The conservation of natural resources has entered a new era. Our former paradigm, which stressed multiple resource use and maximum sustained yield, is rapidly being replaced by a new paradigm, which emphasizes sustainable ecosystems and the conservation of whole systems for a variety of purposes. This new paradigm, called "ecosystem management", has become the operating philosophy of the federal land management agencies for the stewardship of lands and resources to achieve environmentally sensitive, socially responsive, economically feasible, and scientifically sound management of the public lands. Ultimately, ecosystem management entails managing landscapes to bring human social and economic needs into closer alignment with ecological capabilities to ensure the sustainability of ecological and socioeconomic systems. Unfortunately, despite being underpinned by a number of well established principles and concepts, a precise, pragmatic, and widely accepted definition of ecosystem management still eludes us. Consequently, ecosystem management means many different things to different people. Thus, in this course, we will focus on the following:

• The conceptual tools of ecosystem management. What is ecosystem management; the pathology of traditional natural resource management; definitions of ecosystem management; a model of ecosystem management; incorporating uncertainty and complexity into management; adaptive management.
• The biological and ecological background of ecosystem management. Genetic diversity in ecosystem management; issues regarding populations and species; populations and communities at the landscape level; landscape-level conservation; managing biodiversity across landscapes.
• The human dimensions of ecosystem management. Working with human communities; stakeholders and collaboration; strategic approaches to ecosystem management; evaluation.
• Challenges & future directions. Evolving perspectives on ecosystem management; key real-world challenges in implementing ecosystem management; future directions for research and application.

Beyond these overall content goals, this course is intended to:

• Provide students with an opportunity to work and learn in an interdisciplinary environment;
• Provide students with an opportunity to engage in active, student-directed learning.
• Provide students with an opportunity to refine their written and oral communication skills.
• Provide students with an opportunity to develop an open-mindedness and appreciation for diverse viewpoints regarding integrated resource management.
• Expose students to the complexities of implementing ecosystem management in a real landscape.

WHO SHOULD TAKE THIS COURSE: This course will be primarily of interest to seniors and graduate students in the Natural Resources Conservation Department, although students from a variety of other departments, including Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning (LARP) and Public Policy and Administration, among others, may benefit as well. Students are expected to have a strong background in ecology, resource policy, written and oral communication, and quantitative methods. To accomplish the course goals and objectives, we will use a project-based learning approach. Students will work in interdisciplinary teams on several projects. Emphasis will be placed on the lab projects.

TEXT: Ecosystem Management: Adaptive, Community-Based Conservation by Gary K. Mette, Larry A. Nielsen, Richard L. Knight, and Dennis A. Schenborn. Island Press, 2002. Plus lecture notes by K. McGarigal and assigned journal articles.

PREREQUISITES: Senior or graduate standing in NRC, or permission from instructor.

COURSE SYLLABUS:

• Lecture Syllabus
• Lab Syllabus