Wildlife Management in the National Parks: Questions in Search of Answers

Wright, R

The history of wildlife management in the national parks can be traced in the ungulate management policies of the National Park Service (NPS). These policies have, at various times, embraced total protection at the expense of other species, authorized culling to maintain explicit population levels, and since 1970 advocated natural regulation combined with limited human interference with park ecosystems. Current policy has had important ramifications for ungulate populations in parks as discussed in the preceding papers in this Invited Feature. This paper synthesizes those papers, interpreting the answers to three questions in relation to NPS wildlife management: (1) how does this management differ from other public resource managers; (2) can thresholds for management intervention be established for the species of concern; and (3) is scientific knowledge adequate to make and implement management decisions? The paper finds that NPS management does differ significantly from other federal land management and state wildlife management agencies, which is a factor complicating coordination and understanding of management approaches. It concludes that management thresholds can be and have been established in the past; however, given the ecological complexity of parks, scientific support for such thresholds will probably always be inadequate. This situation argues for an experimental management approach with continued monitoring of conditions both in and outside the parks.

Wildlife Management in the National Parks: Questions in Search of Answers

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