NEW PERSPECTIVES FOR SUSTAINABLE NATURAL-RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

The USDA Forest Service is taking a new direction in its research and management programs in response to changing views of land and natural resources. The changes reflect the complexity of society's concerns and expectations for national forest management, including biological diversity, ecological function and balance, product yields, social values, and the beauty and integrity of natural environments. The new direction involves a shift in management focus from sustaining yields of competing resource outputs to sustaining ecosystems. More than ever, management of public lands and resources requires knowledge about ecosystems, including relationships to human values, activities, and patterns of resource use. Also required are new roles for scientists, including closer partnerships with managers to achieve large-scale studies and adaptive management of public lands and resources.