community of interest, thereby focusing the attention of all groups on a
common set of resource questions.Perhaps more importantly,the assessment
provided a structured platform for discourse among these varied groups.
A community of interest often is ephemeral, and this one could easily
have dissipated at the conclusion of the assessment, but it has been maintained through two important mechanisms. One is an annual conference
still held by SAMAB to address regional ecosystem issues from both
research and management perspectives. The other is through the forestplanning process. The USDA Forest Service adopted and extended the
SAA’s public involvement process for conducting national forest planning
in the region. In addition to using the same approach to public involvement,
the Forest Service also chose to conduct a coordinated planning approach,
in effect coordinating their ecosystem management plans at a regional scale.
The Forest Service formally defined the role of the SAA in defining “an
ecological approach to planning” in a notice filed in the Federal Register
(1996). The relationships between public interest entities and public land
managers established through the SAA have provided a durable and broad
platform for discourse on ecosystem management issues within the region.
Another outcome of the SAA, and one that may have far-reaching
effects, was the establishment of relationships between managers and
researchers in the Southern Appalachians. There have been three consequences. One is ongoing consultations with researchers as planners
encounter new problems on their respective forests. Another is a complement of management-relevant studies that have been established in
the wake of the SAA. The SAMAB reports 19 research projects that
specifically use data compiled through the SAA, and several other projects
are also under way (SAMAB 1999). A third outcome was the establishment
of the Southern Appalachians as a focal area for coordinated interdisciplinary research within the Southern Research Station of the USDA Forest
Service (USDA Forest Service 1997).
According to conventional wisdom, imitation is the highest form of
flattery. Two assessments, the Ozark-Ouachita Highlands Assessment
(USDA Forest Service 1999) and the Southern Forest Resource Assessment, have been spawned in the southeastern United States since completion of the SAA. In both cases, multiple-agency approaches have been
used, and assessment organizers have modeled their approaches on the
SAA. For example, the structure of the public involvement processes and
science–management collaborations developed by the SAA have been
adopted in very similar form in both efforts.
4.6 Lessons
Several lessons can be taken from the efforts of the SAA. How well they
transfer to other efforts may be variable, but all should provide useful
insights into how to frame questions as well as how to approach science–
80
David N. Wear
common set of resource questions.Perhaps more importantly,the assessment
provided a structured platform for discourse among these varied groups.
A community of interest often is ephemeral, and this one could easily
have dissipated at the conclusion of the assessment, but it has been maintained through two important mechanisms. One is an annual conference
still held by SAMAB to address regional ecosystem issues from both
research and management perspectives. The other is through the forestplanning process. The USDA Forest Service adopted and extended the
SAA’s public involvement process for conducting national forest planning
in the region. In addition to using the same approach to public involvement,
the Forest Service also chose to conduct a coordinated planning approach,
in effect coordinating their ecosystem management plans at a regional scale.
The Forest Service formally defined the role of the SAA in defining “an
ecological approach to planning” in a notice filed in the Federal Register
(1996). The relationships between public interest entities and public land
managers established through the SAA have provided a durable and broad
platform for discourse on ecosystem management issues within the region.
Another outcome of the SAA, and one that may have far-reaching
effects, was the establishment of relationships between managers and
researchers in the Southern Appalachians. There have been three consequences. One is ongoing consultations with researchers as planners
encounter new problems on their respective forests. Another is a complement of management-relevant studies that have been established in
the wake of the SAA. The SAMAB reports 19 research projects that
specifically use data compiled through the SAA, and several other projects
are also under way (SAMAB 1999). A third outcome was the establishment
of the Southern Appalachians as a focal area for coordinated interdisciplinary research within the Southern Research Station of the USDA Forest
Service (USDA Forest Service 1997).
According to conventional wisdom, imitation is the highest form of
flattery. Two assessments, the Ozark-Ouachita Highlands Assessment
(USDA Forest Service 1999) and the Southern Forest Resource Assessment, have been spawned in the southeastern United States since completion of the SAA. In both cases, multiple-agency approaches have been
used, and assessment organizers have modeled their approaches on the
SAA. For example, the structure of the public involvement processes and
science–management collaborations developed by the SAA have been
adopted in very similar form in both efforts.
4.6 Lessons
Several lessons can be taken from the efforts of the SAA. How well they
transfer to other efforts may be variable, but all should provide useful
insights into how to frame questions as well as how to approach science–
80
David N. Wear