Recently, many Federal agencies in the Pacific Northwest have made a shift toward ecosystem management as a result of the northern spotted owl controversy (i.e., Northwest Forest Plan). In addition, elements of ecosystem management have been mandated for State of Oregon and private timberlands through the Oregon Forest Practices Act (OFPA). Although the principles of ecosystem management are being widely adopted, there has been no consensus on what "ecosystem management" really means. Part of the difficulty lies in our imperfect understanding of the complex patterns and processes of ecosystems. Although there are many uncertainties, a key point for agency implementation is that jurisdictional boundaries do not define an ecosystem. As a result, the implementation of ecosystem management must involve coordination among agencies over large areas and long periods of time.

The Northwest Forest Plan (NFP) is a primary example of an attempt to implement ecosystem management on a regional scale. In 1993, President Clinton appointed the Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT) to formulate and assess the consequences of an array of ecosystem management options for managing federal lands in the range of the Northern Spotted Owl. Their resulting report(i) explained that management "must address issues and concerns generated at spatial scales ranging from regions, where conservation policy is formulated, to physiographic provinces, where management activities and strategies are coordinated, to smaller watersheds/landscapes where site-specific activities are planned and implemented." This represents the first time that two of the largest federal land management agencies, the BLM and Forest Service, have developed and adopted a common management approach to an entire ecological region.

The continual gathering and use of the best science available is another fundamental principle of ecosystem management. From the beginning, the NFP made an attempt to integrate science with management. Because our scientific knowledge base is not yet developed to the point where we fully understand ecosystem functioning, implementation of the NFP is occurring within an 'adaptive management' framework. Adaptive management allows for fine-tuning of management activities or the adoption of new strategies when research findings reveal the need for adjustments.

A similar commitment to adaptive management has been made by the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), which is the agency which governs state and private lands. ODF defines adaptive management in state forests as "a scientifically based, systematically structured approach that tests and monitors management plan assumptions, predictions, and actions, and then uses the resulting information to improve management plans or practices."(ii) Through the application of adaptive management, ODF will continually improve management policies and practices by learning from the consequences of current management activities.

Determining how to achieve the goals of ecosystem management in an adaptive management framework will require considerable research and innovation. The process will only work through collaboration that acknowledges the value of multiple goals and the recognition of the uncertainty inherent in any management decision. There's no doubt that this changing paradigm for land management will require more from everyone, including researchers, policy makers, managers, and citizens.(iii)