Steering conservation's course using adaptive management

Excerpt

The Holocene epoch is over; the Anthropocene has already begun. As Nobel Laureate Paul J. Crutzen pronounced in 2000, we live in a geologic epoch in which humans are the defining force (Crutzen and Stoermer 2000). We play a major role in the workings of our environment and Earth's fundamental natural processes, transforming and shaping them on a global scale, with consequences today and long into the future. Web sites allow anyone with a computer and an Internet connection to observe these changes (University of Wisconsin-Madison 2005). The implication is not only that human interaction with the natural world must be better understood, but also that humans must assume a conscious and deliberate role in its management. Conservation becomes more than just correcting past mistakes and protecting resources that we value but adapting to new circumstances in a dynamic environment.

We can either blindly sail into the future or consciously steer our course. Steering means knowing where we are and what the directional choices can be. To avoid costly mistakes resulting from poor decisions, we have to use the best science, make better decisions, and demonstrate results.

Adaptive management improves navigation in an uncertain environment. USDA's Conservation Effects Assessment Project…