[Contents] 

Introduction

Purpose

This document revises the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service) March 1994 Ecosystem Approach to Fish and Wildlife Conservation concept document. It describes how the Service uses an ecosystem approach to more effectively fulfill its mission and serve as a better partner in efforts to conserve fish and wildlife and their habitats. This revision reflects the evolution of our concept and the lessons learned in the first year of exploration and implementation. Ideas and suggestions from our employees, our partners, and other stakeholders have been invaluable in refining our approach. The Service's ecosystem approach continues to evolve as we learn from experience and from others.

This document will be incorporated into the Service Manual and will guide the Service's implementation of an ecosystem approach. Additional guidance will be developed as needed.

Ecosystem Approach: Background

Conservation literature over the last decade has increasingly fostered the idea that resource conservation can best be achieved by taking a more holistic approach to fish and wildlife management. Many parts of our society, including Federal agencies, the States, and the private sector (individuals, conservation groups, and industry), are experimenting with ecosystem-based approaches to help bring divergent interests together to seek common solutions.

"Ecosystem approach" is not a new concept it was central to Aldo Leopold's eloquent discourses about conservation biology and the need for a "land ethic". Writers such as Thoreau and Muir stressed taking a holistic view of nature. Early ecologists such as Cowles, Forbes and Clements also stressed the importance of recognizing the role every organism plays in the overall scheme of an ecosystem.

According to current literature and the many ongoing State, Federal, and private efforts, an ecosystem approach generally can be characterized as follows:

• The primary goal is conserving natural biological diversity and ecosystem integrity, while supporting a sustainable level of human use.

   

• Common goals are developed, and management decisions are made with the participation of all internal and external stakeholders.

   

• Management decisions consider the full array of biological and socioeconomic parameters.

   

• Management decisions are made based on natural, ecologically defined boundaries.

   

• Managers recognize that ecosystems are dynamic and manage adaptively in response to changing biological and societal circumstances.

Building on decades of growing support for an ecosystem approach, Vice President Gore's National Performance Review called for a proactive approach to ensuring a sustainable economy and a sustainable environment through ecosystem management. As part of implementing this approach, the White House's Office of Environmental Policy convened an Interagency Ecosystem Management Task Force to explore how Federal agencies can best contribute to ecosystem management efforts under way or emerging across the country. The Task Force's goal is to ensure the effectiveness of Federal efforts by establishing standards, identifying barriers that impede efficiency, and using what we have learned from existing ecosystem approach efforts to recommend solutions.

Today's natural resource managers are at a crossroads, similar to where our predecessors were nearly a century ago when they accepted the challenge to restore our Nation's depleted game populations. They faced what appeared to be insurmountable obstacles. Most of their attempts to overcome the obstacles were through trial and error, but in the long run, they were successful. The issues facing natural resource managers today have become extremely complex. We must learn how to protect natural resources while meeting the socioeconomic needs of a rapidly increasing world population. As did some of our predecessors, many may view our challenges as insurmountable. Our predecessors succeeded by taking risks, using innovation, continually trying new methods, and by working together. These same things are needed to tackle the resource issues facing us today.

The Service is eager to work with others in exploring and adopting an ecosystem approach. Our society places great value on fish, plants, wildlife, and the ecosystems upon which all species, including humans, depend. An ecosystem approach to fish and wildlife conservation is a common-sense, long-term strategy designed to maintain natural communities, while at the same time providing a sustainable level of recreational and economic security for the future. This is no small challenge, but one in which the Service must play a crucial role.

Continue on to the Fish and Wildlife Service's Adoption of an Ecosystem Approach