ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT

(Environmental) An approach to managing the nation's lands and natural resources which recognizes that plant and animal communities are interdependent and interact with their physical environment (i.e., soil, water, and air) to form distinct ecological units called Ecosystems. The fact that these ecosystems span jurisdictional and political boundaries necessitates a more comprehensive and unified approach to managing them. Implementing the initial stage of a government-wide approach to ecosystem management typically requires clarifying the policy goals and undertaking certain practical steps to apply the principles being considered to include: (1) Delineating the ecosystem; (2) Understanding the system(s) ecologies; (3) Making management choices; (4) Unifying disparate data and information needs and sources; and (5) Adapting management on the basis of new information.