Symposium # 22: Species Diversity at Broad Scales: Linking Science and Management.

Organized by: K.D. Brosofske
Wednesday, August 9, 2000
1:00 PM to 4:20 PM
Ballroom I - Cliff Lodge

Managers are increasingly expected to manage public lands for sustainability of non-economic values, such as biological diversity, as well as for economic outputs, such as timber. To do this, land managers must consider how their actions influence these values using current scientific research. Although it is easy to stipulate that forest management plans must maintain or enhance biological diversity, how this is to be accomplished is less obvious. Traditional stand-level management is becoming outmoded, rendering the collection of current management tools incomplete. With greater emphasis on managing landscapes and ecosystems, new methods for translating information to broader scales and for using this information are needed as we move into the 21st century.

The goal of this symposium is to provide a forum for forest scientists and managers to present issues relevant to the mutual exchange of knowledge and technologies concerning species diversity at broad scales. In the context of current public sentiment regarding biological diversity as well as changing scales of emphasis, it is now more important than ever that scientists and managers effectively communicate with each other their information needs and research results. The symposium will focus on relationships between forest management and diversity at broad scales, highlighting specific projects and tools that have successfully bridged the gap between scientists and decision-makers. Speakers represent national, state, private, and research viewpoints, presenting both general talks and case studies, including some good examples of ongoing projects that directly link science and management.