ABSTRACT
Expert opinion — from scientists, managers, and policy makers alike — has begun to converge on ecosystem management as an appropriate method for managing activities that affect natural systems. The federal Interagency Ecosystem Management Task Force, created under the Clinton administration, defines the goal of ecosystem management as “to restore and maintain the health, sustainability, and biological diversity of ecosystems while supporting sustainable economies and communities” (GAO, 1994). Grumbine (1994) states that “ecosystem management integrates scientific knowledge of ecological relationships within a complex sociopolitical and value framework toward the general goal of protecting native ecosystem integrity over the long term.”
