Browsing by Author "Sexton, W. T."

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Ecosystem management: Expanding the resource management 'tool kit'
    Sexton, W. T. (Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier Science B.V., 1998)
    Ecosystem management can be thought of as the minimum set of tools a land manager should have available in attempting to define sustainable alternatives for the interactions of people and the environment. It is a term that specifically refers to a process or set of activities for addressing resource management, not a prescribed outcome. As a pre-decisional process, ecosystem management amends and expands the resource management tool kit that field-level professionals rely on to understand and manage lands and resources in an ecological context. The focus of this paper is to highlight the activities in the ecosystem management 'tool kit' that are common for many agencies and organizations. Natural resources exist within certain limits and capacities. Humans are faced with difficult choices in determining how they will interact with the environment to provide for essential materials and services and maintain a healthy environment. The approach does not necessarily make hard choices any easier. The ecosystem management tool kit does support making difficult choices in the most informed and professional manner possible.
  • Implementing ecosystem management: A framework for remotely sensed information at multiple scales
    Sexton, W. T.; Dull, C. W.; Szaro, R. C. (Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier Science B.V., 1998)
    Many of the common tools for developing information and implementing activities for ecosystem management are based on a multi-scale framework. This paper highlights the major elements of scale and level associated with an ecosystem management approach from two differing perspectives. The first summarizes a general framework for concepts recognizing multiple scales in four specific dimensions: biological, temporal, social and spatial. The second summarizes a current partnership among several US Government agencies to utilize remote sensing technologies as a common basis for the development of certain types of scale-dependent information for ecosystem management. Scale and level in ecological contexts are recognized as continuous variables, highly related to the landscapes, features and relationships of a particular situation, as well as the specific interests of the observer. An initial simplification of scale, as related to remotely sensed data, to support the continuing evolution of ecosystem management is a necessary step in developing common understanding and information across large areas.
  • Implementing ecosystem management: Using multiple boundaries for organizing information
    Sexton, W. T.; Szaro, R. C. (Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier Science B.V., 1998)
    Implementing ecosystem management requires learning to work with multiple factors, at multiple scales, using multiple boundaries and borders for organizing information. Traditional approaches often oversimplified information collection and analyses by relying on a limited set of classifications and information constructs. Experience has consistently shown that attempting to constrain analyses and assessments to one or a few organizing systems and related boundaries results in less than satisfactory information to support an ecological approach. Debates over which boundaries or borders are best and should therefore be the organizing device for ecosystem management are not useful or constructive. A more useful question is which set ecological approaches and their related boundaries provide the best information to address the resource issues at a particular time and place. Multiple boundaries, scales and factors increase the complexity of ecosystem management, but also represent an essential component for improved understanding of the sustainable management of lands and resources.