Natural Variability as a Management Paradigm Paleo-Landscape Ecology: Reconstructing the Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Pacific Northwest Forests

Natural Resources Management Paradigms Commodity Production Species Preservation Natural Variability

Commodity Production Maximize the production of one or more commodities Minimize impacts on other resources

Species Preservation “…maintain viable populations of all native and desirable non-native species well distributed throughout their range.” (NFMA) Economic and social consequences are secondary

Natural Variability: The Precautionary Principle of Ecosystem Management Describe the range of stand and landscape-level conditions that existed in these forests prior to Euro-American settlement Design management plans that maintain the system somewhere within this range