The essence of wildlife management

Abstract

Effectiveness of wildlife professionals in the twenty-first century will depend on their skill at integrating biological and human dimensions of wildlife management. This will need to be done well because stakeholder interests in wildlife and their expectations for par- ticipation in wildlife management are changing. As practitioners adapt to these changes, a new approach to wildlife management is emerging. Traditional, near-exclusive reliance on biological science and expert decision-making is being replaced by multidisciplinary integration and stakeholder participation as 2 key precepts of wildlife management. Managers increasingly are making complementary use of biological and social science while seeking more extensive input and involvement from stakeholders. As part of this transformation, a core concept is needed that emphasizes the essential anthropocentric focus of wildlife management. We believe the essence of wildlife management can be distilled to managing wildlife-related impacts, which are significant effects of events or interactions involving humans and wildlife, wildlife management interventions, or stake- holders. We further believe that impacts can be managed adaptively, and we propose the concept of adaptive impact management (AIM), which builds on the strengths of con- ventional adaptive management.