Science and Ecosystem Management in the National ParksWilliam L. Halvorson, Gary E. Davis Our national parks are more than mere recreational destinations. They are repositories of the nation's biological diversity and contain some of the last ecosystem remnants needed as standards to set reasonable goals for sustainable development throughout the land. Nevertheless, public pressure for recreation has largely precluded adequate research and resource monitoring in national parks, and ignorance of ecosystem structure and function in parks has led to costly mistakes--such as predator control and fire suppression--that continue to threaten parks today. This volume demonstrates the value of ecological knowledge in protecting parks and shows how modest investments in knowledge of park ecosystems can pay handsome dividends. Science and Ecosystem Management in the National Parks presents twelve case studies of long-term research conducted in and around national parks that address major natural resource issues. These cases demonstrate how the use of longer time scales strongly influence our understanding of ecosystems and how interpretations of short-term patterns in nature often change when viewed in the context of long-term data sets. Most importantly, they show conclusively that scientific research significantly reduces uncertainty and improves resource management decisions. Chosen by scientists and senior park managers, the cases offer a broad range of topics, including: air quality at Grand Canyon; interaction between moose and wolf populations on Isle Royale; control of exotic species in Hawaiian parks; simulation of natural fire in the parks of the Sierra Nevada; and the impact of urban expansion on Saguaro National Monument. Because national parks are increasingly beset with conflicting views of their management, the need for knowledge of park ecosystems becomes even more critical--not only for the parks themselves, but for what they can tell us about survival in the rest of our world. This book demonstrates to policymakers and managers that decisions based on knowledge of ecosystems are more enduring and cost effective than decisions derived from uninformed consensus. It also provides scientists with models for designing research to meet threats to our most precious natural resources. "If we can learn to save the parks," observe Halvorson and Davis, "perhaps we can learn to save the world." |
Contents
From Beliefs | 3 |
From Scenery | 11 |
Fire Research and Management in the Sierra Nevada | 25 |
Copyright | |
15 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Science and Ecosystem Management in the National Parks William Lee Halvorson,Gary E. Davis Limited preview - 1996 |
Science and Ecosystem Management in the National Parks William L. Halvorson,Gary E. Davis Limited preview - 2023 |
Science and Ecosystem Management in the National Parks William Lee Halvorson,Gary E. Davis Limited preview - 1996 |
Common terms and phrases
alien plant alien species aquifer Arizona Ash Meadows biological C. P. Stone Canyon National Park Cave National Park Conservation court cutthroat trout decline Devil's Hole Devil's Hole pupfish Dunes National Lakeshore ecological ecosystem effects Environmental epidermal browning federal fisheries Grand Canyon groundwater habitat Hawaii Volcanoes National impacts Indiana Dunes Indiana Dunes National island Isle Royale karst Kings Canyon National land long-term Mammoth Cave Mammoth Cave National ment moose National Park Service National Scenic Riverways native NPS research Ozark National Scenic park managers Park Resources Parsons Pitcher's thistle pollution population protect pupfish Quinlan R. O. Peterson region research and monitoring research program River Saguaro National Monument Science scientific scientists Sierra Nevada springs studies tion tional Park Tucson U.S. Department U.S. Fish Unpubl visitor Volcanoes National Park Wagtendonk water level WHITEX wilderness wildlife winter wolf wolves Yellowstone Lake Yellowstone National Park Yosemite National Park