Wildlife Management IIRemindersOverviewChanging philosophiesEcosystem ManagementSlide 6“Traditional” vs “Ecosystem” ManagementExample of ecosystem managementHow we learnAdaptive managementGypsy moth exampleAdaptive management and NWFPThe world is complexTypes of complexityResilienceResilience and ecological systemsExample: Pines and fireSlide 18ThresholdsEcological thresholdsExample of sudden changeAdaptive CyclesPhases of adaptive cyclesExample: spruce budwormChanging scalesFast & slow scales in natureScale in human systemsHow manage for uncertainty?Scenario example: WI N. HighlandsSlide 30Wildlife Management IIWildlife Management IIES118 Spring 2008RemindersRemindersThursday: EXAM 7:00 pm Exam—Material through last weekPowerpoint lectures on course web siteFriday: Video THIS ROOM (not Friday discussion rooms)OverviewOverviewEcosystem managementAdaptive managementComplexity and wildlife management–Resilience–Scenario planningChanging philosophiesChanging philosophiesOver past 50 years, emphasis in natural resource management on public lands, resource extraction, recreation–Legacy of multiple-use paradigm of PinchotMore recently, growing shift in philosophy and direction of natural resource management–From: Top-down, government-mandated, expert-driven approaches–To: Model of shared decision-making, cooperation over confrontation, local involvementEcosystem ManagementEcosystem Management“An approach to maintaining or restoring the composition, structure, and function of natural and modified ecosystems for the goal of long-term sustainability…that integrates ecological, socioeconomic, and institutional perspectives…”Source: Meffe et al. 2002, p. 298Ecosystem ManagementEcological ContextInstitutional ContextSoioeconomic Context““Traditional” vs “Ecosystem” Traditional” vs “Ecosystem” ManagementManagementTraditional ManagementEcosystem ManagementEmphasis on commodities and natural resource extractionEmphasis on balance between commodities, amenities, ecological integrityStable and “equilibrium” perspectiveDynamic and resilientReductionism, site specificity HolismPredictability and control Uncertainty and flexibilitySolutions developed by resource management agenciesSolutions developed through discussions with stakeholdersConfrontation, single-issue polarization, public as adversaryConsensus building; multiple issues, partnershipsSource: Meffe et al. 2002Example of ecosystem Example of ecosystem managementmanagementNorthwest Forest Plan–Coordinated management of 24 million acres of Federal land in Washington, Oregon, CaliforniaGoals: Protect “old-growth” forest home to spotted owls and other speciesSustainability of loggingPresident Clinton held “forest summit” in 1993Created multi-agency “Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team”How we learnHow we learnTradition (“local knowledge”)Trial-and-error (“college of hard knocks”, “on-the-job-training”)Scientific experiment (objective, explicit, replicable, but often reductionist)Adaptive management: Combine advantages of trial-and-error and scientific learning (C.S. Hollings and Carl Walters, 1960s)Adaptive Adaptive managementmanagementThe process of treating management as an experimentGypsy moth Gypsy moth exampleexampleOptions: Insecticide spraying, spot treatments, salvage logging (no spraying), etc.Modeling: How do insecticides affect native species? Gaps: Do seasons matter? Management actions: Could we test by spraying different seasons or not spraying at all and study impact (large scale, not plots)?Measure performance: Collect dataDetermine policy options: Summer spraying better, stop spring spraying, or stop altogetherAdaptive management and Adaptive management and NWFPNWFPExamples of “Passive adaptive management”–How to integrate timber production with restoration and maintenance of habitat?–How use schools to generate water quality information?The world is complexThe world is complexUnderstanding complexity requires –High degree of interdisciplinarity–Focus on complex environmental systems that include interactions of non-human biota or humans–Focus on systems with high potential for exhibiting nonlinear behaviorTypes of complexity Types of complexity Environmental variation Biological variation in small populationsSynergistic effects (e.g,. multiple stresses like drought and disease)Cumulative effects–E.g., accumulation of chemicals in food chain–Spatial effects (many small decisions make up big decision, like with migratory birds)Dusky Seaside Sparrow (Florida)Guaranteed to go extinct when last 6 known individuals malesResilienceResilienceHumans and ecosystems share a number of properties, for example: –Resilience: The capacity of a system to absorb disturbance and still retain its basic function and structure–Sudden shifts can alter ecosystems, as well as human understanding and the institutions that carry out managementExample: Walking with coffee in a ship in the harbor or at seaIn wildlife management (and ES generally) we often assume systems are linear and changes incremental, but often not the caseResilience and ecological Resilience and ecological systemssystemsEcological and human systems are dynamic (like boat at sea)–Constantly confronted with “surprise” events–What is optimal one year, is not the next–Structure and function of ecosystems change over timeNot just amount of knowledge that is important (e.g., species, ecosystems) but also kind of knowledge–How we perceive connections, consider uncertainty, consider resilianceExample: Pines and fireExample: Pines and fireLongleaf pine ecosystems in southeastern US adapted to burning in summer (lightning)In trying to control, we instituted fire suppression policies because fire seen as problem, not natural process–Result? More fire prone because woody debris builds up so fires more intenseforests become less resilientThresholdsThresholdsSocial-ecological systems can exist in more than one kind of stable state–If system changes too much it can cross a threshold and begin behaving in new and unexpected ways (it has undergone a “regime shift”)–Example: Landscape that is eroded and shifts from fertile to barren (e.g., Aral Sea ecosystem)Ecological thresholdsEcological thresholdsPoint at which there is an abrupt change in an