Ecosystem Management: Applications for Sustainable

Until recently, natural resource management of such commodities as timber and wildlife was driven largely by the desire to exploit these resources. During the past three decades, however, ecologists have warned that this approach to natural resource management could have unforeseen consequences because it ignored how ecosystems function within the landscape. Federal agencies that oversee forest and wildlife resources have begun to implement different schemes of ecosystem management, schemes that vary enormously among agencies. Contributors to this volume-leading experts who are agency personnel as well as researchers-now clarify the key elements of sound ecosystem management and offer prescriptions for implementing them.