It's been clear for decades that landscape-level patterns and processes, along with the tenets and tools of landscape ecology, are vitally important in understanding wildlife-habitat relationships and sustaining wildlife populations. Today, significant shifts in the spatial scale of extractive, agricultural, ranching, and urban land uses are upon us, making it more important than ever before to connect wildlife management and landscape ecology. Landscape ecologists must understand the constraints that wildlife managers face and be able to use that knowledge to translate their work into more practical applications. Wildlife managers, for their part, can benefit greatly from becoming comfortable with the vocabulary, conceptual processes, and perspectives of landscape ecologists.
In Wildlife Management and Landscapes, the foremost landscape ecology experts and wildlife management specialists come together to discuss the emerging role of landscape concepts in habitat management. Their contributions
- make the case that a landscape perspective is necessary to address management questions
- translate concepts in landscape ecology to wildlife management
- explain why studying some important habitat-wildlife relationships is still inherently difficult
- explore the dynamic and heterogeneous structure of natural systems
- reveal why factors such as soil, hydrology, fire, grazing, and timber harvest lead to uncertainty in management decisions
- explain matching scale between population processes and management
- discuss limitations to management across jurisdictional boundaries and the sometimes competing objectives of private landowners and management agencies
- offer practical ideas for improving communication between professionals
- outline the impediments that limit a full union of landscape ecology and wildlife management
Using concrete examples of modern conservation challenges that range from oil and gas development to agriculture and urbanization, Wildlife Management and Landscapes posits that shifts in conservation funding from a hunter constituent base to other sources will bring a dramatic change in the way we manage wildlife. Explicating the foundational similarity of wildlife management and landscape ecology, Wildlife Management and Landscapes builds crucial bridges between theoretical and practical applications.
William F. Porter (1951–2020) was an emeritus professor of wildlife conservation at Michigan State University. Chad J. Parent is a research ecologist at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. Rosemary A. Stewart is the associate director of Boone and Crockett Programs at Michigan State University. David M. Williams is an assistant professor and the interim director of the Boone and Crockett Quantitative Wildlife Center at Michigan State University.
Contributors:
- Jocelyn L. Aycrigg
- Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau
- Jon P. Beckmann
- Joseph R. Bennett
- William M. Block
- Todd R. Bogenschutz
- Teresa C. Cohn
- John W. Connelly
- Courtney J. Conway
- Bridgett E. Costanzo
- David D. Diamond
- Karl A. Didier
- Lee F. Elliott
- Michael E. Estey
- Lenore Fahrig
- Cameron J. Fiss
- Jacqueline L. Frair
- Elsa M. Haubold
- Fidel Hernández
- Jodi A. Hilty
- Joseph D. Holbrook
- Cynthia A. Jacobson
- Kevin M. Johnson
- Jeffrey K. Keller
- Jeffery L. Larkin
- Kimberly A. Lisgo
- Casey A. Lott
- Amanda E. Martin
- James A. Martin
- Darin J. McNeil
- Michael L. Morrison
- Betsy E. Neely
- Neal D. Niemuth
- Chad J. Parent
- Humberto L. Perotto-Baldivieso
- Ronald D. Pritchert
- Fiona K. A. Schmiegelow
- Amanda L. Sesser
- Gregory J. Soulliere
- Leona K. Svancara
- Stephen C. Torbit
- Joseph A. Veech
- Kerri T. Vierling
- Greg Wathen
- David M. Williams
- Mark J. Witecha
- John M. Yeiser
"Illuminating ways to bridge the gap between landscape ecology and wildlife management, Wildlife Management and Landscapes makes a scientifically sound and unique contribution that can be used beneficially by professionals in either field. Logical, deductive, and effective, the book bright-lines how real progress can be made when managers and landscape ecologists work together in collaborations that prioritize clear communication and empathetic understanding."
– Russ Mason, Wildlife Division, Michigan Department of Natural Resources
"Bringing the idea of larger spatial scale thinking to wildlife conservation and management, this excellent book is a valuable resource not only for practitioners but also for the informed public who want to get the bigger picture."
– John A. Bissonette, Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, US Geological Survey
"This book is a timely piece that bridges the gap between practicing wildlife managers and landscape ecologists. It provides an important contribution in the search for creative ways of managing habitats to benefit diverse wildlife species."
– Michael J. Chamberlain, University of Georgia
"Wildlife Management and Landscapes blends traditional and new techniques, field application and ecological theory, wildlife management and landscape ecology to provide students, managers, and researchers with the knowledge and tools they need to incorporate large-scale patterns and processes into wildlife management and conservation."
– David G. Hewitt, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
"In the twenty-first century, we have heard a clarion call to recognize that our most vexing wildlife conservation challenges must be addressed at a landscape scale. Finally, we have a volume that integrates landscape ecology and wildlife management such that practitioners and students in both disciplines have a template to move forward in meeting these challenges."
– John F. Organ, Chief Emeritus, Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units
"I am amazed by what has been synthesized and created in Wildlife Management and Landscapes. This book will change the way you think about wildlife management. More importantly, it provides a roadmap for how wildlife managers and landscape ecologists can work together to maintain and enhance wildlife habitat."
– Matthew Schnupp, Director, Pennsylvania Game Commission Bureau of Wildlife Management