Objectives

Learn about strategies for conserving species, including those poorly known or rare.

Discuss ecological risks and uncertainties associated with various strategies.

Examine social and legal contexts of conservation strategies.

Background and Scope

In the past, efforts to conserve species have focused on providing appropriate habitat for, and population management of, individual high-profile species protected by laws and regulations. Some regional plans have been designed to conserve a broad array of species and biological diversity by specifying protection of rare and uncommon species. This includes species that are little studied or difficult to detect over broad landscapes spanning multiple land ownerships. As an example, the Northwest Forest Plan aspires to protect general biodiversity, as well as over 300 species of rare, old-growth-associated fungi, lichens, bryophytes, mollusks, vascular plants, amphibians, arthropods, and mammals on 22 million acres of public lands, primarily on a species-by-species and site-by-site basis.

Such approaches have proven to be complex and expensive, and have placed constraints on the ability to meet other important management objectives. Multiple-species or ecosystem approaches addressing species assemblages at regional scales may be more efficient and lessen management constraints, but the degree to which they protect individual species rests more on hypothesis than on systematic testing. Such multi-species approaches may also be more susceptible to legal challenges due to a lower level of certainty regarding outcomes for particular species.

This two-day symposium will examine alternative strategies for conserving species, including those that are poorly known or rare. It also will provide a forum for a discussion of the ecological risk and scientific uncertainty of such strategies in making decisions regarding management and policy. Among issues to be addressed are risks to species themselves, to overall biological diversity, and to ecosystem function and productivity. The regulatory framework, policy framework, and economic costs of resource management options will be reviewed to highlight opportunities and constraints in developing conservation strategies. The symposium also will examine the social context of these issues to enhance understanding of public acceptability in successful problem resolution. Whereas the impetus for the meeting evolves from regional issues in the Pacific Northwest, the overall scope will be national to international. Case studies and results from different regions will provide the basis for evaluating alternative policy and management strategies.

Objectives
~ Explore single-species, multi-species, and ecosystem-based approaches to conserving species and biological diversity, emphasizing poorly known species that may be at risk. Characterize the associated ecological risks, costs, and scientific uncertainty of these approaches.
~ Examine the legal, regulatory, and policy frameworks within which decisions concerning species conservation are made to manage land and natural resources in the United States. Highlight opportunities and constraints associated with the development and implementation of more efficient strategies.
~ Summarize how public opinion about conservation issues can build social acceptance of new options for conservation of species, some of which may be poorly known or at risk.
~ Provide case studies from different regions and ecosystems illustrating
approaches, including broad-scale land allocation and fine-filter
species-based management, and the associated achievement of species
conservation objectives.

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