ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT

Ecosystem management, the driving force behind current policy of the Forest Service, USDI Bureau of Land Management, and other Interior agencies, combines philosophy, conservation, ecology, environmentalism, and politics. Although the term "ecology" has been around since the 1800's, management using an ecological framework is relatively recent. Aldo Leopold's book A Sand County Almanac (1949) and Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring (1962) influenced many people to look at the broader picture of the interaction between people and the environment. In 1970, Lynton Caldwell published an article that perhaps for the first time advocated using an ecosystem approach to public land management and policy. Then in the late 1970s, Frank and John Craighead pioneered efforts to use broad ecosystems in the management of grizzly bears in the Yellowstone National Park and surrounding national forests. By the late 1980's, many researchers and public land managers were convinced that an ecosystem approach to manage public lands was the only logical way to proceed in the future. The following 10 elements contain what ecosystem management means for public and private land management (thanks to the work of Edward Grumbine):

1. Multiple Analysis Levels—Use different levels of analysis, from the site-specific location to the broad watershed perspectives or even larger.

2. Ecological Boundaries—Define ecosystems by analyzing and managing them across political and administrative boundaries.

3. Ecological Integrity—Protect the total natural diversity, ecological patterns, and processes. Keep all the pieces.

4. Data Collection and Data Management—Require more research, better data collection methods, and up-to-date information.

5. Monitoring—Track results of management actions. Learn from mistakes. Take pride in successes.

6. Adaptive Management—Use adaptive management, a process of taking risks, trying new methods and processes, experimentation, and most of all remaining flexible to changing conditions or results. Encourage better public participation and involvement in planning.

7. Interagency Cooperation—Work with agencies at the Federal, State, and local levels, as well as the private sector, to integrate and cooperate over large land areas to benefit the ecosystems.

8. Organizational Change—Change how the various agencies work internally and with partners to encourage cooperation and understanding, as well as advance training for on-the-ground employees. Expand partnerships and cooperation with other agencies and the public.

9. Humans Are Part of Ecosystems—People are a fundamental part of ecosystems, both affecting them and affected by them. Involve people at all stages in the analysis and decisionmaking phases.

10. Human Values—The human attitudes, beliefs, and values that people hold are significant in determining the future of ecosystems as well as the global environment. Seek balance and harmony between people and the land with equity across regions and through generations by maintaining options for the future.

Jack Ward Thomas—Thirteenth Chief, 1993-1996

Jack Ward Thomas was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on September 7, 1934. Amid controversy about how new Chiefs would be appointed, Thomas was given the job on October 1993 as a political appointee with the assurance that he would be converted to a career appointment through the Senior Executive Service (through which Chiefs Peterson and Robertson were appointed). Soon after his becoming Chief, Thomas had to address a demoralized agency, with the public in opposition to practically anything that the Forest Service proposed to do.

The controversy about the Northwest Forest Plan for the spotted owl region (western Washington, western Oregon, and northern California) was especially troubling. Yet Thomas, a Forest Service wildlife researcher his entire career, led several efforts to resolve conflicts over management under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, especially relating to spotted owls. Chief Thomas was greeted with suspicion by some, but was hailed by others. During his relatively short tenure as Chief, he moved quickly into implementation of ecosystem management for all the National Forest System lands.

Jack Ward Thomas wrote:

We don't just manage land—we're supposed to be leaders. Conservation leaders. Leaders in protecting and improving the land...with a broad view of natural resource leadership, and that includes people, because people are part of ecosystems... The Forest Service is going to be a leader in ecosystem management...right now it's more a concept than a practice... What does ecosystem management mean? It means thinking on a larger scale than we're used to. It means sustaining the forest resources over very long periods of time. And from that will flow many goods and services, not just timber. Ecosystem management is not just a timber sale; it's putting the timber sale into a bigger picture, including the watersheds, wildlife, roads, and people's needs and values... Wood production will continue to be a significant part of our program, but we will look more at multiple variables, not just production. We will be more proactive on wildlife programs, fish programs, and recreation programs...we have to involve the citizens of this country... We are going to have to improve our technical skills across the board... We need to be prepared to move into the 21st century or we'll be left in the dust.

Michael P. Dombeck—Fourteenth Chief, 1997-2001

Michael P. Dombeck was born on September 21, 1948, in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. He spent 12 years with the Forest Service primarily in the Midwest and West. In his last Forest Service post before he became Chief—National Fisheries Program Manager in the Washington Office—he was recognized for outstanding leadership in developing and implementing the fisheries programs and forging partnerships. He then spent a year as a Legislative Fellow working in the U.S. Senate with responsibility for natural resource and Interior appropriations issues. Dr. Dombeck was named Acting Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in February 1994.

After less than 3 years as Acting Director, he was selected as the new Chief of the Forest Service in January 1997. During his tenure, he focused on two major objectives: Creating a long-term vision to improve the health of the land through the "natural resource agenda" and improving customer service through a program entitled "collaborative stewardship."

Mike Dombeck wrote:

We are a better, stronger, and healthier Nation due to the work of the Forest Service. In the past, because there were fewer people and demands on the land, we could achieve many of our goals with less conflict. Getting from point A to point B wasn't all that difficult. We helped define the starting point and decided how to get to the endpoint. That has grown more complex as society has changed and become more complex. Today, we are faced with competing demands, new pressures on the land, and greater challenges than ever before.

There is an ongoing debate in this Nation over how national forests and rangelands should be managed. That's just fine. In fact, it is healthy. Debate and information are the essence of democracy. The people we serve, all of the people, are now more fully engaged in defining how to move from point A to point B. Our task is not to dictate the course or the outcome. Rather, we need to be the facilitators, the suppliers of knowledge and expertise, the educators and communicators who help people search for solutions.

But as the debate swirls, we cannot forget our successes or the essential services that we provide daily to people and communities. An important part of our job is to articulate our successes. The most enduring and powerful maxim of business is that "money flows to things people want." People want their cultural heritage protected, clean air and water, healthy forests and rangelands, good hunting and fishing, sustainable supplies of timber and forage, etc. The one sure way to guarantee that we will have continued downsizing and declining budgets is by not telling people our story. We need to communicate our successes.

My expectation is that everything we do—every environmental impact statement we write, every timber sale, recreation plan, mining plan, or allotment management plan we approve—will not compromise the health of the land. I want to make it very clear that no Forest Service program has dominance over another. Timber is not more important than wildlife and fisheries. Nor is wildlife and fisheries more important than timber or recreation, or cultural resources, and so on.

We will care for the land and serve people by listening to all our constituents and by living within the limits of the land. I call this commitment to healthy ecosystems and working with people on the land "collaborative stewardship." Our task is to help bring people together on the land. That's what collaborative stewardship is all about. We are the professionals, scientists, and managers who can work hand-in-hand with State agencies, tribal governments, regulatory and other Federal agencies, conservationists—;all who use and care about public lands and natural resources to assure the most efficient and effective conservation management possible.

Our vision cannot be stated better than in the dedication of Breaking New Ground by Gifford Pinchot, published in 1947. "To the men and women of the Forest Service, whose courage, devotion, and intelligence have made it and kept it the best organization in the Government of the United States."