Bulletin Series
Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
 
Species and Ecosystem Conservation:
An Interdisciplinary Approach
TIM W. CLARK, MICHAEL J. STEVENSON, KIM ZIEGELMAYER,
MURRAY B. RUTHERFORD, VOLUME EDITORS
JANE COPPOCK, BULLETIN SERIES EDITOR
Yale University
New Haven , Connecticut
•
2001
This volume was published as a cooperative effort between the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental
Studies and the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative of Jackson, Wyoming. The Yale School of
Forestry & Environmental Studies Bulletin Series, begun in 1912, publishes student and faculty monographs, symposia, workshop proceedings, and other reports in cooperation with other organizations. The
aim of the Series is to contribute to improved natural resource management and policy. To order
copies, or download PDF versions of individual articles contact: http://www.yale.edu/environment/
publications
or
Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Bulletin Series
205 Prospect Street
New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA
or
Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative
P. O. Box 2705
Jackson, Wyoming 83001
Volume Editors Tim W. Clark, Michael J. Stevenson, Kim Ziegelmayer, and Murray B. Rutherford
Bulletin Series Editor Jane Coppock
Bulletin Design R. Richard Solaski
Production Peggy Sullivan, Sullivan Graphic Design
Editorial Assistance Amy Hayden
Printing Yale University Reprographics and Imaging Services (RIS)
Cover Design Russell Shaddox, Yale RIS
Paper Mohawk Vellum, Cream White, 60 lb. text, acid free, recycled
Produced with support from the:
Northern Rockies
Conservation Cooperative
Bulletin Number 
ISSN
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CODEN BYSSDM
© Yale University
Permission is granted to reproduce this volume without prior written consent. The analyses in this volume are the sole opinions of
the authors.
Contents
WELCOME TO READERS
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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PREFACE
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LEADERSHIP IN SPECIES AND ECOSYSTEM CONSERVATION
Tim W. Clark, Michael J. Stevenson, Kim Ziegelmayer, and Murray B. Rutherford
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PART I: INTERDISCIPLINARY PROBLEM SOLVING
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A Course on Species and Ecosystem Conservation: An Interdisciplinary Approach
Tim W. Clark
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Interdisciplinary Problem Solving in Species and Ecosystem Conservation
Tim W. Clark
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PART II: INTERDISCIPLINARY PROBLEM SOLVING IN PRACTICE—
STUDENT CASE STUDIES FROM 1999
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Interdisciplinary Problem Solving at the Local, Regional, and Global Scales
Bridge Over Troubled Waters: Faith-based Stewardship in Chesapeake Bay
Tracy A. Scheffler (featured case)
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The Canadian North Atlantic Cod Fishery: A Case Study of Management and
Conservation Policy (abstract)
Gregory C. Jones
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IUCN/Species Survival Commission Action Plans: An Interdisciplinary Approach (abstract)
Alexandra C. M. Baillie
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Protected Areas Management: Integrating Communities, Conservation, and Development
Galapagos Islands: Managing Introduced Species in an Endangered Ecosystem
Michael J. Stevenson (featured case)
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The Impact of Human Conflict on Eastern Lowland Gorilla Conservation in
Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo (abstract)
Omari O. Ilambu
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Conflict Resolution Between Local Communities and Park Management in
Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda: The African Wildlife Foundation’s Role (abstract)
Chris M. Nyce
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Tourism and Development: Implications for Snow Leopard Conservation in the
Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal (abstract)
Kim Ziegelmayer
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Species Conservation in the United States
(W)helping the Wolves: A Perspective on De-listing Endangered Species in Minnesota
Barry Ross Muchnick (featured case)
Black Tailed Prairie Dogs: A New Era of Management? (abstract)
Caroline G. Kuebler
The Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Policy Process (abstract)
Julie T. Stein
Evaluating Conservation Initiatives
Resolving Land Conflict Along the Border of the Mbaracayú Reserve, Paraguay
Jonathan Padwe (featured case)
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The Illegal Extraction of Mai hom, a Non-timber Forest Product, in Khao Yai National
Park, Northeast Thailand (abstract)
Christie M. Young
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From Upper to Lower River: A Decision Process Analysis of the Housatonic River
Restoration in New England (abstract)
Kerry M. Cesareo
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Recommendations for a Smooth Ecological and Social Transition into the Future for
Agro-pastoralists of the Baringo Lowlands, Northern Kenya (abstract)
Ashley G. Lanfer
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PART III: INTERDISCIPLINARY PROBLEM SOLVING IN PRACTICE—
STUDENT CASE STUDIES AND OTHER APPLICATIONS 1990-1998
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Conserving Biodiversity in Hawai’i: What is the Policy Problem?
Jonathan L. Scheuer and Tim W. Clark
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Zoos and Conservation: Policy Making and Organizational Challenges
Nicole A. Mazur and Tim W. Clark
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The Policy Frontier: Sustainability Planning in Teton County, Wyoming
Sue Lurie and Tim W. Clark
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Organizing an Effective Partnership for the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative
Tim W. Clark and David L. Gaillard
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Finding Common Ground in Biological Conservation:
Beyond the Anthropocentric vs. Biocentric Controversy
Alejandro Flores and Tim W. Clark
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CONCLUSION: KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS FOR PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Tim W. Clark, Murray B. Rutherford, Kim Ziegelmayer, and Michael J. Stevenson
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E-Mail: nrcc@wyoming.com
Welcome to Readers
This volume introduces and illustrates an interdisciplinary approach to species and ecosystem
conservation. We know from our own diverse experience and that of many other professionals that
this approach can improve policy and management in many contexts. Improving our problemsolving and leadership skills is one of the most important challenges of our time.
The formal course summarized in this volume and the interdisciplinary approach it uses can be
applied with good effect in many situations. The students who have used this approach in Tim
Clark’s course at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies over the past 11 years have found
it helpful in analyzing and recommending conservation solutions in cases across Africa, South
America, Asia, Australia, and North America. We hope you will find the information in this
volume pertinent to your work as well.
One of the primary roles of NRCC is to help citizens and governments manage natural
resources in the best ways possible, and we feel that this volume will be helpful in that regard.
NRCC typically carries out work in half a dozen countries at any one time. The organization also
supports students, interns, and others in their efforts to become better problem solvers and leaders.
This publication is a genuinely cooperative product of NRCC and the Yale School of Forestry &
Environmental Studies. The editors were all affiliated with both organizations when they prepared
this volume (with NRCC as board members, research associates, or interns, and with Yale as
graduate students, doctoral candidates, or professors). Copies of this document can be ordered
from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies at www.yale.edu/environment. We
would appreciate your feedback.
Sincerely,
Louise Lasley
Executive Director
Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative
NRCC Board of Directors
Tim W. Clark, President
Lance Craighead, Vice-President
Denise Casey, Secretary-Treasurer
Louise Lasley, Executive Director
Leonard Carlman
George Gorman
Peyton Griffin
Catherine Patrick
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Acknowledgments
Many people contributed information, time, and money to this volume.
Their knowledge, generosity, and professionalism made this work possible,
and we sincerely appreciate their many and varied contributions. Among
these people were those interviewed in preparing the case studies described
in Parts II and III. They live in diverse countries on several continents and
in situations that range from small villages in tropical jungles to highly
industrialized cities. Of course, this volume would not have been possible
without the hard work of the authors of the featured cases and their
classmates, and all of the students who have taken Tim Clark’s species and
ecosystem conservation courses over the last 11 years.
Yale University’s School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and the
Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative, Jackson, Wyoming,
provided financial support. Support for the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative was generously provided by Gilman Ordway, Catherine
Patrick, Hopie and Bob Stevens, the Wiancko Charitable Foundation,
The New-Land Foundation, the Henry P. Kendall Foundation, and Stephen
and Amy Unfried.
Jane Coppock, editor of the Yale School of Forestry &
Environmental Studies Bulletin Series, provided significant support. We
would also like to thank the many people who critically reviewed the
manuscripts.
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Preface
This volume introduces a genuinely interdisciplinary problem-solving
approach and applies it to cases ranging from the conservation of single
species to ecosystem management, and to policy problems across local,
regional, national, and international scales. Many people today are seeking
to learn such an interdisciplinary approach and would like to develop the
skills to use it successfully in diverse situations. The present volume is
offered to help them in the dual task of learning and applying this approach.
All papers in this volume emphasize cooperative, effective problem solving.
The method of problem solving that is discussed and demonstrated here
has been taught in the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies at Yale
University for the last 11 years in a course called “Species and Ecosystem
Conservation: An Interdisciplinary Approach.” The course teaches problem-solving skills and offers students an opportunity to apply them. Case
applications cover the spectrum of contemporary conservation challenges.
Each year the course has been diverse in terms of student backgrounds,
disciplines represented, skills present, and lifetime experiences and interests. Over a decade’s experience shows that this interdisciplinary approach
can be learned, talked about explicitly, and applied systematically, as the
contents of this Bulletin illustrate.
The Bulletin begins with a brief introduction to the species and ecosystem conservation challenge, the professional task, and the skills needed to
address it successfully. The remainder of the volume is divided into three
parts. Part I introduces the concept of interdisciplinary problem solving,
and provides several lists of general questions to guide application. Within
Part I, the first paper describes in detail the course “Species and Ecosystem
Conservation: An Interdisciplinary Approach,” which is designed to teach
and learn this approach to leadership and problem solving. The concluding
paper in Part I discusses concepts and methods for successful problem
solving, and uses an example of a species conservation challenge to illustrate
the fundamental ideas.
In Part II, selected cases from the 1999 class are used to illustrate this
interdisciplinary approach and its successful “first time” application by
university students. Four cases are featured: shellfish conservation in
Chesapeake Bay, United States; introduced species management in the
Galapagos Islands of Ecuador; wolf recovery in Minnesota in the United
States; and land conflict along the border of the Mbaracayú Reserve in
Paraguay. Ten other abstracts describing cases from a broad range of geographic
locations, together with a listing of cases examined by the other students in the
1999 course, further illustrate the range of possible applications.
In Part III, five additional cases from previous years are offered which
use the interdisciplinary problem-solving approach in a flexible way,
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emphasizing the various aspects of problem solving. For example, a paper
on biodiversity conservation in Hawaii focuses on “problem definition,”
whereas an analysis of zoos examines policy direction and organizational
flexibility. Part III also includes a list of other selected cases from those
examined by the over 200 students who have taken this class over the last 11
years, again showing the broad range of possible applications. The final
paper of the volume provides an overview of interdisciplinary problem
solving and discusses how this approach might be utilized by a professional
to address a specific conservation problem.
The material in this Bulletin is directed toward a diverse audience
throughout the world. It is intended for anyone interested in improving
their own problem-solving skills, regardless of the situations in which they
find themselves. It serves as a reader and casebook for students in future
courses at Yale University, but it can also aid people who do not have the
opportunity to take a course at Yale to learn about this approach. These
papers are also available for downloading at the Yale School of Forestry &
Environmental Studies website (www.yale.edu/environment/publications).
In addition, it is a guide to further reading, as numerous citations and
examples using the problem-solving method are included in the literature
referenced in each paper. Our hope is that this volume will encourage both
new and more experienced professionals everywhere to learn and apply
interdisciplinary problem solving to the challenges of species and ecosystem conservation.
The Editors
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