30.4 Examples of Issues
Most issues addressed by the GLA, such as timber supply, rural development, and sustainable forest management, can be assessed only by examining conditions and trends of land use, resource
consumption, and conservation at several scales of
analysis. As stated in Christensen et al. (1996, pp.
665-691).
Boundaries defined for the study or management of one
issue, process or element are often inappropriate for the
study of others. For example, watersheds represent a useful unit for the study of water and nutrient t1uxes driven
by hydrology, but may not be ideal for studies of trophic
dynamics in areas where animals move over large distances.
Challenges, such as the management of wildlife populations or development of a recovery plan for an endangered species, may present themselves at one scale
of organization, but a complete understanding or resolution of issues usually requires integration across several
scales and levels of organization.
The GLA starts at the province level and narrows to landscape levellandtype associations, thus
providing an ecological basis for assessing resource
conditions at multiple scales. For example, conditions such as lake densities or threatened and endangered species' distributions and processes such
as past and current fIre regimes have been assessed
based on landtype associations. Conditions changing at broader scales, such as climatic gradients and
forest biome distributions, have been assessed at
section and subsection scales. One test of the
National Hierarchy's validity is to compare ecological unit boundaries with information on other
natural phenomena, such as surficial geology, hydrography, or forest conditions before the wholesale harvesting of the 1800s. Figure 30.2 illustrates
how historical vegetative information relates to independently derived subsections: the subsections
match well with the less disturbed forests encountered and recorded by the General Land Office surveyors between 1816 and 1907.
Province 212 is the ecological region of interest
for the GLA, but the social and economic region is
much larger, especially in the context of recreation
and forest products. The region produces abundant
outdoor recreation opportunities that serve people
from a larger region (Stynes, 1997). All three Lake
States have a similar tourist travel pattern. Most
tourists travel from southern population centers
(e.g., Detroit, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis) and
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa to the northern
forested counties. Although the region is a net importer of wood products, it also exports wood products to other regions (Hagenstein, 1997). Therefore,
social and economic information from a three-state
area, and in some cases from a seven-state area, is
451
relevant from a planning and management perspective.
30.4 Examples of Issues
In recent years, public land managers have undertaken a number of efforts to better understand the
issues of interest to various publics, including resource professionals. Extensive public involvement
led to development of national forest plans in the
GLA area during the mid-1980s, which listed many
issues of concern to regional and local constituents.
State agencies and others, through a variety of forums, identified additional issues. In 1995, a Lake
States Issue Assessment Team (Seesholtz et aI.,
1995) identified 15 broad-scale issues for Province
212 (Table 30.1). Many of these issues are interrelated, particularly those in the biological environment. For example, old growth (issue 4) is related
to biological diversity, habitat fragmentation, ageclass distribution, and so on. It is also related to the
social environment (e.g., to timber supply). As a
result of these interrelationships, data collected and
analyses performed for any single issue often address others. National Forests, one client for GLA
data and information, are currently developing their
own local issues; many of these correspond to the
broad-scale issues identified by Seesholtz et aI.
30.5 Process and Project
Organization
To undertake the GLA, a small group of agency
personnel and researchers was formed. This interagency effort included the u.S. Department of
Agriculture's Forest Service and Natural Resource Conservation Service, the U.S. Department
of Interior's Biological Resource Division of the
U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, the University of Wisconsin
at Madison, the University of Minnesota at Duluth, and Michigan State University. After several
months of operation and meetings with the departments of natural resources in Michigan, Minnesota,
and Wisconsin, employees within state agencies
also contributed to and received interim products
from the GLA.
The project emphasized acquiring and processing existing information from various organizations, rather than investing scarce resources in data
development. Some priority data were developed,
however, and thus far include regional coverages
for modem wildfIres, historic susceptibility of landscapes to fIre and wind disturbance, and the geo-
Most issues addressed by the GLA, such as timber supply, rural development, and sustainable forest management, can be assessed only by examining conditions and trends of land use, resource
consumption, and conservation at several scales of
analysis. As stated in Christensen et al. (1996, pp.
665-691).
Boundaries defined for the study or management of one
issue, process or element are often inappropriate for the
study of others. For example, watersheds represent a useful unit for the study of water and nutrient t1uxes driven
by hydrology, but may not be ideal for studies of trophic
dynamics in areas where animals move over large distances.
Challenges, such as the management of wildlife populations or development of a recovery plan for an endangered species, may present themselves at one scale
of organization, but a complete understanding or resolution of issues usually requires integration across several
scales and levels of organization.
The GLA starts at the province level and narrows to landscape levellandtype associations, thus
providing an ecological basis for assessing resource
conditions at multiple scales. For example, conditions such as lake densities or threatened and endangered species' distributions and processes such
as past and current fIre regimes have been assessed
based on landtype associations. Conditions changing at broader scales, such as climatic gradients and
forest biome distributions, have been assessed at
section and subsection scales. One test of the
National Hierarchy's validity is to compare ecological unit boundaries with information on other
natural phenomena, such as surficial geology, hydrography, or forest conditions before the wholesale harvesting of the 1800s. Figure 30.2 illustrates
how historical vegetative information relates to independently derived subsections: the subsections
match well with the less disturbed forests encountered and recorded by the General Land Office surveyors between 1816 and 1907.
Province 212 is the ecological region of interest
for the GLA, but the social and economic region is
much larger, especially in the context of recreation
and forest products. The region produces abundant
outdoor recreation opportunities that serve people
from a larger region (Stynes, 1997). All three Lake
States have a similar tourist travel pattern. Most
tourists travel from southern population centers
(e.g., Detroit, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis) and
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa to the northern
forested counties. Although the region is a net importer of wood products, it also exports wood products to other regions (Hagenstein, 1997). Therefore,
social and economic information from a three-state
area, and in some cases from a seven-state area, is
451
relevant from a planning and management perspective.
30.4 Examples of Issues
In recent years, public land managers have undertaken a number of efforts to better understand the
issues of interest to various publics, including resource professionals. Extensive public involvement
led to development of national forest plans in the
GLA area during the mid-1980s, which listed many
issues of concern to regional and local constituents.
State agencies and others, through a variety of forums, identified additional issues. In 1995, a Lake
States Issue Assessment Team (Seesholtz et aI.,
1995) identified 15 broad-scale issues for Province
212 (Table 30.1). Many of these issues are interrelated, particularly those in the biological environment. For example, old growth (issue 4) is related
to biological diversity, habitat fragmentation, ageclass distribution, and so on. It is also related to the
social environment (e.g., to timber supply). As a
result of these interrelationships, data collected and
analyses performed for any single issue often address others. National Forests, one client for GLA
data and information, are currently developing their
own local issues; many of these correspond to the
broad-scale issues identified by Seesholtz et aI.
30.5 Process and Project
Organization
To undertake the GLA, a small group of agency
personnel and researchers was formed. This interagency effort included the u.S. Department of
Agriculture's Forest Service and Natural Resource Conservation Service, the U.S. Department
of Interior's Biological Resource Division of the
U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, the University of Wisconsin
at Madison, the University of Minnesota at Duluth, and Michigan State University. After several
months of operation and meetings with the departments of natural resources in Michigan, Minnesota,
and Wisconsin, employees within state agencies
also contributed to and received interim products
from the GLA.
The project emphasized acquiring and processing existing information from various organizations, rather than investing scarce resources in data
development. Some priority data were developed,
however, and thus far include regional coverages
for modem wildfIres, historic susceptibility of landscapes to fIre and wind disturbance, and the geo-