Wildlife Policies in the U S National Parks, Frederic H. Wagner, Ronald Foresta, R. Bruce Gill, Dale R. McCullough, Michael R. Pelton, William F. Porter, Hal Salwasser, (Washington DC: Island Press, 1995), 228 pp.
Understanding environmental problems; making effective use of technical information; of general applicability to environmental problems; written for the first party participant.
Wildlife Policies in the U S National Parks is "... the result of a five-year review of management policies for biological resources in the System, with special attention to the wildlife". This work addresses the natural resources values, goals and policies of the system.
Wildlife Policies in the U S National Parks will be of interest to those who seek an understanding of wildlife policies in the National Parks. The first chapter is an introduction to the professional review of the National Park System. The authors discuss the history and structure of the US Park System. A review of that system's wildlife policies is followed by the asserted philosophy of the work. Chapter two is an examination of the values and goals of the system. The authors examine four natural resources values: recreational, educational, scientific, and environmental/ preservational. Following a brief discussion of the Park Service's goals, their natural resources policies are addressed. Early Congressional action and intent, and the beginnings of science and nature preservation policies are considered. The chapter closes with noteworthy correspondence between the system and park level officials.
The third chapter focuses upon wildlife problems in the parks, beginning with native ungulate populations. The white tail deer, North American elk and moose are each discussed in turn. Specifically, the known effects of dense populations of deer and elk are considered, as the authors cite the invasion of the moose into the upper Colorado River Basin as an opportunity to study the effects of increased moose density on the vegetation in that region. The chapter concludes with an examination of the effects of exotics and feral animals and the lamentable decline in species abundance and biodiversity.
Chapter four is a discussion of the constraints on attainment of natural resources goals, beginning with the consideration of constraints on external threats. Specifically considered are: broad-scale environmental impacts and human actions on lands adjacent to National Park lands. This is followed by a focus on the structural features of the National Park System. Examined are, the founding mechanisms and the resulting Balkanization, and the subsequent vulnerability to political pressures. The authors address the difficulty with which the direction of the Park Service remains balanced between its dual mission of preservation and facilitated use. Finally, the problem of insufficient technical training of the Park Service staff is addressed.
Chapter five is concerned with research in the National Park System. The authors consider the administrative structure of research staff and programs prior to the move of all research to the administration of the National Biological Survey (NBS) in 1993. Included in this discussion is the negative way in which scientific pursuits and personnel were viewed by the Park Service as a whole. The chapter concludes with the move of research to the NBS. Chapter six addresses ecological terms and concepts that influence policy directions. Following a discussion of policies as verbal contracts, the authors consider the ambiguities and misconceptions of such concepts as: carrying capacity, natural regulation, predation, systems cycling, process management and the term ?natural'.
The final chapter is a look forward. The authors assert the need to set explicit goals at the park level and for integration of Park and System goals. Further, the Park Service must establish: park specific, ecologically defined policies, a method and focus of management, and policies on culling and animal welfare issues. The move of the bulk of the research staff to the NBS, notwithstanding, the National Park Service must address the functions of science in the system, particularly in organizational and staffing considerations.
Wildlife Policies in the U S National Parks is a systematic examination of the title subject which addresses the most pressing current issues of the Park Service.
T. A. O'Lonergan
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