Proceedings of the Symposium on Dynamics and Management of Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems, June 22-26, San Diego, California
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Natural Resources Planning and Management Abstract: Preservation of ecological processes rather than scenic objects is the goal of natural in the National Park Service — Pinnacles resources management. This entails allowing natural 1 events, i.e., fire, insects, flooding, etc., to National Monument operate to the fullest extent possible within park boundaries. Ecosystem management for a park is guided by a natural resources management plan that Kathleen M. Davis2 discusses opportunities and problems for working with natural resources. Pinnacles National Monument illustrates an ecosystem management program where prescribed fire is employed to restore native chaparral and oak/pine woodland communities. Current natural resources planning and manage- desired conditions; for example, maintain native ment in the National Park Service are the outcome ecosystems in natural zones or provide facilities of historical management and policy development. for visitor use. They are a framework for conserving The earliest parks were managed with an indiscrimi- park resources and accommodating environmentally nate multiple use concept where incompatible ac- compatible public uses. Until the general manage- tivities were allowed, such as grazing, mining, ment plan is approved, the statement for management logging, and clearing. Establishment of Yellow- guides day-to-day operations. stone National Park in 1872 marked the beginning of protecting natural ecosystems because public The general management plan is a parkwide plan land was withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, for meeting broad objectives identified in the sale, and development. This reflected a change of statement for management. This plan contains short- American attitudes to increasing awareness of ex- and long-range strategies for natural and cultural haustible resources and beauty in nature. resources, interpretation and visitor use, visitor protection, development (facilities), and mainten- In 1916, the National Park Service was created ance and operations. It identifies concerns and with a mandate to conserve natural resources while opportunities and the subsequent programs to manage providing for enjoyment of the public in a manner a park as an integrated system. that would leave ecosystems unimpaired for future generations. The Service now recognizes the impor- Specific plans are components of the general tance of protecting ecological processes and strives management plan as illustrated in the figure. for sound management through planning and policies. They give detailed discussion of management con- cerns and describe methods to implement programs. PLANNING PROCESS While specific plans are not always prepared con- currently with the general management plan, they Natural resources management planning is embodied are consistent with park management objectives that in the overall planning process of the Park Service. already have been identified. In a small park, the Figure 1 schematically diagrams the process that general management plan may embody all specific follows establishment of an area and shows the plans in one document. However, they are usually various levels and types of plans. Public review separate documents for large parks and any park and input occur on most levels. where administration requires greater detail. Each area has specific enabling legislation Contents of specific plans depend on the type describing it and stating purposes for establish- of park. For example, Statue of Liberty National ment. Intent of enabling legislation determines Monument has plans for visitor use, interpretation, management and designation of the area, e.g., park, and protection as well as development; a plan for monument, historic site, etc. Areas are added us- natural resources would be inappropriate. ually in response to public action and nomination. NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT The first step following legislation is a state- ment for management that gives a current summary Planning of the state of the park, guides short and long- term management, and helps decision makers determine As shown in the figure, there are various specific type and extent of planning required to meet manage- plans. Since the topic here is natural resources, ment objectives (U.S. Dept. Int., National Park the remainder of this paper will focus on the plan- Service 1978b). These objectives are a list of ning and management for natural communities. Fire management in Pinnacles National Monument, a medi- terranean environment, is given as an example. 1 Presented at the Symposium on Dynamics and Management of Mediterranean-type Ecosystems, Ecosystems are described and management is June 22-26, 1981, San Diego, California. guided by a natural resources management plan that identifies problems and opportunities for working 2 Plant/Fire Ecologist, Western Regional Office, with wildlife, vegetation, air, soil, water, etc. National Park Service, U.S. Department of Interior, It establishes principal strategies that will be San Francisco, California. continued, phased out, modified, or initiated for Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-58. Berkeley, CA: Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; 1982. 539 Figure 1--Schematic diagram of the National Park Service planning procedure for natural resources management showing examples of action plans. the purpose of perpetuating natural resources pro- It has only been the last two decades that cesses (U.S. Dept. Int., National Park Service serious attention has been given to total resources 1978a). In the addendum of each plan are project management. When the National Park Service was statements, which are proposals for money, per- created, emphasis was placed on protecting objects, sonnel, research, or services to deal with such e.g., trees, mountains, or volcanoes, as a means concerns as fire history investigation, exotic to preserve environments. While this philosophy species removal, pest control, or fire management. suits some areas such as Gettysburg National Military Park, it is wrong for natural areas such Action plans originate from a natural resources as Lassen Volcanic National Park. Since 1916 the management plan and are either embodied in the goal of natural resources management has evolved plan or, if complex or lengthy, prepared as to protecting and promoting ecological processes separate documents. Action plans focus on parti- rather than objects. This change of philosophy is cular problems or opportunities for management of expressed in current management policies (U.S. such things as native wildlife and vegetation Dept. Int., National Park Service 1978a): habitat, exotic species, fire, reintroduction of native species, hazardous tree removal, insect "Management of...natural features and values is and diseases, site rehabilitation, and endangered concerned with ecological processes and species. They are working documents used by park resources. The concept of perpetuation of a staff to achieve a particular condition of natural total natural environment or ecosystem, as resources in parks. compared with the protection of individual features or species, is a distinguishing Policy aspect of the Service's management of natural land." In addition to the mandate of the 1916 National Park Service Act, several legislative actions, The current servicewide policy for natural executive orders, and mission and policy statements resources management was strongly influenced by have shaped current management practices. The recommendations of the Advisory Board on Wildlife enabling legislation of each park strongly in- Management in National Parks, more commonly known fluences ecosystems management, and for this reason as the blue ribbon "Leopold Committee." It stated sometimes certain practices must be allowed that do that maintenance of suitable habitat is the key to not seem to fit the "idea" of a national park, i.e., sustaining healthy animal populations and that pro- hunting, logging, skiing, mining, and maintaining tection of animals is no substitute for providing exotic species. habitat requirements (Leopold and others 1963). 540 Habitat is not a stable entity that can be pre- Since 1968, policy has been revised and expanded served; instead it is the product of various eco- to accommodate growth of fire management in the logical components that create constant change and Service. Following are excerpts from current diversity. In short, the National Park Service policy (U.S. Dept. Int., National Park Service was doing a disservice to wildlife and total eco- 1978a): systems by trying to control natural events such as fire, insect and disease outbreaks, predation, and "The presence or absence of natural fires with- flooding. in a given ecosystem is recognized as a potent factor stimulating, retarding or eliminating The Leopold Committee recommended a major policy various components of the ecosystem. Most change for the Park Service: to recognize the natural fires are lightning-caused and are enormous complexity of ecological communities and recognized as natural phenomena which must be diversity of management procedures required to pre- permitted to continue to influence the eco- serve them. Preservation of objects would not keep system if truly natural systems are to be ecosystems intact; only preservation and protection perpetuated. of ecological processes would. "Natural zones should represent the full spec- The Leopold Committee further recommended iden- trum of the parks' dynamic natural vegetative tifying