Ecosystem Management About Island Press Island Press is the only nonprofit organization in Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the United States whose principal purpose is the Educational Foundation of America, The Charles publication of books on environmental issues and Engelhard Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The natural resource management. We provide solu- George Gund Foundation, The Vira I. Heinz tions-oriented information to professionals, public Endowment, The William and Flora Hewlett Foun- officials, business and community leaders, and con- dation, Henry Luce Foundation, The John D. and cerned citizens who are shaping responses to Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Andrew W. environmental problems. Mellon Foundation, The Moriah Fund, The Curtis In 2002, Island Press celebrates its eighteenth and Edith Munson Foundation, National Fish and anniversary as the leading provider of timely and Wildlife Foundation, The New-Land Foundation, practical books that take a multidisciplinary Oak Foundation, The Overbrook Foundation, The approach to critical environmental concerns. Our David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Pew growing list of titles reflects our commitment to Charitable Trusts, The Rockefeller Foundation, The bringing the best of an expanding body of litera- Winslow Foundation, and other generous donors. ture to the environmental community throughout North America and the world. The opinions expressed in this book are Support for Island Press is provided by The those of the author(s) and do not necessarily Nathan Cummings Foundation, Geraldine R. Dodge reflect the views of these foundations. Ecosystem Management Adaptive, Community-Based Conservation GARY K. MEFFE LARRY A. NIELSEN RICHARD L. KNIGHT DENNIS A. SCHENBORN Washington • Covelo • London Copyright © 2002 Island Press All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher: Island Press, Suite 300, 1718 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 ISLAND PRESS is a trademark of The Center for Resource Economics. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data. Ecosystem Management : adaptive, community-based conservation / by Gary K. Meffe ... [et al.]. p. cm. ISBN 1-55963-824-9 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Ecosystem management. I. Meffe, Gary K. QH75 .E327 2002 333.95—dc21 2002007408 British Cataloguing-in-Publication Data available. Printed on recycled, acid-free paper E Manufactured in the United States of America 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To our wives— Nancy Meffe, Sharon Nielsen, Heather Knight, and Elaine Schenborn— for their love, patience, and support, and for reminding us of what is truly important in life. Contents PREFACE xi 2. Getting a Grip on Ecosystem ABOUT THE AUTHORS xiii Management 57 ESSAY CONTRIBUTORS xv The Evolution of Natural Resource Management Toward Ecosystem Management 57 Introduction: New Approaches A Comparison of Traditional for a New Millennium 1 Management and Ecosystem Management 59 The Appearance of Ecosystem Management 3 From Command and Control to Adaptive Ecosystem Management 60 How to Use This Book 5 The Pathology of Natural Resource An Overview and the Flow of the Text 6 Management 63 The Need for Resilience 65 PART I: THE CONCEPTUAL A Model of Ecosystem Management 66 TOOLBOX A Closer Look at Ecosystem Management 69 1. The Landscape Scenarios 11 Common Misconceptions About Ecosystem Management 73 The ROLE Model 12 Information, Organizational Behavior, The ROLE Model Agreement 12 and Command and Control 74 The Round Lake Ecosystem 14 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS 76 The Social and Economic Setting 16 Special Resources 17 3. Incorporating Uncertainty Special Interests and Issues 23 and Complexity into Management 79 SnowPACT 25 Sources of Complexity and Uncertainty The Snow River Ecosystem 27 in Natural Resource Management 80 The Social and Economic Setting 29 Category 1: Environmental Variation 80 People, Places, and Interests 31 Category 2: Biological Variation Special Resources 38 in Small Populations 82 Category 3: Nonindependence PDQ Revival 42 of Events and Interactions 83 The PDQ Ecosystem 43 Category 4: Uncertainties The PDQ Region 45 in the Human Realm 84 PDQ Lands and Land Uses 47 Dealing with Complexity and Uncertainty 85 Natural Resources and Issues 50 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS 88 vii viii Contents Ecosystem Management in Policy 6. Issues Regarding Populations and Practice,by STEVEN L.YAFFEE 89 and Species 131 The Species 131 4. Adaptive Management 95 The Roles of Species in Science and Policy 134 Adaptive Management: Another Way to Learn 96 Viewpoints on Species 134 Active Adaptive Management 97 Connecting Populations and Species The Glen Canyon Dam 100 to Landscapes 137 Idaho Elk Management 101 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS 139 Passive Adaptive Management 103 The Copper River Watershed Project, The Northwest Forest Management Plan 103 by RIKI OTT and KRISTIN SMITH 140 The North American Waterfowl Plan 104 Adaptive Management as Documented 7. Populations and Communities Trial and Error 106 at the Landscape Level 145 Conditions Necessary for Successful Single-Species Management 145 Adaptive Management 107 Extinctions from Deterministic Ecological Conditions 108 and Stochastic Forces 146 Socioeconomic Conditions 108 PVA and MVP 147 Institutional Conditions 109 Approaches to MVP Estimation 148 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS 110 Some Thoughts on PVA and MVP Estimation 151 PART II: THE BIOLOGICAL Metapopulations 151 AND ECOLOGICAL Spatially Explicit Models 153 BACKGROUND Information Needs for MVP, 5. Genetic Diversity in Ecosystem Metapopulation, and Spatially Management 115 Explicit Models 154 Managing for Species Communities 156 What Is Genetic Diversity? 116 The Species Approach 157 A Look at Heterozygosity 116 The Ecological Process Approach 158 How Is Genetic Diversity Lost? 120 The Landscape Approach 158 The Loss of Genetic Diversity in Small Populations 120 The Role of Monitoring in Each Approach 159 Changes in Patterns of Genetic Diversity Among Populations 124 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS 162 The Loss of Allelic Richness 126 The Winyah Bay Focus Area, by ROGER L. BANKS 163 The Role of Genetics in Conservation and Ecosystem Management 128 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS 129 Contents ix 8. Landscape-Level Conservation 169 PART III: THE HUMAN DIMENSIONS Habitat Fragmentation 170 10. Working in Human Communities 219 The Loss of Area 172 The Success Triangle 220 An Increase in Edge 174 Stakeholder Identification and Assessment 222 Increased Isolation 181 Who Is a Stakeholder? 222 Mosaic and Matrix 183 Principles of Stakeholder Involvement 223 The Landscape Mosaic 183 Stakeholder Analysis 225 The Landscape Matrix 184 Levels of Involvement 227 Fragmentation and the Landscape Techniques for Stakeholder Involvement 230 Matrix 184 Keys to Successful Collaboration 233 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS 185 Three Little Words 238 Southern California Natural Community Conservation Planning, REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS 238 by MICHAEL O’CONNELL 187 Collaborative Stewardship:Views from Both Sides Now, by MARK W. B RUNSON 240 9. Managing Biodiversity Across Landscapes: A Manager’s 11. Strategic Approaches Dilemma 193 to Ecosystem Management 245 Ecosystems or Species? Coarse-Filter Characteristics of Strategic Management 247 and Fine-Filter Approaches 194 A Simple Strategic Management Model 249 The Coarse-Filter Approach 195 The Inventory 249 The Fine-Filter Approach 196 Strategic Thinking 251 Blending Coarse-Filter and Fine- Implementation 251 Filter Approaches 196 Evaluation 251 Landscape-Level Considerations That The Strategic-Thinking Step 252 Protect Biodiversity and Ecosystems 196 Mission and Mandate 252 Area, Shape, and Isolation 197 Strategy 254 Movement Corridors 198 Goals 254 Working Across Administrative Boundaries 203 Objectives 256 HCPs: Protecting Biodiversity While Problems and Tactics 258 Promoting Cooperation 206 Projects 259 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS 209 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS 262 The Malpai Borderlands Group: Building If All It Took Was Money, Community-Based the “Radical Center,” Conservation Would Be Easy, by WILLIAM MCDONALD 211 by HEATHER A. L. KNIGHT 263 x Contents 12. Evaluation 271 Summative Evaluation 280 Characteristics of Summative Evaluation 282 The Context for Evaluation 271 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS 285 Formative Evaluation 274 Participation in Local Government Land-Use Characteristics of Formative Evaluation 275 Decisions, by GEORGE N.WALLACE 286 Process Evaluation 277 Assessing Progress 277 A Final Word 295 Making Adjustments 278 GLOSSARY 297 Characteristics of Process Evaluation 280 INDEX 303 Preface The world is changing quickly, and our models of scientific and technical knowledge is not enough, learning, communicating, and acting must change by itself, to succeed in natural resource manage- accordingly. Throughout society we must rethink ment, because science is only one component of a basic notions of how we define and accomplish complex world of decision making. Environmental our goals in a complex and changing environment, policy and management decisions are set within a including how we prepare ourselves for profes- much larger socioeconomic and institutional con- sional careers. This book is an effort in that direc- text, one that can swamp and effectively neutralize tion for students in natural resource management. the best scientific information if those