Env 121: Conservation of Biodiversity

Topic: Conservation Mangement

Professor Sork: 7 June 2007

• And the Biggest Producer of Greenhouse Gases Is ... NPR, June 6, 2007
• World Environment Day marks hot topic (6/5/07), MSNBC
• Tourist Boat Damages Mexican Coral Reef June 7, 2007...Foxnews.com

Please note: If you printed notes from June 5, the second part of that lecture has been moved to below. Do NOT print again, except for Part IV on Greater Yellowstone.

1. Good conservation management
2. Ecosystem management
3. Perspectives on ecosystem management
4. Case study: Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
5. General discussion of conservation topics
6. Overview of final

I. Good Conservation Management

Principle 1: Critical ecological processes and biodiversity composition must be maintained.

1. Key species management

• Grizzly bears at Yellowstone
• Large ungulates, E. Africa

2. Habitat or ecosystem management

• disturbance processes are managed
• fire regimes in 500 ha reserve in Northern Florida

Principle 2: External threats must be minimized and external benefits maximized.

1. not "island of natural habitat": pollution, invasions

2. boundary effects

• Need to minimize depth of negative boundary effects
• strategy depends on threats
• work with landowners and managers of surrounding land
• community relations with suburban area
• address traditional uses of land by indigenous people (See Essay 11B)

3. effective reserve size

• can increase with semi-wild lands surrounding reserve

4. Habitat corridors

• controversial
• require careful design
• can be less expensive than large preserves

Principle 3: Evolutionary processes must be conserved.

1. stochastic effects

2. retain genetic variation before populations are threatened

Principle 4: Management must be adaptive and minimally intrusive

1. Contingency plans

2. Flexibility

3. Peregrine falcon example:

• southern populations require re-introductions from northern populations
• sensitivity analysis: adult survival more imp. than nestling survival
• thus, adult survival in no. pops is essential

II. Ecosystem management

A. Biophysical ecosystem

1. Biophysical unit = level of biological organization above that of populations or communities that includes interactions between biota and physical environment.

2. Ecosystem management: management of structure and processes of a set of biophysical ecosystems within a large area.

3. Example: Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

4. boundaries of management area:

• ecosystem should be completely enclosed within management area
• inclusion of several ecosystem units should be based on their functional linkages
• might want to include unlinked ecosystems that are affected by same stresses

5. Ecosystem management must include functional landscape mosaic.

B. Defining characteristics of an ecosystem approach

1. "An approach to maintaining or restoring the composition, structure, and function of natural and modified ecosystems for the goal of long-term sustainability."

2. "Integrates ecological, so cio-economical, and institutional perspectives"

3. "applied to a geographical regions with natural boundaries".

4. Many definitions

5. spatial and temporal scales of ecosystem management must be appropriate to specific ecosystem.

Table 11.2 (Meffe, Carroll, et al. 1997)

Traditional vs. ecosystem approaches to management

Emphasis on commodities and natural resource extraction	Emphasis on balance between commodities, amenities, and ecological integrity
Equilibrium perspective	Nonequilibrium perspective
Ecological stability	Dynamics, resilience
Climax communities	Shifting mosaics
Reductionism	Holism
Prescription; command and control management	Uncertainty and flexibility; adaptive management
Site specificity	Attention to context
Solutions imposed by resource management agencies	Solutions developed through discussions with stakeholders
Optimization; problem simplification; search for single best answer	Multiple solutions to complex problems
Confrontation; single-issue polarization; public seen as advisory	Consensus building; multiple issues; public invited as partners

C. Adaptive management

1. Strategy to set, monitor and modify ecosystem management goals
   • Continual monitoring
   • Analyses of policy alternatives
2. Has a beginning but no end
3. Experimental approach with treatment and control units (e.g. MOFEP)
4. Or, smaller, prototype management trials can be instituted and assessed (hopefully with statistical analysis).

D. Development of management plans

1. Review the mission statement

2. Review history of the site or program

3. Identify the major specific problems that require management.

4. Establish a group of formal or informal advisors.

5. Develop a management plant for reserve

• short-term (5 yr) and long term (often less likely)
• physical plant and zoning
• evaluation of goals

6. Develop annual work plans

7. Develop an inventory of resource and site description

8. Identify key areas where research is needed.

9. Maintain good relations with local community

10. Look for opportunities to develop cooperative agreements for land use and storing.

III. Perspectives on Ecosystem Management

Source: Interagency ecosystem management task force. 1995. The ecosystem approach: Healthy ecosystems and sustainable economies. vol. 1. Washington, DC

1. Shared vision by all parties
2. Coordinated approach with ongoing collaboration
3. Use ecological approaches
4. Incorporate sustained economic, socio-cultural, and community goals
5. Respect private property rights
6. Recognize dynamic nature of ecosystems and institutions
7. Use adaptive approach
8. Integrate best science available
9. Establish baseline conditions for ecosystem functioning

Source: Christensen, N. L., A. Bartuska, J. Brown, S. Carpenter, C. D'Antonio, R. Francis, J. Franklin, J. MacMahon, R. Noss, D. Parsons, C. Peterson, M.Turner, and R. Woodmansee. 1996. The report of the Ecological Society of America on the scientific basis for ecosystem management. Ecological Applications 6: 665-91

1. Sustainability
2. Goals
3. Sound ecological models and understanding
4. Complexity and interconnectedness
5. Recognition of dynamics character of ecosystems
6. Context and scale
7. Humans as ecosystems components
8. Adaptability and accountability

IV. Case study: The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

See website of Greater Yellowsone Alliance http://www.greateryellowstone.org/ecosystem/

A. Background Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872 GYE includes various national forests, wildlife refuges and other wildlands. Rocky Mtns areas of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana; see map Controversies around fire management, ungulate population control, and wolf re-introduction Low species diversity and few threatened or endangered species Rich fauna of large mammals: elk, moose, mule dear, pronghorn, bison, bighorn sheep, black bear, and threatened grizzly bear

B. Ecological Process management

1. Yellowstone National Park boundaries do not coincide with ecolgoical process
2. Mammals find winter ranges outside park
3. Wildfires cross boundaries

C. Fire Ecology and management

1. Summer 1988, ~ 50% YNP was bunred by wildfies
2. Occur naturally ever 350 yrs
3. "Let burn" policy led to political controversy

D. Ungulate managment

1. elk and bison have increased to near capacity
2. heavy grazing in jeopardizing native species
3. disease carried by bison and elk can jeopardize livestock in GYE
4. conflict betwee livestock grazing and ungulate managemen

E. Wolf Recovery

1. Almost exterpated during the 1920s
2. Restoration of wolves is opposed by local ranchers
3. Mining industry opposes wolf recovery because presence of endangered species restricts access to minerals.
4. Release of wolves was done in 1995 as part of Endangered Species Act
5. Two family groups had to be relocated back into YNP
6. Boon to tourist industry.

F. Development issues

1. Forest Service is obligated to provide opportunities for mning, timber harvest, and grazing
2. Oil and gas exploration are permitted
3. Several controversial gold mines have been proposed
4. Logging and grazing oare not profitable in GYE
5. Conflicts between cattle and ele led to the establishment of the National Elk Refuge near Jackson, Wyoming.
6. GYE is becoming a recreation-based economy
7. Snowmobiling is popular, yet altering migration patterns of bison.

G. Balance

1. In progress: transition to Ecosystem Management
2. Tourism seems to be winning out over timber harvest and grazing
3. Restrictions are being placed on mining and oil and gas exploration
4. Is recreation outweighing ecosystem protection?
5. Does restricting commodity extraction in Yellowstone simple shift resource exploitation elsewhere?
6. GYE includes mixed usage and thus allows a much larger area to be managed together.

Conclusion: The Greater Yellowstone Area offers one model for the balance between preservation of wildlands and sustainable development.

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