Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
The. 1997. Refuge. Improvement. Act. mandates. the. development. of. a.
Comprehensive. Conservation. Plan. (CCP). for. each. refuge;. this. plan. addresses. a.
15-year.time.period.(Schroeder.2006,.2008;.US.Fish.and.Wildlife.Service.2000)..
Goals,. objectives,. and. strategies. for. management. of. each. refuge. are. deined. in.
the. CCP;. public. input. into. the. process. is. required.. Each. CCP. needs. to. deine.
speciically.the.goals,.objectives,.and.strategies.planned.for.that.land.unit,.based.
upon.these.broad.agency.policies..However,.there.is.considerable.variation.in.the.
speciicity. of. these. plans. (Schroeder. 2006).. Only. a. few. of. the. highest-priority.
strategies. associated. with. the. objectives. can. be. implemented. because. resources.
are.limited.
What.can.be.done.to.help.managers.clarify.and.reine.their.objectives?.One.tech-
nique.for.clarifying.management.objectives.is.to.prioritize.objectives.based.on.the.
decisions.that.must.be.made.by.a.manager.this.week,.this.month,.or.this.year.regard-
ing.the.management.unit(s).in.question.(Lyons.et.al..2008)..A.focus.on.management.
actions.or.decisions.narrows.the.priorities.to.those.objectives.that.the.manager.can.
directly. address. through. management.. Such. decisions. encompass. a. wide. range. of.
possibilities,. including. implementing. some. action. on. the. ground,. acquiring. land,.
repairing.roads.and.physical.structures,.working.with.local.or.state.agencies.on.coop-
erative.conservation.or.preservation,.setting.hunting.regulations.or.bag.limits,.and.
broadening.or.limiting.public.access.to.certain.management.units..Questions.such.as.
“why.is.that.important?”.will.eventually.uncover.the.manager's.fundamental.objec-
tive,.i.e.,.the.primary.reason.the.manager.acts/decides.in.the.irst.place.(Gregory.and.
Keeney.2002;.Lyons.et.al..2008).
In.the.Refuge.System,.fundamental.objectives.are.generally.focused.on.sustaining.
populations.of.high-priority.species.(e.g.,.migratory.birds,.threatened.or.endangered.
species,.etc.).(Johnson.2000)..However,.some.attributes.of.high-priority.ecosystems.
like.forests,.salt.marshes,.and.tall.grass.prairies.(e.g.,.ecological.integrity,.ecosystem.
function,.patterns.of.disturbance).can.also.be.fundamental.management.objectives..
Once. the. fundamental. objective. is. identiied,. it. can. be. linked. to. the. management.
decisions.or.actions..Why.are.you.burning.that.grassland.every.three.years?.Are.you.
trying.to.restore.the.native.plant.community,.attract.speciic.species.of.nesting.birds,.
or. reduce. the. threat. of. wild. ires?. This. seems. elementary,. but. in. our. experience,.
deining. speciic. and. measurable. objectives. is.a. dificult.process. (Fischman. 2007;.
Schroeder. 2008).. No. real. conservation. progress. can. be. made. without. answering.
these.questions.
IS HISTORY A BENCHMARK FOR THE FUTURE?
Climate.change.will.force.ecologists.and.resource.managers.to.reconsider.their.
conservation.targets..In.the.past,.managers.have.looked.to.history.to.give.them.
a. benchmark. for. restoration. objectives. (Brook. and. Bowman. 2006;. Schroeder.
2008)..Restoration.targets.are.usually.plant.communities.that.were.present.histor-
ically.at.that.location..In.the.United.States,.this.usually.means.communities.that.
were. there. prior. to. 1800.. Explorer. journals,. land-surveyor. records,. and. paleo-
ecology. have. allowed. geographers. to. reconstruct. historic. vegetation. for. many.
locations.(Rentch.and.Hicks.2005;.Nielsen.and.Odgaard.2005)..If.climate.change.
