5 Putting Science into Action on Forest Service Lands

摘要: It can be safely said when it comes to actual work on the ground, the objects of con-servation are neveraxiomatic or obvious, but always complex and usually conflicting.51~~~~ ing Science into Action on Forest Service Lands t':< The Forest Service is partitioned into five primary mission areas: Research andDevelopment, National Forest Systems, State and Private Forestry, International Programs, and Business Operations. The focus of this chapter is the relationship. of Research and Development to National Forest Systems. Although mission areas of both are somewhat intertwined, they are distinct in that they are not joined until the Office of the Chief. This is a key point because it conveys independence between science and management (Ruggiero 2009). A number of laws, statutes, and policies guide and direct how forests should be managed, including provisions for considering and applying the best available science when planning and executing management actions. The Research and Development branch of the Forest Service is separate from the management branch and this separation is purposeful. Its charge is to design and conduct research to provide the sci-