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2. To "Get it all together" is a need; how to do so is a serious, major question.
3. How anyone "gets it all together" is of interest. Clearly some people, some groups, do it better than others.
4. The characteristics of those who do it best should be learned and copied.
5. A systems approach is useful.
6. General systems theory is basic to the approach.
7. If not the best approach, the challenge is to all interested to present an equal or better approach and all of its characteristics and comparisons.
8. The systems approach invariably includes 6 concepts or parts: inputs, processes, objectives, feedbacks, feedforward, and context.
9. A systems approach to wildlife management has two fundamental actions, analysis and design.
10. Analysis implies description, take apart, detail, investigate, and measure. Design implies to develop , plan, prescribe, supervise, implement, and manage.
11. To design requires stating objectives.
12. Managers design. They should start with objectives. Objectives are criteria for "goodness." Criteria are the essence of epistemology (also known as criteriology).
13. Do not start analyses with "problems." Problems exist in the gap between objectives and the actual situation.
14. There are 7 types of objectives. They need to be learned. "Goals" and "objectives" may be viewed as synonymous. Types explain past conflicts in the means of these words. Suggestion: Use objectives throughout.
15. The 7 types: General, Fundamental, Success Criteria, Constraints (or Policies), Primary, Action-like, and Futuristic.
16. Maximizing present-discounted value is in primary use throughout natural resource fields. It is a Type 3 objective.
17. Efficient relates to performance per unit of time, money, etc. invested. Effective relates to objectives achieved per unit invested. Given that only a few samples may be computed as needed, an inefficient method may be very cost-effective.
18. Where monetary values are difficult to get, maximizing a benefit-to-cost (B/C) ratio is useful.
19. Express benefits using
P I T
B = 
DVES(R)
where
summation is from 1 to the total in each category of publics, objectives, and years, and
D = demand for each ith unit
V = value assigned a unit (relative importance)
E = expectation = (1-Risk)
S = substitutability
R = minimum variety constraint
P = total number of human populations or publics
I = the total number of objectives
T = time (total years in a planning period)
20. Express costs, C, as the total present discounted cost of any and all activities, programs, and projects over the planning period.
21. To maximize R is a reasonable basis for deciding on when a manager is doing well. Promotion, praise, and raises can be based on R* where
R* = [1.0 - (Ra - Rd) / Rd] x 100
Ra is the actual score; Rd is the stated desired condition; R* is the system "score" which, being perfect, may reach 100.
22. An alternative view (isomorphic with the above) is the negative feedback equation:
Qt + 1 = Q - (1-k)(Qt -Q )
Where Q is the desired state (e.g., 2361 units produced per year), Qt the current production, Qt + 1 the next production (usually next year) and k is the amount of control (e.g., 0.05) a manager can have over reducing the difference. The value of k can be composed of techniques, budget, time, workers, etc.
23. Wildlife and other wildland resources have characteristics that are fundamental:
24. Another perspective, a way of grouping objectives and resources, is that of the 5 E's:
25. A resource is an economic concept. It is a physical entity that may produce human benefits. Each resource is dynamic, changing in relation to these 4 components listed above in item 23. All resources, forests, water, minerals have the same 4 elements.
26. If economics is the study of and activities related to the allocation of scarce resources (all of them) then wildlife management is a subset of economies. Finance is a subset of economics. It is related only to money.
27. Wildlife that cannot be reached has no benefits (or certainly very few) to humans. (The "existence value" argument says that there are values simply in knowing of the existence of animals). Variety also relates to the space component of a resource. By analogy, having eaten a half gallon of vanilla ice cream, there is little interest in another half-gallon of the same ... but maybe another flavor.
28. A resource by definition is related to benefits. In modern wildlife work, few people realize that benefits are non-linearly related to population size.
29. "Ecosystem management" like "conservation biology" are imprecise titles that do not reflect the major essential elements of resource management other than those called environmental or ecological, namely economics, esthetics (including ethics), energetics, and enforcement.
30. Managers need to know the scientific names of the major game species:
31. Wildlife management is done on populations. The emphasis on populations does not deny the need to know anatomy and physiology of individuals. Several important features for relating are:
32. Populations of what? is a key question. Gamma Theory is deals with typical situations in which many taxa are managed specifically, together, on the same area. Taxa may be life groups, subspecies or demes, species, genera, guilds, or in some awful cases "wildlife (exclusive of wild plants)." Not species-specific, not multi-species, not guild management, but multi-life-group management is suggested.
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Last revision January 17, 2000.