Sustaining Ecosystems

Land Use, Conservation, Management & Deforestation,

Biodiversity and Forest Management

• We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong we may begin to use it with love and respect.

Aldo Leopold

5 Reasons Forests are Commercially Important:

• Lumber for housing

• Biomass for fuelwood

• Pulp for papers

• Medicines

• Food (agriculture)

5 Reasons forests are ecologically important:

• Slow down runoff/erosion

• Water recharge for surface/groundwater

• Influence climate (water cycle, photosynthesis, cellular respiration)

• Vital to global carbon cycle

• Air purification

Why is Biodiversity considered a key

environmental problem?• A biological wealth vital to all life &

economies• The ecological processes associated with

biodiversity such as matter cycling, energy flow, and species interactions is vital to all life and economies

• Biological consequences of biodiversity loss through environmental degradation impact lives and economies.

• The ecological health of an area are described in terms of biodiversity richness and ecological integrity which is the conditions and natural processes that generate and maintain biodiversity and allow evolutionary change as a key mechanism for adapting to changes in environmental conditions.

• Conservation Biology– “maintaining earth’s life support system”

Age of Conservation• Between 1872-1927 increased

involvement of federal government• Theodore Roosevelt

– Persuaded Congress to give him power to designate public land as federal wildlife refuges.

– Established first wildlife refugee, 1903 at Pelican Island, Florida for preservation of the endangered brown pelican

– Tripled the size of the forest reserves and transferred administration from DOI to Dept of Agriculture

• 1905 US Forest Service created– Gifford Pinchot as its first chief– Used principles of sustainable yield and multiple use

Public Lands in the US

• USA largest area = public lands

• Mostly Alaska (73%) & West US (22%)– Classified as:

• multiple use lands• Moderately restricted lands• Restricted-use lands

Multiple Use Lands• Grasslands & Forests managed by US Forest Service• Principles of Management:

– Sustainable yield (cutting trees no faster than they could regenerate)

– Multiple use (timber harvesting, grazing, recreation, wildlife conservation)

• Actual uses: – Logging– Mining– livestock grazing– oil extraction– Recreation– sport/commercial fishing– Hunting– watershed, soil & wildlife conservation

Multiple Use Lands

• “National Resource Lands” – Alaska are managed by the Bureau of Land Management managed under multiple use principal with an emphasis on providing secure domestic supply of energy and strategic minerals and on preserving rangelands for livestock under a permit system.

Moderately Restricted-Use Lands• 508 National Wildlife Refuges managed by USFWS• Protect habitats and breeding areas for waterfowl and big

game to provide a harvestable supply for hunters, protect endangered species

• Some permittable uses include:– Sport hunting– Trapping– Sport/commercial fishing– Oil & gas development– Mining– Logging– Grazing– Military activities – Farming

• DOI must find these uses “compatible” with the purpose of each refuge

Restricted Use Lands

• Permitted Uses: camping, hiking, sport fishing, boating, sport hunting, mining, and oil/gas drilling

• 49% of the National Park System is designated as wilderness area.

• Managed by National Park Service, FWS, Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

• 375 National Parks include major parks, recreational areas, monuments, memorial, battlefields, historic sites, parkways, trails, rivers, seashores, and lakeshores– Example: Fire Island National Seashore

Restricted Use Lands

• T. Roosevelt – set up initial system

• Carter made most additions, especially Alaska in 1980

• Clinton added a new national monument area the size of Yellowstone in 1996.

Property Rights Controversy

• Paralyze government regulation of public lands• Local regulations would take precedence over federal

regulations– Ultimately limit environmental degradation

• Private industry using public lands would pursue court battles. Would sue federal government for losses compensation

• Eminent Domain – force a citizen to sell property needed for public good. (5th Amendment) compensation for property loss is debatable.

• If ALL properties including wetlands had to be compensated for eminent domain property takings there would be no money left for regulatory branch.

– “Pay me and I won’t pollute, develop this land, build an incinerator or landfill here, or fill in this wetland!”

Managing & Sustaining Rangelands

• Rangeland: land that supplies forage or vegetation for grazing (grass-eating) and browsing (shrub-eating) animals.– They act as watershed areas habitat for

wildlife– Supports ruminants: digest cellulose in

grasses and convert it to meat & milk• Cows, sheep, goats (domesticated)

• Rangelands also provide areas for hiking, camping, and hunting

Managing & Sustaining Rangelands• Overgrazing – occurs when too many animals graze for too

long and exceed the carrying capacity of a grassland area• Impacts from overgrazing:

1) Decrease biodiversity

2) Soil compaction decrease water holding capacity

3) Increase erosion because it becomes drier, prickly pear cactus and mesquite (shrub) dominate desertification

4) Impacts adjacent riparian zones• Riparian Zone – thin strips of lush vegetation along streams

which prevent floods by absorption of flood waters• Overgrazing causes increased soil erosion along banks of

stream/rivers mud down streams (turbidity increases, decrease in dissolved oxygen) degraded water quality

How should rangelands by managed?• Goal: maximize livestock productivity without overgrazing

rangeland vegetation• Methods:

1. Stocking rate – most widely used. Control the number of each kind of animal/unit area so an area’s carrying capacity is not exceeded “resource partitioning by ranchers”

2. Continuous grazing – occurs throughout the year and requires little rancher intervention. Problem – they tend to overgraze flat areas and riparian zones

3. Deferred-Rotation Grazing – moving livestock between 2 or more range areas to allow perennial grasses to recover from grazing

• Ranchers must also consider predator control – coyotes, grey wolf, grizzly bear– Solution: penning young lambs/cattle together for 30 days allow

them to graze together. Cattle kicking predators, protecting sheep

Grazing on public lands:

• Big Business pay very low fees for permits

• How can it become more sustainable?– Limit grazing in riparian areas– Ban grazing on stressed rangeland– Competitive bidding for grazing permits– Allow environmental groups to purchase grazing permits,

even if they choose not to graze the land– Raise grazing fees to fair market value– Abolish rancher-dominated advisory boards

Managing & Sustaining National Parks

• 54 Nationally,1100 Globally• Parks are threatened by:

– Natural resources in developing countries– Poachers– popularity increases, but budget cuts to park service (1

park ranger = 84,000 visitors)– Plagued with litter, noise, traffic jams– Increased crime– Invasion of non-native species

• Yellowstone ~1000 snowmobiles/day– Tailpipe admissions of 1.7 million cars/year!– Vanishing predators (wolves, bear, coyotes)

Developing Countries

• Integrated Management Plans (IMP)– Combine conservation practices with sustainable

development of resources in and adjacent to parks– Core Protection Areas– Buffer Areas (surrounding the core)

• Commercial logging, sustainable grazing by livestock, sustainable hunting/fishing

– Involve residents in developing management and restoration plans for the park

• IMP’s need adequate funding to be successful and inner core areas must be large enough to sustain larger animals

How can US National Parks be improved?• Presently managed under “natural

regulation” – as if they were wilderness ecosystems that would sustain themselves if left alone.

• Annual budget $1.5 billion– $6 billion backlog of maintenance, repairs & high priority

construction to accommodate increase visitors numbers• 92% budget to spent on visitor services• 7% spent on natural resources protection• 1% spent on environmental research for ecological

management strategies

How can US Nat. Parks be improved?

– All entrance fees used for management, upkeep and repair instead of going into national treasury

– Require IMP’s for all parks and nearby federal lands.– Increase new parkland near the most threatened parks– Increase budget for buying private lands within parks– Identify all available visitor parking– Increase private concession fees to 22% presently pay 6.7% of gross

income– Concessionaires should lease, not own the land– Increase entrance fees– Restrict numbers of visitors– Encourage volunteers to give lectures/tours NOT National Park Service

personnel– Encourage donations from individuals/corporations fo public

maintenance/repair

Biodiversity Sanctuaries• Set up Biosphere Reserves worldwide (presently 300)

– Goal: large enough to support species and combine conservation and sustainable use of natural resources

• Conservation biologists believe that in order to protect biodiversity and ecological integrity is through a worldwide network of reserves, parks, wildlife sanctuaries, wilderness and other protected areas.– Minimum 10% of globes land area!

• Based on theory of Island Biogeography (“habitat islands”)• Many countries can’t set aside large tracts of land

– Establish wildlife corridors connecting small-medium sized bioreserve areas. (allows for migration and genetic diversity)

1996 World Wildlife Fund

• Identified 217 terrestrial, marine, and freshwater eco-regions in greatest need of protection (Earth’s most bio-diverse countries) Australia, North S America, Mexico, India, China, Parts of Africa

• Most economists, developers, and miners disagree with protecting these areas!

Why preserve Wilderness Areas?

• US Wilderness Act of 1964– Act authorized the government to protect undeveloped tract of

public land as part of National Wilderness System unless Congress later decides they are needed for the national good. Land in this system is to be used only for nondestructive forms of recreation such as hiking and camping.

• Why preserve them?– Aesthetic Value– Psychological value– Preserve biodiversity and ecological integrity– Preserve for scenic/recreational purposes– Protect areas from exploitation and degradation

US National Wild & Scenic Rivers System

• 1968 National Wild & Scenic Rivers Act– Protected if have outstanding scenic,

recreational, geological, wildlife, historical or cultural value

– Free of development• Only 0.2% of rivers listed• Urge for 1500 more to be added

US National Trails System

• 1968 – Protects scenic and historic hiking trails– Low priority, receives little funding