Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project

Abstract

The economic and cultural development of the United States is closely associated with the use and consumption of natural resources. Water, wood, and forage were the primary resources facilitating the western expansion of the United States (Malone et al, 1991; Schwantes, 1991; Robbins and Wolf, 1994). Wood was used in large quantities for shipbuilding early in the 19th century and later used to fuel and build railroads (Hutchison and Winters, 1942; Schwantes, 1991). As the West developed, shrub and grasslands supported domestic livestock grazing. Also, some lands were recognized for their crop potential and irrigation dams were constructed early in the 20th century (Wilkinson, 1992; Dietrich, 1995). In all cases, resource use required inventories, descriptions, or some other assessment that described the amount, location, or value of the resource and often how it could be utilized (Leiberg, 1897). Assessments in one form or another have always been part of natural resource use.