The Wilderness Act in an Era of Global Change Gregory H. Aplet Senior Science Director.

Slides:



Advertisements
Similar presentations
Biodiversity.
Advertisements

Presentation Template Conservation in a Changing Climate.
Ecological Systems Maintaining and Enhancing Natural Features and Minimizing Adverse Impacts of Infrastructure Projects Course Review.
Applying any three of the basic principles of smart growth, explain how the private land surrounding federally owned property might be developed.
Climate change is not simply an environmental challenge it is the greatest political, social and economic challenge that the world has ever faced. Our.
Outline: What is Conservation Biology?
Monitoring Changes in Wilderness Character Why, What, and How 1.
Fuel Management Objectives within Dry Forest Landscapes on the Okanogan-Wenatchee NF Dr. Richy J. Harrod Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.
Introduction to the Birds and Habitats Directives David Harrison – Senior Specialist, Site Protection.
The Wilderness Act Was signed into law on: September 23, 1968 September 3, 1964 December 31, 1978.
Sustaining Healthy Forests Using Natural Models to Guide Management Dr. Brian Palik USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station - A Context -The issue.
Preserving Earth’s Biological Diversity
Britta Bierwagen 1, Roxanne Thomas 2, Kathryn Mengerink 2 & Austin Kane 2 1 Global Change Research Program National Center for Environmental Assessment.
If You Forget Everything Else, Please Remember This.
The Ocean’s Role in Climate Change. Responding to the Kyoto Protocol Climate Change Action Fund (CCAF) Initiatives Reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Reduce.
This file is part of the FS Resources section at: This presentation should be reviewed and.
Problem Definition Exercise. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service General Summary Responses from ½ of those surveyed (n=14/31) Broad and narrow in scope Narrow.
Chapter 22 Table of Contents Section 1 An Interconnected Planet
Conservation at a Crossroads Lecture slides Thursday January 4, 2013.
The case for a Wilderness Directive Louise Waddell- LLB Simon Boyle, Solicitor.
Biodiversity. What is Biodiversity? "The variability among living organisms from all sources including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems.
Thinking Like a Watershed - Ecological governance concepts, trends and applications A presentation by Oliver M. Brandes, Associate Director POLIS Project.
LCC National Workshop Denver, CO March 28-29, 2012 Defining a Future Conservation Landscape in the Southeastern United States.
Resources and Living Things
October 21-22, 2003 Lansing Center Lansing, Michigan.
This file is part of the FS Resources section at: This presentation should be reviewed and.
Environmental History of the US: Some Important Thinkers
1 Future Forests Why it is so important to address the productivity and sustainability of our forests Hal Salwasser College of Forestry Oregon State University.
Environmental Ethics. Ethics Ethics: the study of good and bad, right and wrong – The set of moral principles or values held by a person or society that.
Thinking in Terms of Social- Ecological Systems: Connecting climate change impacts to human communities Miranda H. Mockrin Rocky Mountain Research Station.
Professor Philip Lowe Newcastle University Director of UK Research Councils’ Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Researching Environment - Society Relations.
Report on March Crystal City Workshop to Identify Grand Challenges in Climate Change Science By its cochair- Robert Dickinson For the 5 Sept
Wilderness Viewpoints Anthropocentric vs. Biocentric.
Conservation Biology Chapter 50. Conservation Biology 2Outline Conservation Biology & Biodiversity  Extinction Rates Value of Biodiversity  Direct Value.
Global Climate Change mitigation through Participatory Management of Multifunctional Forests: Carbon Sink Project as a Community- driven Approach in Harda,
Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity: The Ecosystem Approach G. Tyler Miller’s Living in the Environment 14 th Edition Chapter 11 G. Tyler Miller’s Living.
Chapter 22 Table of Contents Section 1 An Interconnected Planet
So Now What Do We Do? Planning for Climate Change Climate science in the public interest Lara Whitely Binder Climate Impacts Group Center for Science in.
Modern-Day Factors Affecting the Management of the Chequamegon- Nicolet National Forest April 12, 2011Paul Strong, Forest Supervisor.
Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Resource Management Plan Scoping Meetings August 30 and 31, 2010.
1 The U.S. Climate Change Science Program Peter Schultz, Ph.D. Director Climate Change Science Program Office Peter Schultz, Ph.D. Director Climate Change.
2. WILDERNESS Thomas Hobbes ( ) Robert Boyle ( )
Spring 2009 BioForum Conservation Biology: The Principles and Practice of Conserving Life's Diversity Dr. Healy Hamilton, Moderator.
UNCLASS1 Dr. Gene Whitney Assistant Director for Environment Office of Science and Technology Policy Executive Office of the President WISP Meeting - July.
1 NOAA Priorities for an Ecosystem Approach to Management A Presentation to the NOAA Science Advisory Board John H. Dunnigan NOAA Ecosystem Goal Team Lead.
The science of conservation planning Course objective: a free-ranging examination of some key scientific principles and research needs pertaining to conservation.
Cows  Forests. Shift from sheep to cows contributed to reforestation & current VT landscape Cows fall over steep slopes are spared Cows are hard work.
PROTECTED AREAS.
Unit 8: Ecology Do Now: 1.What is ecology? 2.Draw a food chain that includes ravens, squirrels, and oak trees (acorns). 3.Now, turn your food chain into.
Managing Forests for Adaptation to Climate Change Zoltán Rakonczay WWF – European Forest Programme Strategies for the Sound Use of Wood March, 2003,
WILDLIFE BIOLOGY Outdoor Investigations. Wildlife Biology ENTRY TASK : Read thought the provided handout and write the number of things you have.
Our Public and Federal Lands. The big picture 35% of US is public land 75% of that land is in Alaska.
Land, Public and Private Chapter 10. Public and Protected Land 11% of the Earth’s surface 42% of the United States is publically owned – federal, state,
Land, Public and Private. Human Activities Affecting Land and Environment  Extensive logging – mudslides  Deforestation – climate change  Paving –
Benefits of Biodiversity Section 3. Does Biodiversity Matter?  Scientists have offered a number of concrete, tangible reasons for preserving biodiversity.
Progress in wilderness fire science: embracing complexity.
Agroforestry Science: Tackling Key Global Development Challenges Presentation at Virginia Tech 16 July 2008 Dennis Garrity Director General.
Why preserve it? What is it? How to monitor it? Citizen stewardship WILDERNESS CHARACTER.
Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity: The Ecosystem Approach G. Tyler Miller’s Living in the Environment 14 th Edition Chapter 11 G. Tyler Miller’s Living.
Intro to Environmental Science. Environmental Science Interdisciplinary area of study dealing with human impact on the world Has been around since earliest.
PETER A. APPEL ALEX W. SMITH PROFESSOR UNIVERSITY. OF GEORGIA SCHOOL OF LAW UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PRESENTED AT LEWIS AND CLARK LAW SCHOOL APRIL 11,
International Union for Conservation of Nature Conserving biodiversity Pioneering nature’s solutions to global challenges.
Wilderness Act of 1964 Created by Heather Ryan. History and Authorization The Wilderness Act of 1964, was written by Howard Zahniser of the Wilderness.
Wilderness Fires Law, Policy, Mgt Approach Steve Kimball, R1 Prog. Mgr. Wilderness, WSR’s, O/G’s Law, Policy, Mgt Approach Steve Kimball, R1 Prog. Mgr.
Expanding on Sustainability
An Adaptation Portfolio Approach to Managing Climate Risk
How Humans are Connected to the Environment.
Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity: The Ecosystem Approach
Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity: The Ecosystem Approach
Presentation transcript:

The Wilderness Act in an Era of Global Change Gregory H. Aplet Senior Science Director

The Wilderness Act turns 50

Overview A brief wilderness history The essence of wilderness Implications of global change A strategy for sustaining wilderness values

The Early Years – Recreation and Ecological Condition John Muir Aldo Leopold Bob Marshall Victor Shelford “By ‘wilderness’ I mean a continuous stretch of country preserved in its natural state, open to lawful hunting and fishing, big enough to absorb a two weeks’ pack trip, and kept devoid of roads, artificial trails, cottages, or other works of man.” Aldo Leopold 1921 The Wilderness and Its Place in Forest Recreational Policy

The Post-War Years – Humility and Freedom from Control David Brower Howard Zahniser Wallace Stegner “We must never forget, we are guardians, not gardeners” Howard Zahniser 1963 The Living Wilderness

The Wilderness Act – 1964

The Wilderness Act Defined wilderness and established the National Wilderness Preservation System Established a process for adding to the system Described limitations on use Established exceptions to limitations

The essence of wilderness From Section 2(c) of the Wilderness Act:  A wilderness…is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain. An area of wilderness is further defined to mean in the Act an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions and which…generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature…

The essence of wilderness Earth and its community of life Primeval character Natural conditions = Ecological condition (Wholeness or “historical fidelity”) Untrammeled by man Primeval influence Affected primarily by the forces of nature = Freedom from human control

Ecological Condition Freedom from Control Novel Pristine Controlled “Self-willed” Arctic Refuge Downtown Curtis Prairie C&O Canal Vacant Lot Pine Plantation Chesapeake Bay Everglades Fire-excluded Ponderosa Pine Forest Dimensions of Wildness

Recovery Transformation Drift Restoration Ecological Condition Freedom from Control Controlled “Self-willed” Novel Pristine “Directions” of Management

The Ideal of Wilderness Restoration

Growth of the System

Enter Global Change Invasive species Atmospheric deposition Habitat fragmentation and land use change Climate change

Recovery Guide Change Accept Change Resist Change Ecological Condition Freedom from Control Controlled “Self-willed” Novel Pristine Global Change: The End of Recovery? Pressure of Global Change: Warming Invasives Fragmentation

Choices in the face of climate change Accept change:Observation only Resist change:Restoration Guide change:Innovation and experimentation

Certain Uncertainty “We might feel confident of broad-scale future environmental changes (such as global mean temperature increases), but we cannot routinely predict even the direction of change at local and regional scales (such as increasing or decreasing precipitation).” Millar et al. (2007)

What to do? “Managing in the face of uncertainty will require a portfolio of approaches, including short-term and long-term strategies, that focus on enhancing ecosystem resistance and resilience…as climates and environments continue to shift.” Millar et al. (2007) “A portfolio of adaptation and mitigation measures can diminish the risks associated with climate change.” IPCC Adaptation Report

An Experimental Landscape Approach Observation only in some places (both treatment and control) Restoration in some places (“Keeping all the parts”) Innovation in some places (novel conservation) Integrated across the landscape in a cohesive experiment

Principles of Allocation Representation Connectivity across gradients Configuration

An illustration

The Benefits of an Observation Only Approach Deepening respect for nature’s autonomy Fostering scientific humility Sustaining non-focal species Reducing unintended adverse consequences Providing unmanipulated benchmarks Preserving options and hedging risk From: “Let It Be: A Hands-Off Approach to Preserving Wildness in Protected Areas” by Peter Landres, USFS

Real Life Example: Hawaiian Ahupua’a “In different places, in different chunks, we can manage nature for different ends—for historical restoration, for species preservation, for self-willed wildness, for ecosystem services, for food and fiber and fish and flame trees and frogs.” – Emma Marris