Larry Schweiger

Larry Schweiger became President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) in March 2004 with a commitment to confront global warming to protect wildlife for our children's future, connect people to nature, and restore America's wildlife heritage. National Wildlife Federation is America's conservation organization, with 48 affiliates and more than four million supporters. Larry also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Climate Protection. Previously, Larry served for eight years as President and CEO of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, where he pioneered and promoted a number of programs, including expanded ecological research and community outreach in high priority conservation areas. Larry is an active community leader, having served on more than 40 governing boards, commissions and committees. He has received many awards for his efforts in conservation, including the Distinguished Service Award for Special Conservation Achievement from National Wildlife Federation in June 1995, and the Conservation Service Award from the Christian Environmental Association in September 1995. He was selected as Pennsylvania's Environmental Professional of the Year in 2002. Larry is married to Clara Schweiger and has three adult daughters, two sons-in-law, and one grandson, Thadius.

Plenary Presentation - CONFRONTING THE CLIMATE CRISIS: WHY WE NEED TO REINVENT NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION TO SAVE THE PLACES WE CARE ABOUT.

Global climate change is now a highly documented, rapidly unfolding planetary crisis that will affect everyone and will alter the very nature of tomorrow. In its 2007 report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated that 20-30% of plant and animal species worldwide are "likely to be at increased risk of extinction if increases in average global temperatures exceed 2.2-4.0° F above current levels." This could happen by the end of the century if we do not stabilize global temperatures by reducing global warming pollution. The IPCC also reports "40-70% of species would have significant extinctions if temperatures increase by more than 7.2°F." Clearly, global warming is the single biggest threat facing the earth's natural systems today. As climate change legislation moves forward in the next one or two years, Congress will likely consider investing in natural resources protection and restoration at funding levels that far exceed any amounts ever considered before. The Climate Security Act, recently debated by the Senate, sets the standard against which future bills will be measured. It provides for approximately $140 billion to be dedicated to U.S. natural resources protection and restoration in its first 19 years. Pending climate change legislative proposals provide the conservation community with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to confront climate change, rescue species from extinction and protect ecosystems from severe degradation. To seize this opportunity and achieve these objectives, the conservation community must transform the way it does business. Natural resource managers are well-positioned to play a key role in this transformation.