Problem Solving Framework

The third step is to learn the environmental and financial costs of managing the system.Maintaining an ecological system in other than the "natural" condition usually requires some expenditure and might produce unwanted side effects.Har- vesting or managing populations over long periods can also produce un- desired cumulative genetic changes (Chapter 11.

The third step is to learn the environmental and financial costs of managing the system.Maintaining an ecological system in other than the "natural" condition usually requires some expenditure and might produce unwanted side effects.Har- vesting or managing populations over long periods can also produce un- desired cumulative genetic changes (Chapter 11.

The second step is to determine the desired degree of protection, ex- ploitation, or control.

This decision usually involves choosing a state in which to maintain the ecological system in question and a length of time 106 KINDS OF ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AND THEIR APPLICATIONS for which to maintain it.

Attempts to achieve a goal sometimes have unexpected results.

The New Brunswick forest case study shows how attempting to maximize forest timber production on the basis of individual stands might not only fail to maximize yield over the whole forest, but fail to provide consistency in yields over a long period.

For example, we might wish to reduce the population of a pest or the amount of damage it causes, increase the yield of a harvested species, or maintain the species composition of a valued habitat.

The period of management might be months, decades, or cen- turies.

(1981), and Skutch and Flowerdeu (1976) Guidelines too elaborate and requirements too diverse Time and money constraints not recognized Unreasonable expectations of decision-makers Tendency to start gathering baseline data immediately, at the expense of careful planning Failure to formulate objectives clearly and to develop a study strategy Unwarranted belief that ecological principles used in managed systems are as appropriate to unmanaged systems Failure to recognize the value of early input from those who might later be involved in re view, leading to an adversarial process Failure to define project boundaries Failure to consider cumulative effects Failure to state the bases of value judgments Lack of scientific standards for impact assessment Lack of respect in academe for impact assessment Vague and unverifiable predictions Lack of a rigorous, quantitative approach, especially in monitoring Lack of continuity in studies conducted during planning, developmental, and operational phases of a project Failure to follow actions with adequate monitoring studies Use of impact assessment for disclosure, rather than for learning Failure to recognize the scientific value of experimentation and monitoring Failure to consider the recovery potential of species and ecosystems Poorly written reports in which major points are buried in enormous amounts of information Inordinate expenditure of effort on descriptive studies with little potential for predictive value Inaccessibility of reports and results of studies, making them difficult to evaluate and learn from DEFINING ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS AND SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS In spite of the difficulties and controversies associated with identifying environmental goals, a clear statement of goals early on can help to focus research and can increase the chance of protecting components of the environment likely to be identified as valuable to society.

The first step in defining such goals is to identify the components of the environment perceived as valuable, such as salmon in rivers of the northwestern and northeastern United States, a "natural-looking" community of plants on reclaimed land (Chapter 18), clean water (Chapter 20), clean air, forest productivity (Chapter 19), and fishery productivity (Chapter 12~.

Early scoping can help to identify the im- portant issues and potential environmental effects associated with planned actions.

It can help to define scientific objectives and guide the design of ecological studies.