Congress charged each state and territory with developing a wildlife action plan in order to receive funds through the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Program and the State Wildlife Grants Program. These proactive plans, known technically as “comprehensive wildlife conservation strategies,” assess the health of each state’s wildlife and habitats, identify the problems they face, and outline the actions that are needed to conserve them over the long term.

Alaska was one of eight states that not only acknowledged climate change as a primary challenge to conserving the state's wildlife populations, but also incorporated adaptation guidance and long-term monitoring within their plan. The Strategy outlines the conservation needs of hundreds of species, and many species assemblages, and it highlights the need for initial cataloging and inventory efforts on poorly known species. Climate change is represented as one of the most significant challenges for fish and wildlife conservation, and long-term monitoring for the effects is suggested in the primary recommendations.