Future ecological value of emerging habitats must be considered as climate change transforms the planet As climate change warms Earth, the melting cryosphere creates nascent ecosystems that have future value as habitat but that are also the frontlines for resource extraction ( 1 ). For example, glacier retreat uncovers rivers and valleys that go through rapid ecological succession to provide new habitats for important species, such as moose and Pacific salmon ( 2 – 5 ). However, mining companies are looking to retreating glaciers for newly exposed mineral deposits ( 6 ). This proglacial mining is a global pressure, from Greenland to Kyrgyzstan to western Canada ( 6 ). Yet environmental and mining policies might fail to consider the future ecological value and capacity of emerging habitats. We illustrate these issues below by exploring the overlap of glacial retreat, Pacific salmon future habitats, and mining pressures in western Canada and southern Alaska. Stewardship of glacierized landscapes, and other ecosystems that are being transformed by climate change, urgently need forward-looking science and environmental policy.