Abstract
American attitudes regarding the protection of natural resources, wilderness, and recreation areas have undergone dramatic changes in the past two centuries, and our current disposition can be understood only in this historical perspective. It is perhaps not surprising that the science of ecology came of age in America at the same time as the conservation movement, but what is surprising is that these two fields have not always informed – or even associated with – one another. Evolutionary ecology in particular has had an uneasy relationship with the policy and practice of ecosystem protection, meaning that the understanding of species assembly and the management of ecosystem succession have not always been in lockstep. This chapter is a sketch of key ideas that have contributed to American ecosystem management in policy and practice.
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Spieles, D.J. (2010). The Ecosystem Idea and Ideal. In: Protected Land. Springer Series on Environmental Management. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6813-5_2
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