Transcript Natural Variability as a Management Paradigm

Natural Variability as a
Management Paradigm
Paleo-Landscape Ecology:
Reconstructing the Spatial
and Temporal Dynamics of
Pacific Northwest Forests
Natural Resources Management Paradigms
Commodity
Production
Species
Preservation
Natural
Variability
Commodity Production
 Maximize
the production of one or
more commodities
 Minimize impacts on other resources
Species Preservation
 “…maintain
viable populations of all
native and desirable non-native
species well distributed throughout
their range.” (NFMA)
 Economic and social consequences
are secondary
Natural Variability: The
Precautionary Principle of
Ecosystem Management
 Describe
the range of stand and
landscape-level conditions that
existed in these forests prior to EuroAmerican settlement
 Design management plans that
maintain the system somewhere
within this range