SNRE's Yaffee proposes new conservation strategy

Conservation in the 21st century requires much more than just setting aside tracts of land, Steve Yaffee, professor at the School of Natural Resources and Environment, said in a recent speech.

"Increased population, increased consumption, urbanization and globalization have all greatly expanded the footprint of human society on our natural systems," Yaffee said April 7. "The 'reserves' strategy can't begin to address this, because it simply means we have fragments of landscape in a sea of developed or disturbed lands. These fragments provide virtually no safeguard against issues like the extinction of species, or loss of biodiversity."

Modern conservationists must never lose sight of the big picture, Yaffee said.

About 100 years ago, in March 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt designated Pelican Island—a tiny piece of land off Florida's east coast with 30 species of birds—the first national wildlife refuge in the United States. Roosevelt set aside approximately 230 million acres of reserves during his presidency and established an unprecedented standard for environmental conservation.

What was revolutionary in the past, however, may be only part of the solution today. In his inaugural speech as the Theodore Roosevelt Professor of Ecosystem Management, Yaffee argued that the issues facing the environment today are so different from those in Roosevelt's time that new strategies are necessary to ensure effective conservation on a large scale. As a result, a major transition is underway concerning the methods through which natural resources are viewed and managed.

Yaffee proposed a new conservation strategy: one that will balance the ecological, economic and social dimensions in a way that ensures the long-term viability of natural systems. In other words, he said, modern conservationists must work across boundaries and never lose sight of the big picture.

Yaffee used the changes at Pelican Island as an ongoing metaphor for the way people must protect and manage resources. For example, he said, the island is viewed as only a small component of the Indian River Lagoon, one of the most biologically rich estuaries in the nation. As a result, environmental managers are working in a wider area to improve the quality of water flowing from surrounding watersheds into the lagoon. Additionally, a variety of agencies and private landowners are collaborating to produce a creative mix of solutions to the environmental issues facing the refuge, such as pollution and erosion. Though tension and flux still permeate management of Pelican Island, it has become an example of progressive environmental management practices.

"The conservation leadership of Theodore Roosevelt provided a foundation which we must now build upon," Yaffee said. "Correctly navigating the current transition in environmental management will be the foundation we will leave for the next generation to build on for the next 100 years."

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