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The USDA Forest Service Perspective On
Ecosystem Management
David G. Unger1
multiple benefits in a manner harmonious with
ecosystem sustainability.
I have been asked to discuss with you how the
Forest Service will be moving forward in the next
few years with respect to ecosystem management.
I've also been asked to discuss some of the challenges that hindered in furthering concepts of
Ecosystem Management. My comments will be
general. I encourage you to hear Art Briggs and
others this afternoon discuss in more detail how
EM planning is underway in this region.
There are really two things that I want to
stress today. The first is the commitment of the
Forest Service to ecosystem management; recognizing it is not a goal unto itself, but a means to an
end-and that end is sustainable ecosystems and
sustainable uses of those ecosystems.
Secondly, I want to stress the critical importance of effective partnerships. Collaboration,
consultation and communication are essential to
the practice of ecologically sound forestry and
range management, both on the local and landscape level scale. By building on our long-term
relationships and searching out new ones, we will
continue to improve the stewardship of America's
forests and range resources.
THE FOREST SERVICE-MOVING AHEAD
How are we moving ahead in putting this philosophy into practice in the Forest Service? First,
we are viewing our work in a more holistic way,
looking at the interaction between management
activities, emphasizing integrated action, and
looking at different scales in planning and carrying out work. With an ecosystem management
approach, we step back from the forest stand or
range allotment and focus on the landscape. We
look at the larger environment in order to integrate the human, biological, and physical
dimensions of natural resource management.
Strategically, we are focusing on three desired
outcomes:
1.. Enhanced protection of ecosystems.
2. Restoration of deteriorated ecosystems.
3. Providing benefits within the capabilities of
ecosystems.
?vlore specifically, we are moving ahead in the
following areas:
ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENTAN APPROACH
Changes in Policies and Laws
What do we mean by ecosystem management.
Ecosystem management is a way of thinking
about the landscapes we work with.
Let me repeat that ecosystem management is
not an end, but a means to an end. It is a way of
thinking about the landscapes we work with.
Although there are several interpretations of
what "ecosystem management" means, every
definition has the same key concepts. The one I
will use today defines ecosystem management as
an approach to the management of natural resources that strives to maintain or restore the
sustainability of ecosystems and to provide present and future generations a continuous flow of
This is leading to consideration of changes in
the way we develop and revise forest plans. Proposed changes in our planning regulations are
nearing completion. Also, there are several areas
where we may need to ask Congress to revise our
statutory framework. Our Office of General Counsel is reviewing existing laws to see if there are
ways for the Forest Service to implement ecosystem Inanagement more efficiently.
Another Need is to Establish an Operating
Framework
The Forest Service, in cooperation with other
agencies, has adopted an ecological unit frame-
1Associate Chief, USDA Forest SeN/ce, Washington, D.C.
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Management Award from the Chief of the Forest
Service for the Yavapi project on the Prescott National Forest. Thi~ project not only resulted in
meeting the desired conditions set forth by private landowners, the Forest Service, and other
federal and state agencies, but had spin-off benefits beyond the original goal. Specifically, there
was a goal to have grass within the area high
enough in the spring to provide hiding cover for
antelope fawns. Through adjustments in management this goal was accomplished. The spin-off
cam when the highly controversial activity of aerial gunning of coyotes was no longer needed for
protection of fawns from predators. I point this
out to illustrate that we don't know, as yet, all the
benefits that can be derived from ecosystem management. We are attempting to find out though,
which leads me to my next topico
work to provide a scientific basis for ecosystem
management. The framework is a classification
and mapping system for stratifying areas into ecological units that have common biological and
environmental factors such as climate, physiography, water, soils, air, and natural communities.
Building on this system, we are particularly
please about an agreement that we have signed
with the Soil Conservation Service and the Bureau
of Land Management that will result in the development of a common ecological map of the
United States. We will be working with the Environmental Protection Agency, National Biological
Survey, Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological
Survey, and other State and federal agencies and
groups to develop a Memorandum of Understanding through which this work can be
accomplished. I want to stress the point that no
one set of lines on a map identifying ecological
units can serve all purposes. But it gives us a starting point for assessments and planning.
Monitoring and Evaluation
Assessments and Applications
The purpose of monitoring is to find out what
the efforts of our actions are. More important is to
adapt our management to incorporate new information. Monitoring can not continue to be treated
as an appendage and it can not be done based on
future funding. Monitoring must be part and parcel of everything we do, and we will need the
informed interest and participation of our stockholding in accomplishing it.
As we proceed on this course, we see that we
need to measure more than the activities and outputs of the past - we need to measure outcomes the conditions that demonstrate healthy, sustainable ecosystems. This change is a strongly
significant one.
It will be no surprise to anybody in this room
that the underpinning of good resource management has always been and will continue to be
science. In implementing ecosystem management,
we will enhance the use of science in the decisionmaking process. This will mean strengthened
independence of our research arm, as well as development of guidelines for up front and
continuous collaboration of scientists and decisionmakers and upgrading of the technical skills
of our workforce. Good examples are the process
we used to develop PACFISH, our strategy for
protection of sensitive salmon stocks in the Northwest( and the collaboration between researchers
and managers now taking place in revising the
Tongass Forest Plan in Alaska.
The next step - gathering information and
putting it to work. Several assessments are underway at large scales. The assessments that
provided the information used in developing the
President's Forest Plan for the Pacific Northwest
are the best known. Others have been c~onducted
on forest health in Eastern Oregon and Washington and are under way in the Upper Columbia
River Basin and the Sierra Nevada range in California.
These assessments are designed to gather
state-of-the-art information. The information then
can be used to amend forest plans and develop
project proposals. We have to recognize that national resource systems in our environment are
incredibly complex and it is unlikely we will ever
completely understand how ecosystems work. We
have however, learned a great deal. We will build
on our collective knowledge to measure the health
of our forests and rangelands and the plant and
animal communities of ecosystems. In place after
place across the U.s., our land managers are working with land people to develop and implement
strategies that conserve biological diversity and
maintain aesthetic values, while producing
needed commodities.
In the Southwest, there are many partners in
this application area. One of these groups was singled out last year for the National Ecosystem
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Collaboration and Partnerships
tionallevel, Congress is helping by authorizing us
to reduce our line items and to create a new category for ecosystem planning, inventory and
monitoring.
We are also looking at ways to organize our
work at every level of the Forest Service to facilitate the integration, skills development and
training that will help us advance ecosystem management. We've already combined our Land
Management Planning, Environmental Coordination, and Ecosystem Management staffs at the
Washington Office level.
Ecosystem management means commitment
to working with more partners than we've had in
the past, because ecosystems cross boundaries. By
working with our partners, we are best positioned
to foster sustainable communities and ecosystems.
Together, we can encourage the use of non-regulatory approaches, respect for private property
rights and information sharing with interested
and willing partners.
I cannot overemphasize the role that the philosophy of EM is playing in bringing different
players together at the table. At the federal level, the
Forest Service is participating on an Interagency
Ecosystem Management Coordination Team with
the BLM, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park
Service, Department of Defense, and the Soil Conservation Service to share information, to
coordinate projects of interest across agency lines,
and to develop a forum for the development of new
concepts. The Forest Service is working with the
BLM and the Soil Conservation Service on several
joint action plans. We have staff working with the
President's Commission on Sustainable.
Development, the National Biological Survey,
the State Department, EPA, the National Association of State Foresters, the National Association of
Conservation Districts, and the World Bank. We
are key participants in a White House initiative to
conduct 10 case studies in EM, and are working
with over 20 other countries, including ..Mexico, to
develop criteria for sustainable forest management with the U.s. Agency for International
Development, the Peace Corps, the United Nations, and other international agencies.
In the Southwest you are working together in
forums such as this one, through the series of
symposia with universities funded by Forest Service management and research branches, the
Southwest Forest Consortium, The Rio Grande
Basin Ecosystem Council, and the Malpai Borderlands Project. This project, with its leadership
from the private sector, is an excellent example of
the kind of collaboration that will be needed for
successful ecosystem management.
But we must do more. We must truly institutionalize collaboration and create opportunities
for reasonable people to come together to discuss
issues, learn from one another, and work toward a
consensus on how resources should be managed.
As a final stop in listing things we are doing to
promote ecosystem management, I want to mention organizational change. It's occurring at the
local and regional levels as we find ways to cross
over traditional functional boundaries. At the na-
WHAT ARE SOME CHALLENGES AHEAD?
All federal agencies, including the Forest Service, are facing declining budgets and workforces.
During the past two years, we've downsized by
nearly 4,000 positions. We need to find a way to
address staffing needs by retraining existing employees and by emphasizing ecosystem
management skills when we hire new employees.
Another challenge is the issue of private property rights. Because ecosystems cross boundaries,
ecosystem management has arisen as a concern to
some private landowners. The Forest Service has
never sought and does not seek any authority for
regulation or oversight on non-National Forest
System lands. Our approach with private landowners will continue to be one of cooperation and
assistance on a voluntary basis. We will continue
to respect the rights and interests associated with
private lands and indvidual goals, and will encourage the voluntary use of our ecosystem
management techniques by any landowner or
manager who finds them useful.
Ecosystem management is an evolving concept. New ideas take time to mature. As Diane
Madden of the Coronado National Forest and I
were discussing this morning, we don't know all
the answers. Hopefully, we won't take too many
wrong turns, but I know we will take some. What
is important is that we will learn, we will adapt,
and by doing so we will earn our public's trust.
The natural resource management community is
closer to agreement than we were a few years ago
- so we are making progress.
Ecosystem management will be an exciting
and fruitful journey. It is important for us to recognize our shared goals; promote local
participation in decisions and activities; and utilize the best knowledge and technology available.
Chief Jack Ward Thomas has proposed that our
land ethic for the century ahead be sustainable
ecosystems. It is a worthy challenge for us alL
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