Index To Selected Science Publications Of The Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project

"The Integrated Scientific Assessment for Ecosystem Management for the Interior Columbia Basin links landscape, aquatic, terrestrial, social, and economic characterizations to describe biophysical and social systems. Integration was achieved through a framework built around six goals for ecosystem management and three different views of the future. These goals are: maintain evolutionary and ecological processes; manage for multiple ecological domains and evolutionary timeframes; maintain viable populations of native and desired non-native species; encourage social and economic resiliency; manage for places with definable values; and, manage to maintain a variety of ecosystem goods, services, and conditions that society wants. Ratings of relative ecological integrity and socioeconomic resiliency were used to make broad statements about ecosystem conditions in the Basin. Currently in the Basin high integrity and resiliency are found on 16 and 20 percent of the area, respectively. Low integrity and resiliency are found on 60 and 68 percent of the area. Different approaches to management can alter the risks to the assets of people living in the Basin and to the ecosystem itself. Continuation of current management leads to increasing risks while management approaches focusing on reserves or restoration result in trends that mostly stabilize or reduce risks. Even where ecological integrity is projected to improve with the application of active management, population increases and the pressures of expanding demands on resources may cause increasing trends in risk"--page ii.

Decisions regarding 72 million acres of gov¿t.-admin. lands will be based on scientific findings brought forth in the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Mgmt. Project. Here are highlights of the scientific findings: (1) Conditions and trends differ widely across the landscape; one-size-fits-all strategies will neither restore nor maintain ecosystems; (2) Ecosystem elements are linked to one another; effective ecosystem mgmt. requires an understanding of these linkages; (3) The scientific assessment highlighted a wide variety of risks important to ecological and socioecon. systems. It also brought forth numerous opportunities to restore ecological systems and provide goods and services. Active restoration was effective in addressing basin-wide risks and opportunities. Illus.