8149

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8149
• Author: Phenicie, C. K. and J. R. Lyons.
• Title: Tactical Planning in Fish and Wildlife Management and Research.
• USFW Year: 1973.
• Copyright Material: NO

At this point, however, there are a number of management options for
selection to satisfy this fifth-echelon objective. Although some factual
considerations may be available to add weight to one or another of the pro-
posed solutions, a further statement of premises is largely based upon
opinion. Therefore, the step-down plan developed through deductive infer-
ences must terminate at this point pending refinement from facts derived from
literature review, consultations with knowledgeable persons, and field experi-
ments. The fourth step in step-down planning is: (4) Continue the logical
derivation of subordinate objectives until terminal items are reached, that
is, items recognizable as actions which can be performed, or items whose paths
to solution are not immediately evident from existing knowledge or technology.
The rational planning of these latter instances will be discussed further
under the section on inductive thinking.

This deductive thought process serves well the function of breaking a
relatively complex problem successively, step by step, into less and less com-
plex elements. This keeps the primary need in focus at the forefront while
identifying steps to its solution and discovering specific unknowns that must
be solved or techniques that must be developed. Use of the conditional
sentence at each echelon of plan development has been emphasized to insure
completeness and focus. While this is necessary at each step, it is also the
important fifth step of plan development: (5) Reexamine the plan to determine
that the composite attainment of each item, beginning with the terminal items,
will build back to accomplish the primary objective.

Everyone is aware of data gathered without need and not used, and of
activities undertaken which were later found to be unnecessary. Each item of
the plan must address itself upwards through each echelon of objectives to the
primary objective. This introduces step-down planning step six: (6) Reexamine
the plan to determine that each item is necessary to the accomplishment of the
primary objective. Delete all extraneous objectives even though they are
interesting and related.

RESOLVE THE PROBLEM INTO DISCRETE
ELEMENTS: THINK INDUCTIVELY

It seems to me that the method of most rapid progress
in such complex areas, the most effective way of using our
brains, is going to be to set down explicitly at each step
just what the question is, and what all the alternatives
are, and then to set up crucial experiments to try and
disprove some. (Platt, 1964)

The step-down process develops a plan in conformity with fact or with
propositions considered to be true. The plan conceived is for predictable
attainment of a needed end point. It is really an action plan, a fish or
game "travel itinerary." This plan identifies essential elements to attain
objectives, reducing the chances of error and omission in problem solving.
In this process actions will be identified whose paths to solution are not
immediately evident from existing knowledge or technology. These unknowns
are candidate research problem areas, areas of need.

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