ABSTRACT
Abstract .................................................................................................................. 142 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 142 Limitations of Standard Management Protocols .................................................... 143 Understanding Ecosystem Processes ..................................................................... 144 Role of Grazing in Dry Prairies ............................................................................. 144 Eastern Grasslands and Nutrient Mining ............................................................... 147 Wet Meadows and Ecosystem Engineers ............................................................... 149 Managing Game and Nongame Species ................................................................ 150 Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 151 Acknowledgments .................................................................................................. 152 References .............................................................................................................. 152
Traditional approaches to wildlife management often focused on boosting populations of a few target species, and general ecosystem processes were not always taken into account. The importance of understanding the role of ecosystem processes is illustrated by examples from grassland bird conservation. An understanding of natural disturbances and ecological drivers is crucially important for understanding how to manage habitats for particular species of grassland birds. This approach is effective for both game and nongame species, and for preserving general biodiversity in a wide range of grassland ecosystems (shortgrass prairie, desert grassland, coastal grassland, and wet meadows). To apply this approach successfully, wildlife managers must use adaptive management to restore or simulate natural ecosystem processes. This requires thinking like an ecologist, and not like a civil engineer who is molding the environment according to a set of standard specišcations or highly prescribed plans.
