in the country and the first city in Texas to be certified as a community wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.

In a ceremony this month, NWF's Kevin Coyle presented the mayor of Austin with a plaque recognizing the city's achievement.

“Birds, butterflies and other wildlife need this kind of help to survive and thrive in urban areas,” Coyle said. “This program does more than just create sorely needed wildlife habitat. It also educates and inspires people to think about other ways they can live in closer harmony with the natural world.”

More than 900 Austin residences are now Certified Wildlife Habitat™ sites. In addition, 15 businesses, 25 school grounds, four church grounds, and 14 parks have been certified through the program.

“I’m proud to be one of the more than 900 homeowners who have discovered that having a garden filled with birds and butterflies is hardly a sacrifice,” said Council Member Lee Leffingwell, who certified his own yard in 2007. “Our wildlife garden is an improvement to our house, and the fact that it saves water and requires less maintenance is a bonus.”

Five nations that created a treaty almost four decades ago to protect polar bears have issued a joint statement identifying global warming as “the most important long-term threat” to the bears.

The statement was released at the end of a meeting held in Norway, with scientists and officials attending from the United States, Canada, Russia, Norway and Denmark, representing Greenland. All nations have territory that abuts the Arctic Ocean, which is prime polar bear habitat.

Experts at the meeting said the parties were committed to collaboration on programs aimed at limiting direct threats to bear populations from increasing tourism, shipping and oil and gas drilling in the warming region, The New York Times reports.

Bear experts said that the five nations who cosigned the 1973 agreement on the conservation of polar bears need worldwide cooperation to address greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.

It is estimated that there are currently 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears worldwide.

National Wildlife Federation President & CEO Larry Schweiger presented Gov. Charlie Crist last week with NWF's Conservation Achievement Award for Government. Gov. Crist has helped position Florida as a leader in addressing climate change and protecting the environment.

“We must take action in our lifetime to protect Florida’s treasures—from the Everglades and the white-sand beaches to the crystal clear springs—so that future generations can experience the Florida we love,” said d Governor Crist. “I am honored to be an advocate for Florida’s environment, and I am committed to continuing the work we have done over the past two years to keep the Sunshine State beautiful.”

Schweiger presented Governor Crist with the award during a March 10 luncheon. The award recognizes Governor Crist for his leadership in environmental conservation, including his role in encouraging the South Florida Water Management District’s recent approval of the historic land purchase deal, in which the district will buy 180,000 acres of land to clean, store and move water going into Everglades National Park. NWF leaders also lauded Governor Crist’s commitment to reducing Florida’s greenhouse gases and increasing energy efficiency.

“With political courage and unmatched resolve, Governor Crist has single-handedly positioned Florida as a leader in the fight against global warming,” said Schweiger. “It is an honor to recognize him with NWF’s Conservation Achievement Award for Government.”

Gov. Crist drew some attention for comments he made as he accepted the award, saying of the push for a new clean energy economy that "There are many in my party that haven't come to."

President Obama recently directed federal agencies to once again consult with independent scientists at the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to determine if their actions might harm threatened and endangered species.

This action will limit the damage caused by the midnight Endangered Species Act regulations put in place by the Bush Administration in December 2008.

President Obama's recent action demonstrates his commitment to protect our nation's endangered species as well as the habitats that people and wildlife depend on. After eight years of attacks from the Bush Administration, National Wildlife Federation welcomes President Obama's reinstatement of independent scientific review on the impacts of federal actions on endangered species.

"With just one stroke of the pen, President Obama has done more today to uphold the scientific integrity of the Endangered Species Act than President Bush did during his entire eight years in office," said John Kostyack, NWF's executive director of wildlife conservation and global warming.

"Members of the Senate should follow President Obama's lead and pass the 2009 Omnibus Spending Bill, which includes language making it clear that President Obama has the authority to immediately and completely reverse President Bush's last-minute Endangered Species Act changes."

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Oceana recently released two related reports on the worsening condition of the global fishing industry due to over-fishing and climate change.

Direct employment and jobs in related industries are important for developing nations—revenues from their fisheries exports earn have reached $24.6 billion annually.

Fishing-reliant communities in the developing world are extremely vulnerable to the effects of global warming, and authorities must do more to understand and prepare for the impacts, the reports warned.

Global warming and pollution have already modified the distribution of fish species. Sea-level rise, ocean acidification and changes in precipitation significantly affect wetlands, coral reefs and estuaries. Warmer water fish species are pushed toward the poles and are experiencing changes in habitat size and productivity.

Any decrease in the local availability of fish or increases in population instability pose serious problems for communities that are reliant on fisheries.

An estimated 43.5 million people are directly involved in capture fisheries and aquaculture, most of whom live in Asia.

Last week more than 120 citizen activists representing all eight Great Lakes states arrived in Washington, DC for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition fly-in. After discussing upcoming legislative issues such as a cap-and-invest bill that would dedicate revenues to restoration, ballast water regulation, and the urgent need for toxic sediment cleanup, participants heard from two representatives of the new administration. In their addresses to participants, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and Council on Environmental Quality Director Nancy Sutley reaffirmed President Obama’s commitment to the Great Lakes and to all of America's "Great Waters."

As Coalition members convened on Capitol Hill and visited the Great Lakes Congressional delegation, good news filtered from the White House and was confirmed with the release of the President’s budget. President Obama included $475 million dollars in new Great Lakes restoration funding—marking the largest Presidential commitment to the lakes' in history.  The budget also dedicated $3.9 billion to the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs of which more than $1 billion could flow to the Great Lakes.

At the same time, the Teaming With Wildlife coalition went to Capitol Hill to ask members of Congress for immediate action on global warming. 100 coalition members from more than 30 states called for a comprehensive climate bill with dedicated funding to protect our natural resources. Other top priorities include the passage of the Teaming With Wildlife Act and funding for fiscal year 09/10 State Wildlife Grant appropriations.

At an evening reception on the Hill, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D–TX) and Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) were among those honored for their work protecting wildlife from global warming. Larry Schweiger, President and CEO of NWF, challenged Congress to make the most of the opportunities presented by a new political and economic landscape, urging the creation of green jobs based on clean energy and a healthy environment.

North American birds are moving northward and inland in response to global warming, according to a new in-depth report by the National Audubon Society.

Analyses of citizen-gathered data from 40 years of Audubon's Christmas Bird Count (CBC) reveal that 58 percent North American winter species shifted significantly north since 1966, some by hundreds of miles.

Movement was detected among species of every type, including more than 70 percent of highly adaptable forest and feeder birds. Only 38 percent of grassland species mirrored this trend, demonstrating the constraints of their severely-depleted habitat and suggesting that they now face a double threat from the combined stresses of habitat loss and climate adaptation.

"Experts predict that global warming will mean dire consequences, even extinction, for many bird species, and this analysis suggests that the process leading down that path is already well underway," warned Audubon President John Flicker. "We're witnessing an uncontrolled experiment on the birds and the world we share with them."

The governors or Maryland and Oregon announced this month bold steps toward curbing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.

Under a new program supported by Gov. Ted Kulongoski, Oregon would have one of the world's toughest greenhouse gas limits, affecting everything from industry smokestacks to car tailpipes.

Kulongoski said action to limit carbon dioxide emissions in Oregon could lead to a new, more robust economy based on environmentally friendly energy, transportation and housing.

In a similar step in the right direction, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said that his state is also poised to help shape national environmental policy by passing legislation to curb pollutants linked to global warming.

At a news conference on the lawn of the governor's mansion, Gov. O'Malley called Maryland, with its abundant shoreline, the "fourth-most-vulnerable state in America" with respect to global warming.

If global warming continues unabated, projected rising sea levels will significantly reshape the region's coastal landscape, threatening waterfowl hunting and recreational saltwater fishing in Virginia and Maryland.

National Wildlife Federation’s recent report, Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Habitats of the Chesapeake Bay, which shows in detail the dramatic effects of sea-level rise on the nation's largest estuary, which sustains more than 3,600 species of plants, fish and animals including great blue herons and sea turtles.

Visit http://www.nwf.org/sealevelrise/chesapeake.cfm to view the full report.