ABSTRACT
The federal agencies that manage public lands have adopted a strategy based on maintaining healthy ecosystems in order to preserve biodiversity and developing the land's resources responsibly. Such an approach to the whole requires biological disciplines such as ecology, pathology, and entomology. But, geology must be rewoven into the fabric of public land management. The need for a continuous flow of resources to fire the economic expansion of the Industrial Revolution drove the federal government for the first time to spend public money on scientific investigations. The Forest Service defines ecosystem management as "the integration of ecological, economic, and social factors on public lands to best meet future needs of people and the environment." As the science agency for the Department of the Interior, the US Geological Survey plays a critical role in providing scientific support for Interior's land management agencies as well as for the Forest Service.
