ABSTRACT
In recent years, resource-based industries have been identified as key stakeholders in effective ecosystem planning initiatives, as they not only have a large impact on critical natural resources, but also because much of the critical habitat in the US is located on privately held land. Recent research has indicated that ecosystem management projects are more successful when private corporations are full participants. This chapter outlines the importance of multiparty collaboration in ecosystem approaches to management and the increasing significance of industry as a key stakeholder in the management process. It introduces key concepts which draw upon two concrete cases: the burney-hat forest lands and the shelter bay forests. An ecosystem approach to management is holistic in addressing natural resource issues by focusing on the interaction between human communities and entire ecological systems. Ecosystem approaches to management increasingly depend on collaboration across administrative and ownership boundaries.
