Ecosystem management has been one of the leading buzzwords in natural resource management during the last 10 years. It is a concept that has been embraced by most federal agencies, many state agencies and a number of private companies and organizations. While considerable activity has been directed toward ecosystem management, especially by federal agencies, it has produced few changes in the way on-the-ground management is actually being conducted. Ecosystem management has been a widely used term,but it often is defined in different ways (Christensen et al. 1996). To some, it has meant looking at landscapes instead of individual sites or communities. To others, it has meant considering multiple species rather than single species. Still to others,it has consisted of balancing aspects of ecology and economics in planning decisions. To most, it has been a term that has had some conceptual meaning but little basis in application of day to day natural resource management. Often heard is the statement, "We are using ecosystem management--whatever that is." Yet, natural resource managers have been increasingly expected to address ecosystem restoration and the conservation of biological diversity. These managers have recognized that to achieve these objectives, they need to consider the ecological interactions of larger, mixed ownership landscapes. They also realize that natural resource disciplines must be better integrated in order to the requirements for achieving these ecological objectives. Finally, natural resource managers have become increasingly aware that to effectively meet the ecological objectives, there also needs to be the integration of social and economic objectives. All of these are reasons why ecosystem management has been embraced as a concept. Ecosystem management should provide the solutions to these resource management challenges. Yet, solutions to these resource problems are rarely observed as the direct outputs of existing ecosystem management programs. Many existing programs have failed to provide sufficient framework and knowledge of the practical application of ecosystem management, resulting in frustrated land managers, property owners and publics. Ecosystem management needs to move beyond the conceptual stage and become a practical way of doing managing resources. It is time for ecosystem management to move from rhetoric to reality.
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