Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
DEFINING THE PROBLEM, SETTING OBJECTIVES
The.irst.steps.in.a.structured.approach.to.management.are.deining.the.problem.and.
setting. objectives.. These. steps. are. strongly. linked.. Deining. the. problem. involves.
deining. the. geographic,. temporal,. and. administrative. scope. of. the. problem.. Are.
we.concerned.with.management.at.the.local,.regional,.or.national.scale?.What.are.
we.trying.to.accomplish.by.managing.land?.Are.we.most.concerned.with.managing.
species,. habitats,. ecosystems,. or. something. else. (e.g.,. recreational. opportunities)?.
In.this.context,.setting.objectives.involves.deining.what.is.valued.by.the.landowner.
(Keeney.1992)..In.the.case.of.the.Refuge.System.and.other.federal.land,.this.means.
deining.what.the.American.people.value.about.the.Refuge.System.and.the.speciic.
locale.that.is.under.consideration..Objectives.are.an.explicit.statement.of.values.that.
are. informed. by. science;. therefore,. science. alone. cannot. deine. resource. manage-
ment.objectives.
Most. land-management. agencies. (governmental. and. nongovernmental). have.
policies. that. provide. agency-wide. guidance. about. what. the. landowner. values. and.
what.the.priorities.are..These.conservation.priorities.are.a.product.of.the.history.of.
the.agency.and.its.past.conservation.challenges..The.challenge.for.managers.today.
is.to.take.this.general.guidance.and.translate.it.into.speciic.objectives.and.priori-
ties.for.the.land.unit(s).they.manage.(US.Fish.and.Wildlife.Service.2009)..There.are.
often. differences. of. opinion. within. the. agency. or. among. stakeholders. about. what.
the. highest. priority. biological. objectives. for. a. given. unit. should. be.. Given. all. of.
these.issues,.setting.management.objectives.is.generally.the.most.dificult.step.in.the.
management.process.(Johnson.2000)..Climate.change.will.make.setting.objectives.
even.harder..Differences.of.opinion.about.biological.objectives.will.escalate,.given.
the.uncertainty.surrounding.climate.forecasts.for.speciic.geographic.locations..The.
numbers.of.species.at.risk.of.population.decline.or.extinction.will.increase,.making.
it.even.more.dificult.to.set.priorities..The.number.and.extent.of.geographic.locations.
where.conservation.planning.and.action.are.indicated.will.expand,.again.challenging.
a.conservation.community.struggling.to.set.priorities.and.allocate.scarce.resources.
The.Refuge.System.derives.its.agency-wide.objectives.from.establishing.(organic).
legislation.and.a.set.of.associated.policies.(Keiter.2004;.Fischman.2003,.2007)..The.
National.Wildlife.Refuge.System.Improvement.Act.(RIA).directs.FWS.to.provide.
for. the. conservation. of. ish,. wildlife,. and. plants,. and. their. habitats. throughout. the.
Refuge.System.(US.Congress.1997)..The.RIA.deines.the.terms.“conserving,”.“con-
servation,”.“manage,”.“managing,”.and.“management”.as.meaning.to.sustain.and,.
where. appropriate,. restore. and. enhance. healthy. populations. of. ish,. wildlife,. and.
plants.. The. terms. “ish,”. “wildlife,”. and. “ish. and. wildlife”. were. deined. as. any.
wild. member. of. the. animal. kingdom.. The. RIA. further. requires. FWS. to. “ensure.
that.the.biological.integrity,.diversity,.and.environmental.health.of.the.System.are.
maintained.for.the.beneit.of.present.and.future.generations.of.Americans”.(US.Fish.
and.Wildlife.Service.2001,.Sec..5)..According.to.Meretsky.et.al..(2006,.p..136),.the.
provision.related.to.biological.integrity,.diversity,.and.environmental.health.is.“one.
of.the.most.emphatic.ecosystem.conservation.directives.ever.written.by.Congress.”.
Biological. management. objectives. for. units. within. the. Refuge. System. are. derived.
from.this.legislation.and.the.associated.policies.(US.Fish.and.Wildlife.Service.2009).
