In recent years there have been many calls for conservation organizations to manage for ecological (and sometimes cultural) integrity as conditions change. Although this goal sounds laudable, it is difficult to put into practice in a sustainable way. Ecological and cultural integrity are poorly defined (definitions likely differ among locations, audiences, and maybe even time periods), which makes it difficult to set concrete management goals, much less systems to support sustainable adaptive management. The current focus on integrity contrasts with past calls—impractical but relatively easy-to-define—to maintain ecosystems in pristine states that reflect periods in the past—i.e., protected areas as “vignettes of primitive America,” or museum ecosystems. This talk describes efforts by the National Park Service and many partners to work towards a sustainable approach to managing for ecological and cultural integrity in Acadia National Park.
Results/Conclusions
Over the past 15 years, staff at Acadia National Park have undertaken efforts aimed to increase science and management capacity (e.g., new partnerships, facilities, and fundraising); recruit new researchers and their insights; improve communication among managers, scientists, partner organizations, and local communities; and break down barriers between internal programs and divisions and take a more integrated and forward-looking approach to management planning and implementation. This process has yielded much trial and error. Planning and modeling efforts proceeded in fits and starts, hampered by cultural inertia, distractions, and lack of capacity. Efforts to formalize our definitions of ecological and cultural integrity have not worked out—they are still fuzzy. Rather communication, partnerships, and opportunism have been crucial. Although we have not defined “integrity” well, staff and partners are gaining a shared sense of our management challenges and goals, our information gaps, and the necessity to work together to continue defining our goals and working to accomplish them. We still have much to do, but our work is starting to yield on-the-ground benefits. I will describe general lessons taken from our experience.