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<br />~-:x <br /> <br />III, MANAGEMENT SITUA TlON <br />BY REVISION TOPIC <br /> <br />;;.... <br />,,' <br /> <br />1. BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY <br /> <br />:) A. Background <br /> <br />This revision topic includes how best to manage biological diversity including mature and old-growth <br />forests, aspen, threatened and endangered species (TES), riparian areas (including fisheries and water <br />quality), and wildlife habitat. <br /> <br />I ~! <br /> <br />The Forest Service recently developed a nationwide definition of ecosystem management 'Ecosystem <br />management means using an ecological approach to achieve the multiple-use management of national <br />forests and grasslands by blending the needs of people and environmental values in such a way that <br />national forests and grasslands represent diverse, healthy, productive, and sustainable ecosystems. <br /> <br />Severalla\1\15 and regulations govern Forest Service ecosystem management. The principalla\1\15 include <br />the Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act (1960), the Endangered Species Act (1973), and the National Forest <br />Management Act (NFMA) (1976). Specific parts of the NFMA regulations, which relate to ecosystem <br />management, such as plant and animal diversity and long-term productivity, are 36 CFR 219.26 and <br />219.27 (a, e, f, and g). <br /> <br />Strategic guidance for ecosystem management is provided by the 1990 program update of the 1976 <br />Resource Planning Act (RPA). While there is not a specific' ecosystem management' law, there is current <br />national direction for ecosystem management with an intent to further qualify definitions, aims, roles, <br />and responsibilities. This national direction stems from an earlier effort to develop a 'New Perspective' <br />on the management of National Forest System lands. This new perspective de-emphasized commodity- <br />based land management and embraced ~broadened public land stewardship. <br /> <br />Principltls of Ecosy5tem Managtlmtlnt <br /> <br />Central to ecosystem management is the study of landscape spatial and temporal patterns. The <br />hierarchical structure of ecological systems allo\1\15 characterization of ecosystems arid the identification <br />of patterns and processes of interest at different scales. Ecosystem composition, structure, and function <br />determine diversity patterns across a range of spatia-temporal scales. The ecological hierarchy of interest <br />is determined by the purpose of the project or desired condition. To determine sustainability of an <br />ecosystem, patterns of natural or historically sustained variability must be defined at all relevant scales. <br />(Bourgeron and Jensen, 1993). <br /> <br />11I-1 <br /> <br />. ,. f.!'o ~ <br />l; '~, .:;.L,:;.1. Y: <br />