Dr. Bob Lackey is professor of fisheries science at Oregon State University. In 2008, he retired after 27 years with the Environmental Protection Agency’s 350-person national research laboratory in Corvallis where he served as Deputy Director, Associate Director for Science, and in other senior science leadership positions. Since his very first fisheries and wildlife job as an undergraduate mucking out raceways in a trout hatchery, he has worked on an assortment of environmental and natural resource issues from various positions in government and academia. His professional assignments involved diverse and politically contentious issues, but mostly he has operated at the interface between science and policy. He has published over 100 articles in scientific journals, written hundreds more for general interest audiences, and is a fellow of the American Fisheries Society and the American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists. Dr. Lackey has long been an educator, having taught at five North American universities and currently teaches a graduate course in ecological policy at Oregon State University. Phone: VOICE: (541) 602-5904 Address: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon 97331
Introductory lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wi... more Introductory lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon. A brief introduction to ecological policy and analysis.
Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, C... more Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon presents the California water storage challenge as a policy case study.
In 1857 Charles Darwin offered a blunt admonition to scientists: “A scientific man ought to have... more In 1857 Charles Darwin offered a blunt admonition to scientists: “A scientific man ought to have no wishes, no affections, — a mere heart of stone.” His advice was strict, uncompromising, and unequivocal, but spot-on for scientists, then and now, regardless of the type of employer. These days, regrettably, many scientists seamlessly substitute “normative” science (i.e., information that superficially appears to be legitimate science, but contains an embedded policy preference) for “policy neutral” science (i.e., politically and policy unbiased information derived following the scientific method) when communicating with policy makers, natural resource managers, and the public. Not only is such behavior a misuse of science, it is insidious because the consumer of normative science is often unaware of the hidden policy preference contained in the information being offered (i.e., “stealth policy advocacy”).
Plenary lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlif... more Plenary lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon at the 15th Annual Banff Conference, Alberta Institute of Agrologists, March 28, 2019, Banff, Alberta. These days, scientists in environmental science, natural resources, ecology, conservation biology, and similar disciplines are often not trusted by the public and decision-makers to present policy-neutral science. One reason is that scientists advocating personal or organizational positions on ecological and environmental policy issues has become widely tolerated as acceptable professional behavior and is even encouraged by a segment of the scientific community. As a result, the scientific enterprise is collectively slipping into a morass that risks marginalizing the contribution of science to public policy.
Plenary lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlif... more Plenary lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon. Most people expect that scientific information provided by interest and advocacy groups is infused with policy preferences, and for many people, the same skepticism exists for media-provided science.
Plenary Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlif... more Plenary Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon at the Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society, September 5, 2011, Seattle, Washington. The basic message is that we should anticipate in upcoming decades two big changes: (1) first, as the theme of this annual meeting implies, there will be change, dramatic social, political, and environmental change. No one should be surprised. Don’t be overwhelmed. AFS members will be confronted with new frontiers and they should be expected. Prepare for them; and (2) decision-makers, fisheries managers, and the general public will continue to need cold, hard, scientific facts, and uncertainties, provided by sources they trust. If you want to be an effective scientist, become that trusted source. When it comes to science, I say: Shun pessimism. Reject optimism. Embrace realism.
Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Orego... more Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon (July, 2021) briefly summarizes the role that scientists should play in policy debates. Public confidence that scientific information is technically accurate, policy relevant, and politically unbiased is central to informed resolution of natural resource policy and management issues that are often contentious, divisive, and litigious. Scientists should watch for the often subtle creep of normative science (i.e., information that appears to be policy neutral, but contains an embedded preference for a particular policy or class of policies). Failing to do so risks marginalizing the essential role that science and scientists ought to play in informing decisions on important public policy questions.
Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Orego... more Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon briefly summarizes (May, 2012) the likely future of the Columbia River Basin through 2100. Human population growth, accompanied by development, economic expansion, and continued competition for scarce natural resources in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, is expected to continue to threaten already dwindling salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia Basin. There are policy and management options to maintain fishable salmon runs in the Columbia, but they are highly constrained by competing resource interests such as hydropower, flood control, water withdrawals for irrigation and municipal use, urban development, and many others.
Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Orego... more Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon for the American Water Resources Association, May 4, 2016, Middleburg, Virginia. These days, scientists in environmental science, natural resources, ecology, conservation biology, water resource management, and similar disciplines are often not trusted by the public and decision-makers to present policy-neutral science. One reason is that scientists advocating personal or organizational positions on ecological and environmental policy issues has become widely tolerated as acceptable professional behavior and is even encouraged by a segment of the scientific community. As a result, the scientific enterprise is collectively slipping into a morass that risks marginalizing the contribution of science to public policy.
Plenary lecture by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon ... more Plenary lecture by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon at the Fifth Annual Mat-Su Salmon Science and Conservation Symposium, November 7, 2012, Wasilla, Alaska. For Alaska, there are lessons to be learned from what has happened ― and is happening ― to wild salmon runs elsewhere. The primary goal of the Salmon 2100 Project was to identify salmon recovery options that have a high probability of maintaining biologically significant, sustainable populations of wild salmon in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and southern British Columbia.
Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Orego... more Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, presented to the Water Resources Graduate Program on October 21, 2009. Dr. Lackey evaluates the property role of scientists employed as scientists by government agencies. It is very easy for taxpayer-funded scientists to misuse their positions to advance personal policy preferences. "Advocacy masquerading as science" is becoming increasingly common, but the reasons why this is so are the subject of vigorous debate.
Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences at Oregon Sta... more Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences at Oregon State University, presents a talk to the legislative policy staff, State of Oregon, Salem, Oregon, on November 21, 2022. The "Legislative Policy and Research Office" (LPRO) provides professional nonpartisan analysis and research that supports and informs the policy-making process for the Legislature.
Risk assessment has become a popular tool to help solve ecological problems. The basic concept i... more Risk assessment has become a popular tool to help solve ecological problems. The basic concept is not new and has been applied to various decision problems. The application to ecological issues, especially complex ecological problems, is relatively recent and controversial. The fundamental and essential elements of the controversy revolve around two key points: (1) a person's implicit "world view;" and (2) the assumption of who (or what) receives the benefits and who (or what) pays the costs for ecological "decisions." A person's attitude toward risk assessment is, at least implicitly, defined by a worldview. It is this worldview that explains how each of us reacts to risk assessment applied to ecological problems. How the benefits and costs are defined also defines the appropriate use of ecological risk assessment.
Many current ecological policy problems are contentious and socially wrenching. Each possesses u... more Many current ecological policy problems are contentious and socially wrenching. Each possesses unique features, but several generalities apply to nearly all. I propose nine axioms that are typical of most current ecological policy problems: (1) the policy and political dynamic is a zero-sum game; (2) the distribution of benefits and costs is more important than the ratio of total benefits to total costs; (3) the most politically viable policy choice spreads the benefits to a broad majority with the costs limited to a narrow minority of the population; (4) potential losers are usually more assertive and vocal than potential winners and are, therefore, disproportionately important in decision making; (5) many advocates will cloak their arguments as science to mask their personal policy preferences; (6) even with complete and accurate scientific information, most policy issues remain divisive; (7) etc.
Plenary lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlif... more Plenary lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon at the 35th Annual North American Meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, November 9-13, 2014, Vancouver, British Columbia. A policy bias toward “natural” is a common misuse of science in policy and politics, but there are many other examples. Such policy biases in science are often subtle, and frequently the individual scientist is unaware. Having widely available, accurate, understandable, relevant, and unbiased scientific information is central to resolving the typically contentious, divisive, and litigious environmental policy and regulatory issues.
Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, C... more Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon presents the history of efforts to reverse the long-term decline of Pacific salmon in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and British Columbia. This case study provides instructive policy lessons about how humans often respond to unpleasant realities.
Effectively tackling complex ecological policy problems requires something beyond traditional “en... more Effectively tackling complex ecological policy problems requires something beyond traditional “end of the pipe” or “command and control” approaches. Utilizing the concepts captured in various definitions of ecosystem health is one possible alternative to command and control. Increasingly, ecosystem health is heralded as a concept that will help clarify, evaluate, and implement 21st century ecological policy. As the concept has matured beyond vague explanation, it has become increasingly contentious because it is normative — it embodies a set of inherent values. At the core of debates over the utility of ecosystem health is a struggle over which societal preferences will take precedence. The foundation of the concept is the metaphor of human health, but this simple metaphor is both a strength and a weakness.
Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Orego... more Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon briefly summarizes the Cape Wind Project in a policy context (December 13, 2020). Many current ecological policy problems are contentious and socially wrenching. Each possesses unique features, but there are several generalities that apply to nearly all policy issues. The Cape Wind Project is an excellent case study for illustrating the general principles of policy analysis. All policy advocates in this case study use science and scientists to help pitch their policy preferences.
Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Orego... more Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon (December, 2020). These days, scientists in environmental science, natural resources, ecology, conservation biology, and similar disciplines are often not trusted by the public and decision-makers to present policy-neutral science. One reason is that scientists advocating personal or organizational positions on ecological and environmental policy issues has become widely tolerated as acceptable professional behavior and is even encouraged by a segment of the scientific community. As a result, the scientific enterprise is collectively slipping into a morass that risks marginalizing science's contribution to public policy. Public confidence that scientific information is technically accurate, policy relevant, and politically unbiased is central to informed resolution of policy and regulatory issues that are often contentious, divisive, and litigious.
Keynote lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlif... more Keynote lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon at the Conference, "The Salmon 2100 Project: The Future of Wild Salmon," January 25, 2006, Portland, Oregon. The primary goal of the Salmon 2100 Project is to identify practical options that have a high probability of maintaining biologically significant, sustainable populations of wild salmon in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and southern British Columbia. The Project does not support or advocate any particular policy or class of policies, but provides decision makers with a diverse set of independent, practical policy prescriptions that would have a high probability of restoring wild salmon runs to significant levels over the long-term.
Introductory lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wi... more Introductory lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon. A brief introduction to ecological policy and analysis.
Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, C... more Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon presents the California water storage challenge as a policy case study.
In 1857 Charles Darwin offered a blunt admonition to scientists: “A scientific man ought to have... more In 1857 Charles Darwin offered a blunt admonition to scientists: “A scientific man ought to have no wishes, no affections, — a mere heart of stone.” His advice was strict, uncompromising, and unequivocal, but spot-on for scientists, then and now, regardless of the type of employer. These days, regrettably, many scientists seamlessly substitute “normative” science (i.e., information that superficially appears to be legitimate science, but contains an embedded policy preference) for “policy neutral” science (i.e., politically and policy unbiased information derived following the scientific method) when communicating with policy makers, natural resource managers, and the public. Not only is such behavior a misuse of science, it is insidious because the consumer of normative science is often unaware of the hidden policy preference contained in the information being offered (i.e., “stealth policy advocacy”).
Plenary lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlif... more Plenary lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon at the 15th Annual Banff Conference, Alberta Institute of Agrologists, March 28, 2019, Banff, Alberta. These days, scientists in environmental science, natural resources, ecology, conservation biology, and similar disciplines are often not trusted by the public and decision-makers to present policy-neutral science. One reason is that scientists advocating personal or organizational positions on ecological and environmental policy issues has become widely tolerated as acceptable professional behavior and is even encouraged by a segment of the scientific community. As a result, the scientific enterprise is collectively slipping into a morass that risks marginalizing the contribution of science to public policy.
Plenary lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlif... more Plenary lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon. Most people expect that scientific information provided by interest and advocacy groups is infused with policy preferences, and for many people, the same skepticism exists for media-provided science.
Plenary Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlif... more Plenary Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon at the Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society, September 5, 2011, Seattle, Washington. The basic message is that we should anticipate in upcoming decades two big changes: (1) first, as the theme of this annual meeting implies, there will be change, dramatic social, political, and environmental change. No one should be surprised. Don’t be overwhelmed. AFS members will be confronted with new frontiers and they should be expected. Prepare for them; and (2) decision-makers, fisheries managers, and the general public will continue to need cold, hard, scientific facts, and uncertainties, provided by sources they trust. If you want to be an effective scientist, become that trusted source. When it comes to science, I say: Shun pessimism. Reject optimism. Embrace realism.
Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Orego... more Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon (July, 2021) briefly summarizes the role that scientists should play in policy debates. Public confidence that scientific information is technically accurate, policy relevant, and politically unbiased is central to informed resolution of natural resource policy and management issues that are often contentious, divisive, and litigious. Scientists should watch for the often subtle creep of normative science (i.e., information that appears to be policy neutral, but contains an embedded preference for a particular policy or class of policies). Failing to do so risks marginalizing the essential role that science and scientists ought to play in informing decisions on important public policy questions.
Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Orego... more Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon briefly summarizes (May, 2012) the likely future of the Columbia River Basin through 2100. Human population growth, accompanied by development, economic expansion, and continued competition for scarce natural resources in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, is expected to continue to threaten already dwindling salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia Basin. There are policy and management options to maintain fishable salmon runs in the Columbia, but they are highly constrained by competing resource interests such as hydropower, flood control, water withdrawals for irrigation and municipal use, urban development, and many others.
Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Orego... more Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon for the American Water Resources Association, May 4, 2016, Middleburg, Virginia. These days, scientists in environmental science, natural resources, ecology, conservation biology, water resource management, and similar disciplines are often not trusted by the public and decision-makers to present policy-neutral science. One reason is that scientists advocating personal or organizational positions on ecological and environmental policy issues has become widely tolerated as acceptable professional behavior and is even encouraged by a segment of the scientific community. As a result, the scientific enterprise is collectively slipping into a morass that risks marginalizing the contribution of science to public policy.
Plenary lecture by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon ... more Plenary lecture by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon at the Fifth Annual Mat-Su Salmon Science and Conservation Symposium, November 7, 2012, Wasilla, Alaska. For Alaska, there are lessons to be learned from what has happened ― and is happening ― to wild salmon runs elsewhere. The primary goal of the Salmon 2100 Project was to identify salmon recovery options that have a high probability of maintaining biologically significant, sustainable populations of wild salmon in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and southern British Columbia.
Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Orego... more Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, presented to the Water Resources Graduate Program on October 21, 2009. Dr. Lackey evaluates the property role of scientists employed as scientists by government agencies. It is very easy for taxpayer-funded scientists to misuse their positions to advance personal policy preferences. "Advocacy masquerading as science" is becoming increasingly common, but the reasons why this is so are the subject of vigorous debate.
Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences at Oregon Sta... more Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences at Oregon State University, presents a talk to the legislative policy staff, State of Oregon, Salem, Oregon, on November 21, 2022. The "Legislative Policy and Research Office" (LPRO) provides professional nonpartisan analysis and research that supports and informs the policy-making process for the Legislature.
Risk assessment has become a popular tool to help solve ecological problems. The basic concept i... more Risk assessment has become a popular tool to help solve ecological problems. The basic concept is not new and has been applied to various decision problems. The application to ecological issues, especially complex ecological problems, is relatively recent and controversial. The fundamental and essential elements of the controversy revolve around two key points: (1) a person's implicit "world view;" and (2) the assumption of who (or what) receives the benefits and who (or what) pays the costs for ecological "decisions." A person's attitude toward risk assessment is, at least implicitly, defined by a worldview. It is this worldview that explains how each of us reacts to risk assessment applied to ecological problems. How the benefits and costs are defined also defines the appropriate use of ecological risk assessment.
Many current ecological policy problems are contentious and socially wrenching. Each possesses u... more Many current ecological policy problems are contentious and socially wrenching. Each possesses unique features, but several generalities apply to nearly all. I propose nine axioms that are typical of most current ecological policy problems: (1) the policy and political dynamic is a zero-sum game; (2) the distribution of benefits and costs is more important than the ratio of total benefits to total costs; (3) the most politically viable policy choice spreads the benefits to a broad majority with the costs limited to a narrow minority of the population; (4) potential losers are usually more assertive and vocal than potential winners and are, therefore, disproportionately important in decision making; (5) many advocates will cloak their arguments as science to mask their personal policy preferences; (6) even with complete and accurate scientific information, most policy issues remain divisive; (7) etc.
Plenary lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlif... more Plenary lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon at the 35th Annual North American Meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, November 9-13, 2014, Vancouver, British Columbia. A policy bias toward “natural” is a common misuse of science in policy and politics, but there are many other examples. Such policy biases in science are often subtle, and frequently the individual scientist is unaware. Having widely available, accurate, understandable, relevant, and unbiased scientific information is central to resolving the typically contentious, divisive, and litigious environmental policy and regulatory issues.
Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, C... more Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon presents the history of efforts to reverse the long-term decline of Pacific salmon in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and British Columbia. This case study provides instructive policy lessons about how humans often respond to unpleasant realities.
Effectively tackling complex ecological policy problems requires something beyond traditional “en... more Effectively tackling complex ecological policy problems requires something beyond traditional “end of the pipe” or “command and control” approaches. Utilizing the concepts captured in various definitions of ecosystem health is one possible alternative to command and control. Increasingly, ecosystem health is heralded as a concept that will help clarify, evaluate, and implement 21st century ecological policy. As the concept has matured beyond vague explanation, it has become increasingly contentious because it is normative — it embodies a set of inherent values. At the core of debates over the utility of ecosystem health is a struggle over which societal preferences will take precedence. The foundation of the concept is the metaphor of human health, but this simple metaphor is both a strength and a weakness.
Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Orego... more Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon briefly summarizes the Cape Wind Project in a policy context (December 13, 2020). Many current ecological policy problems are contentious and socially wrenching. Each possesses unique features, but there are several generalities that apply to nearly all policy issues. The Cape Wind Project is an excellent case study for illustrating the general principles of policy analysis. All policy advocates in this case study use science and scientists to help pitch their policy preferences.
Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Orego... more Lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon (December, 2020). These days, scientists in environmental science, natural resources, ecology, conservation biology, and similar disciplines are often not trusted by the public and decision-makers to present policy-neutral science. One reason is that scientists advocating personal or organizational positions on ecological and environmental policy issues has become widely tolerated as acceptable professional behavior and is even encouraged by a segment of the scientific community. As a result, the scientific enterprise is collectively slipping into a morass that risks marginalizing science's contribution to public policy. Public confidence that scientific information is technically accurate, policy relevant, and politically unbiased is central to informed resolution of policy and regulatory issues that are often contentious, divisive, and litigious.
Keynote lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlif... more Keynote lecture presented by Dr. Robert T. Lackey, Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon at the Conference, "The Salmon 2100 Project: The Future of Wild Salmon," January 25, 2006, Portland, Oregon. The primary goal of the Salmon 2100 Project is to identify practical options that have a high probability of maintaining biologically significant, sustainable populations of wild salmon in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and southern British Columbia. The Project does not support or advocate any particular policy or class of policies, but provides decision makers with a diverse set of independent, practical policy prescriptions that would have a high probability of restoring wild salmon runs to significant levels over the long-term.
Ecological risk assessment has become a commonly used tool in policy analysis, but its use is con... more Ecological risk assessment has become a commonly used tool in policy analysis, but its use is controversial. Opinions are diverse; they range from enthusiastic support to caustic dismissal. Much of the controversy with using risk assessment in ecological policy analysis revolves around defining the initial policy question or problem to be assessed. In formulating the "question" in ecological risk assessment, the nature of the analytical technique forces analysts to make assumptions of values and priorities; these assumptions may not be the same as those of the public or their elected or appointed representatives. Specifically, much of the difficulty with applying risk assessment is that, by definition, risk is adverse. Deciding which ecological changes are adverse (undesired) and which are beneficial (desired) is likely to be the primary political debate. Ecological conditions and changes are classified by the values and priorities of the person or administrative body doing the classification; ecological condition or change in itself is neither good nor bad, beneficial nor adverse, healthy nor degraded. One method often used to determine which ecological conditions or changes are adverse is to apply the human "health" metaphor to ecosystems or ecological components. However, application of the concept of ecosystem health is fraught with value-based requirements
EPA Blog - Office of Research and Development - April 1, 2008
As a research scientist engaged in ecological research for more than four decades, I am concerned... more As a research scientist engaged in ecological research for more than four decades, I am concerned that some of us are heading down a path that risks marginalizing our scientific information, if not much of our scientific enterprise. Worse, I think many are on the path unknowingly. Those of us who provide scientific information to decision-makers and the public should become more vigilant, precise, demanding, and rigorous in distinguishing between policy-neutral and policy-inculcated scientific information. This seems simple, but it is often difficult.
The Osprey: The International Journal of Salmon and Steelhead Conservation, 2023
The overall public policy goal of restoring runs of wild Pacific salmon in California, Oregon, Wa... more The overall public policy goal of restoring runs of wild Pacific salmon in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and southern British Columbia appears to enjoy widespread public support. Billions of dollars were spent in a failed attempt to reverse the long-term, general decline of wild salmon. Anyone, even those slightly familiar with the decline of wild salmon runs, knows the direct and immediate causes of the decline. These proximal causes are “old news” to folks even marginally familiar with the wild salmon story. Rather, this article focuses on decisions about competing policy priorities that resulted in those proximal causes. There are no heroes or villains in this story, but rather a series of difficult and unappealing choices that society made over many decades. No one was ever out to eliminate wild salmon runs intentionally. This story is not analogous to the decline of wolves, grizzlies, and cougars. Many people wanted them gone, and the sooner, the better! So the wild salmon decline is all about competing policy priorities. Wild salmon runs are one of many competing priorities in the political world. Policy making is all about picking “winners” and “losers,” and this example is no different.
Principles of Fishery Science undoubtedly will be one of the standard introductory texts on fishe... more Principles of Fishery Science undoubtedly will be one of the standard introductory texts on fisheries science. The authors possess the diverse and extensive professional backgrounds and experiences necessary to write a comprehensive textbook on fisheries science. The stated purpose of this book is to present the principles of fisheries management to readers assumed to have a firm foundation in the biological, physical, mathematical, and social sciences. The purpose of this book is roughly the same as Fisheries Science published 22 years ago.
Water Resources IMPACT (American Water Resources Association), 2022
From California to southern British Columbia, wild runs of Pacific salmon have universally declin... more From California to southern British Columbia, wild runs of Pacific salmon have universally declined and many have disappeared. Billions have been spent in so-far failed attempts to reverse the decline. The annual expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars continues, but a sustainable future for wild salmon in this region remains elusive. Despite documented public support for restoring wild salmon, the long-term prognosis for a sustainable future appears problematic. Fisheries biologists and others continue to craft restoration plans, but an easy, effective approach has yet to emerge that will actually restore and sustain most runs of wild salmon in the region. For wild salmon, restoration options exist that offer both ecological viability and appreciably lower social disruption, but these options also tend to have more modest restoration objectives.
• I asked 58 well-known salmon scientists to predict (anonymously) how the overall abundance of C... more • I asked 58 well-known salmon scientists to predict (anonymously) how the overall abundance of Columbia River Basin salmon (including steelhead) would change after 20 years if fishing was stopped and hatcheries were closed.
• About 83% predicted that current (wild plus hatchery) salmon abundance (overall Columbia Basin run) would decline without hatchery stocking and fishing.
• About 12% predicted that the resulting overall wild salmon abundance would be greater than the current (wild plus hatchery) abundance.
• Most surveyed experts predicted that stopping fishing and closing hatcheries would not greatly change the current overall wild-only abundance in the Basin.
• Based on these results, salmon fishing and hatchery additions are not currently believed to be among the major drivers of the low abundance of wild salmon in the Columbia River Basin.
• The current overall abundance of wild salmon in the Columbia River Basin (roughly 2-4% of pre-1850s levels) is within the expected range, given the amount and availability of high-quality salmon habitat, past and current ecological changes, and overarching trends in oceanic and climate conditions. Thus, stopping fishing and closing hatcheries likely will not drastically change current wild salmon abundance in the Basin — and it may well drive wild runs even lower, according to many experts.
The overall public policy goal of restoring runs of wild Pacific salmon in California, Oregon, Wa... more The overall public policy goal of restoring runs of wild Pacific salmon in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and southern British Columbia appears to enjoy widespread public support. Billions of dollars have been spent in an apparently failed attempt to reverse the long-term, general decline of wild salmon. To answer the question of whether the effort to rebuild runs through the hatchery production of salmon, I asked 58 well-known salmon scientists to predict (anonymously) how the overall abundance of Columbia River Basin salmon (including steelhead) would change after 20 years if fishing was stopped and hatcheries were closed. About 83% predicted that current (wild plus hatchery) salmon abundance (overall Columbia Basin run) would decline without hatchery stocking and fishing. Most surveyed experts predicted that stopping fishing and closing hatcheries would not greatly change the current overall wild-only abundance in the Basin. Based on these results, salmon fishing and hatchery additions are not currently believed to be among the major drivers of the low abundance of wild salmon in the Columbia River Basin. The current overall abundance of wild salmon in the Columbia River Basin (roughly 3-5% of pre-1850s levels) is within the expected range, given the amount and availability of high-quality salmon habitat, past and current ecological changes, and overarching trends in oceanic and climate conditions. Thus, stopping fishing and closing hatcheries likely will not drastically change the current wild salmon abundance in the Basin — and it may well drive wild runs even lower, according to many experts.
American Fisheries Society, Oregon Chapter, Annual Meeting, Mar 6, 2020
In 1857 Charles Darwin offered a blunt admonition to scientists: “A scientific man ought to hav... more In 1857 Charles Darwin offered a blunt admonition to scientists: “A scientific man ought to have no wishes, no affections, — a mere heart of stone.” His advice was strict, uncompromising, and unequivocal, but spot-on for scientists, then and now, regardless of the type of employer. These days, regrettably, many scientists seamlessly substitute "normative" science (i.e., information that superficially appears to be legitimate science, but contains an embedded policy preference) for "policy neutral" science (i.e., politically and policy unbiased information derived following the scientific method) when communicating with policy makers, natural resource managers, and the public. Not only is such behavior a misuse of science, it is insidious because the consumer of normative science is often unaware of the hidden policy preference contained in the information being offered (i.e., "stealth policy advocacy"). The practice of science, as with all human enterprises, is not free of bias, but it should be as policy neutral as possible. Confidence that scientific information is both accurate and policy neutral is fundamental to informed resolution of fisheries policy and management issues, but in a YouGov national poll, 34% of the respondents believed that scientists "often" let political ideology influence their science. Another 44% felt that the influence of political ideology "sometimes" occurred. In a Washington Post/ABC national poll, 40% of the respondents said that they place little or no trust in what scientists have to say about the environment. Scientific information communicated by scientists to managers, policy makers, and the public should be the relevant, unvarnished facts, including probabilities, uncertainties, and caveats — information that only scientists can credibly provide, but will only be trusted if the providers are perceived to be even-handed and policy-neutral. Science must be a cornerstone of fisheries policy and management, but I advise scientists to be careful. Play an active, engaged, and responsive role, but be ever vigilant to stick to the proper role — the one recommended by Darwin 163 years ago.
Plenary Lecture, 15th Annual Banff Conference, Alberta Institute of Agrologists, Banff, Alberta, 2019
Most people expect that scientific information provided by interest and advocacy groups is infuse... more Most people expect that scientific information provided by interest and advocacy groups is infused with policy preferences, and for many people, the same skepticism exists for media-provided science. Increasingly, however, public skepticism has extended to scientists themselves (i.e., the prevalence of “advocacy masquerading as science”). Even some experienced managers and policy makers (i.e., knowledgeable “consumers of science”) fail to recognize policy bias when it is presented under the guise of scientific information. For example, a policy bias toward “natural” or “pristine” ecosystems (i.e., those ecosystems unaffected by humans) is a common misuse of science in policy and management. Using such “science” (i.e., normative science) in policy deliberations is not only a misuse of science, it is insidious because the consumer of the information is often unaware of the hidden policy slant. Public confidence that scientific information is technically accurate, policy relevant, and politically unbiased is central to informed resolution of natural resource policy and management issues that are often contentious, divisive, and litigious. Science must remain a cornerstone of such public policy and management decisions, but I offer cautionary guidance to scientists: become involved with policy issues, but play the proper role.
These days, scientists in environmental science, natural resources, ecology, conservation biology... more These days, scientists in environmental science, natural resources, ecology, conservation biology, water resource management, and similar disciplines are often not trusted by the public and decision-makers to present policy-neutral science. One reason is that scientists advocating personal or organizational positions on ecological and environmental policy issues has become widely tolerated as acceptable professional behavior and is even encouraged by a segment of the scientific community. As a result, the scientific enterprise is collectively slipping into a morass that risks marginalizing the contribution of science to public policy. Public confidence that scientific information is technically accurate, policy relevant, and politically unbiased is central to informed resolution of policy and regulatory issues that are often contentious, divisive, and litigious. Especially, scientists should watch for the often subtle creep of normative science (i.e., information that appears to be policy neutral, but contains an embedded preference for a particular policy or class of policies). Failing to do so risks marginalizing the essential role that science and scientists ought to play in informing decisions on important public policy questions.
Plenary Lecture, Annual General Conference, British Columbia College of Applied Biology, Vancouver, British Columbia
These days, scientists in environmental science, natural resources, ecology, conservation biology... more These days, scientists in environmental science, natural resources, ecology, conservation biology, and similar disciplines are often not trusted by the public and decision-makers to present policy-neutral science. One reason is that scientists advocating personal or organizational positions on ecological and environmental policy issues has become widely tolerated as acceptable professional behavior and is even encouraged by a segment of the scientific community. As a result, the scientific enterprise is collectively slipping into a morass that risks marginalizing the contribution of science to public policy. Public confidence that scientific information is technically accurate, policy relevant, and politically unbiased is central to informed resolution of policy and regulatory issues that are often contentious, divisive, and litigious. Especially, scientists should watch for the often subtle creep of normative science (i.e., information that appears to be policy neutral, but contains an embedded preference for a particular policy or class of policies). Failing to do so risks marginalizing the essential role that science and scientists ought to play in informing decisions on important public policy questions.
Plenary Lecture - Annual Meeting - Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
A bias toward “natural” or “pristine” ecosystems (i.e., those ecosystems unaltered by humans) is ... more A bias toward “natural” or “pristine” ecosystems (i.e., those ecosystems unaltered by humans) is a common misuse of science in environmental policy and politics. Such a bias in science is often subtle and frequently goes undetected, but its presence reduces confidence in the impartiality of science and scientists. Public confidence that scientific information is technically accurate, policy relevant, and politically unbiased is central to informed resolution of environmental policy and regulatory issues that are often contentious, divisive, and litigious. Scientists should watch for the often subtle creep of normative science (i.e., information that appears to be policy neutral, but contains an embedded preference for a particular policy or class of policies). Failing to do so risks marginalizing the essential role that science and scientists ought to play in informing decisions on important public policy questions.
Look down the road to the end of this century, to 2100, less than 9 decades away, only several do... more Look down the road to the end of this century, to 2100, less than 9 decades away, only several dozen generations of salmon beyond today’s runs, just a few Pacific Decadal Oscillations from now, to a time when Salishland’s human population will be probably be triple, or more, than today’s level. Even given all this, there are still policy options that are likely to be ecologically viable and probably socially acceptable, but the range of options continues to narrow. If society genuinely wishes to change the current ecological trajectory of the Salish Sea, then most of us here know that these four realities must change. As unwelcome as it may be, the public needs to hear the same message.
Dubach Workshop: "Science and Scientists in the Contemporary Pollicy Process"
There remains a near pervasive delusion that wild salmon in California, Oregon, Washington, and I... more There remains a near pervasive delusion that wild salmon in California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho could be greatly increased concurrent with the present upward trajectory of the region’s human population coupled with most individuals’ apparent unwillingness to reduce substantially their consumption of resources and standard of living. Few salmon advocates argue publicly that society must make these substantial and contentious changes to recover wild salmon. Further, the implicit public optimism of salmon scientists and technocrats about restoring wild salmon tends to perpetuate this avoidance of reality. At least some of this delusional reality is validated by salmon technocrats being influenced by funding provided through salmon recovery programs.
Keynote Lecture - 58th Annual Meeting, Great Lakes Fishery Commission
Facts, including probabilities, are what the public and decision-makers need from scientists, not... more Facts, including probabilities, are what the public and decision-makers need from scientists, not pushing personal opinions about what policy option should be chosen, nor stealthily advocating in favor of our employer’s policy preferences by slipping into normative science. One thing that scientists must bring to the political dynamic is a blunt recognition that nothing in policy making is free. This contribution, this reality check, is often not welcome. In fact, scientists who push this reality too forcefully are often ostracized, but there are ecological, economic, and societal consequences associated with all policy options. Policy “win-win” only exists in the sham arguments pitched in election year political campaigns. Every policy choice involves winners, and losers. There are no free lunches; an inconvenient truth for sure.
Keynote Lecture, Visions Workshop, Fraser River Aboriginal Fisheries Secretariat, Canada Department of Fisheries and Oceans
An evaluation of the history of efforts to reverse the long-term decline of Pacific salmon in Cal... more An evaluation of the history of efforts to reverse the long-term decline of Pacific salmon in California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho provides instructive policy lessons for their recovery. From California to southern British Columbia, wild runs of Pacific salmon have universally declined and many have disappeared. Billions have been spent in so-far failed attempts to reverse the decline. The annual expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars continues, but a sustainable future for wild salmon in this region remains elusive. Despite documented public support for restoring wild salmon, the long-term prognosis for a sustainable future appears problematic. Fisheries biologists and others continue to craft restoration plans, but an easy, effective approach has yet to emerge that will actually restore and sustain most runs of wild salmon in the region. For wild salmon, restoration options exist that offer both ecological viability and appreciably lower social disruption, but these options also tend to have more modest restoration objectives.
Plenary Lecture - Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society, Seattle, Washington
As the theme of this meeting implies, there will be change, dramatic social, political, and envir... more As the theme of this meeting implies, there will be change, dramatic social, political, and environmental change. Don’t be surprised. Don’t be overwhelmed. You will be confronted with new frontiers. Expect them. Prepare for them. Second, decision-makers, fisheries managers, and the general public will continue to need cold, hard, scientific facts, and uncertainties, provided by sources they trust. If you want to be an effective scientist, become that trusted source. When it comes to science, I say: Shun pessimism. Reject optimism. Embrace realism. Regardless of the change that you are confronted with, whatever new frontiers might appear unexpectedly, science must the source of the facts upon which decisions are made. Scientists can provide leadership, but that leadership comes from behind. Tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing more, and nothing less. However uncomfortable, however unpleasant, however unappreciated it may be to those of us who are scientists, science can be, and should be, a beacon of reality in a changing and uncertain world. For scientists, be that beacon.
The overall public policy goal of restoring runs of wild Pacific salmon in California, Oregon, Wa... more The overall public policy goal of restoring runs of wild Pacific salmon in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and southern British Columbia enjoys widespread public support. Billions of dollars have been spent in a so-far failed attempt to reverse the long-term, general decline of wild salmon in this region of western North America. Of the Earth’s four regions where salmon runs occurred historically (Asian Far East, Atlantic Europe, eastern North America, and western North America), it appears probable that this region of western North America, without a dramatic change in current and long-term trends, will emulate the other three: extirpated or much reduced runs. Since 1850, an array of factors has caused the decline and a plethora of specific impediments has prevented their recovery. The primary goal of the Salmon 2100 Project was to identify practical options that have a high probability of maintaining biologically significant, sustainable populations of wild salmon. The Project enlisted 33 scientists, policy analysts, and policy advocates, all well versed and experienced in salmon science and policy. Three overarching realities must be addressed if society wishes to prevent the remaining current runs from becoming remnant populations by 2100: (1) in large part, because of altered and restricted freshwater habitat, salmon runs continue to be at low levels compared to historical abundances and thus recovery efforts start with relatively few wild fish; (2) restoring wild salmon is only one of many priorities that society professes and society must make drastic changes in individual and collective life style choices if wild salmon have any chance at recovery; and (3) the human population trajectory for British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho must change dramatically for any wild salmon recovery effort to have much chance of success (California’s human population is already large and will be much larger by 2100). The Salmon 2100 Project developed 23 different recovery strategies, each of which likely would be ecologically viable (i.e., it would actually recovery wild salmon) and appreciably less socially disruptive than are current strategies, but each of the 23 options also has much more modest restoration objectives, requires extensive hatchery or other aquacultural intervention, and/or involves creating protected areas. Most policy prescriptions fall into one of four general categories: (1) technological intervention often accompanied by a recalibration of the notion or definition of what is a “wild” salmon; (2) triage approaches that would concentrate recovery efforts on areas where successful recovery is most likely; (3) revamped salmon recovery bureaucracies and institutions including jettisoning “symbolic politics” pervasive in salmon policy; and (4) changed individual and societal behaviors. The policy prescriptions developed as part of the Salmon 2100 Project, if implemented, would likely restore wild salmon runs, though most would require significant alterations in people’s lifestyles.
American Fisheries Society - Oregon Chapter - Annual Meeting, 2006
Many contemporary fisheries and wildlife issues are complex, messy, and divisive. Most share a s... more Many contemporary fisheries and wildlife issues are complex, messy, and divisive. Most share a set of common characteristics including a lack of comprehensive scientific information, a limited understanding of biological processes, a scarcity of agency staff time and money, and a tendency for differences over policy preferences to end up as debates over scientific information. When pressured to provide policy relevant science to decision makers, agency scientists are often left with no choice but to rely on some form of expert opinion. Information based on expert opinion may be valuable, but to be most useful in decision making, it must be perceived as being accurate, transparent, and calibrated by some level of uncertainty. In response to a recognized need, formal methods of using expert opinion are becoming more common in fisheries and wildlife management. Decision-support models are one such method but are still fairly new and untested in their application to fish and wildlife problems. Using Oregon coastal coho salmon recovery as a case study, we examined and tested the usefulness of a decision-support model to assess watershed condition for coho. Preliminary results will be presented including the practical challenges of using such a tool on an actual policy problem.
In spite of considerable efforts to restore anadromous salmon in the Pacific Northwest, many runs... more In spite of considerable efforts to restore anadromous salmon in the Pacific Northwest, many runs remain at risk. Along with numerous other factors causing the decline, stocking from hatcheries over a century is often postulated to be a major cause. The listing of over two dozen distinct population segments of salmon under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and one run under the Canadian Species at Risk Act has catalyzed a reassessment of the efficacy of supplemental stocking in restoring (or even maintaining) naturally spawning salmon. Recent policies have generally tended to place greater emphasis on restoring runs of wild salmon rather than maintaining runs through stocking from hatchery production. Except at the most superficial level, there is little consensus about how to define wild. There is a continuum of definitions for wild and each definition subtly supports an implicit policy goal. Given that restoring wild salmon runs is the de facto public policy goal, the definition of “wild salmon” is important. Ultimately, the choice of definition is itself a policy decision that incorporates science as one of several influencing factors. A suite of options for defining what constitutes a wild salmon are available to policy-makers, although the definitions are often poorly articulated.
Plenary Lecture, Conference on the Salmon 2100 Project - The Future of Wild Salmon, 2006
The goal of the Salmon 2100 Project is to improve the quality and utility of assessments of the e... more The goal of the Salmon 2100 Project is to improve the quality and utility of assessments of the ecological consequences of options to restore wild salmon to California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and southern British Columbia. It involves close collaboration with policy analysts, policy makers, policy advocates, and fisheries scientists in many organizations to develop long-term and broad-scale forecasts that are both policy relevant and scientifically credible.
Plenary Lecture, Annual Meeting of the North Pacific International Chapter, American Fisheries Society, Stevenson, Washington.
Achieving ecological sustainability is a daunting challenge. In the Pacific Northwest one of the ... more Achieving ecological sustainability is a daunting challenge. In the Pacific Northwest one of the most highly visible public policy debates concerns the future of salmon populations. Throughout the Pacific Northwest, many wild salmon stocks have declined and some have disappeared. The decline was induced by an extensively studied and reasonably well-understood combination of causal agents. The public appears to support reversing the decline of wild salmon, yet, according to many experts, the long-term prognosis is poor for maintaining even today’s level of wild runs. Careful evaluation of the history of the decline, coupled with a few largely indisputable scientific facts, yields several overarching lessons learned that are relevant to current efforts to achieve long-term ecological sustainability: (1) most rules of commerce and economic growth work against salmon recovery; (2) the current trajectory for the region’s human population precludes some frequently stated recovery goals; (3) individual and collective life-style preferences demonstrate that recovery is less important than many advocates assert; and (4) increasing scarcity of key natural resources will constrain ecological options. These lessons learned collectively demonstrate that without substantial and pervasive changes in individual and collective lifestyles, the status of wild salmon through this century will likely continue the well-documented path of the past 150 years.
Three overarching policy realities will drive natural resource and environmental agencies in the ... more Three overarching policy realities will drive natural resource and environmental agencies in the Pacific Northwest through this century: (1) the likely dramatic increase in the numbers of humans inhabiting Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia; (2) a changing climate which will impose different ecological constraints on many species; and (3) the ongoing and intensifying collective demand for ecosystem services. Each of these three policy factors is critical in driving future ecological changes in the region, and each is inextricably intertwined. Future public policy discussion about ecological issues (i.e., salmon recovery, spotted owls, marbled murlets, bull trout, wildfire, water quality and quantity, energy development, etc.) will be substantially constrained by the number of humans in this region and their overall demand for ecosystem services. The current challenge facing all natural resource and environmental agencies is to deliver ever greater levels of ecosystem services in a way that does not irreparably alter the very ecosystems providing those services. This challenge will become increasingly greater through this century as climate changes, whether caused largely by human activities or by a natural processes and cycles.
The goal of the Salmon 2100 Project is to improve the quality and utility of assessments of the e... more The goal of the Salmon 2100 Project is to improve the quality and utility of assessments of the ecological consequences of options to restore wild salmon to California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and southern British Columbia. It involves close collaboration with policy analysts, policy makers, policy advocates, and fisheries scientists in many organizations to develop long-term and broad-scale forecasts that are both policy relevant and scientifically credible.
Fish and Wildlife Service/National Park Service Report, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC, Jul 30, 1977
A joint U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/National Park Service study mission traveled to Egypt from... more A joint U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/National Park Service study mission traveled to Egypt from April 17 - April 29, 1977, with the objectives to: (1) gather data on the status of Egyptian wild flora and fauna and the natural areas where they are found, and (2) develop project ideas or recommendations for the protection of threatened and endangered species. Information gathered by the review team indicated that much of Egypt's fauna is biologically threatened or endangered. No natural areas have been set aside in Egypt for the protection of plants or animals and the legal and institutional base for conserving wildlife is just now in the formative stage. Scientific information which could be used as a basis for developing a wildlife conservation and management program in Egypt does exist, but it is scattered among the institutions and scientists. The study mission concluded that this situation can be changed. Four specific actions were recommended by the study team: (1) Collate existing data on Egyptian wildlife and augment this with field study and analysis of threatened and endangered species and their habitats; (2) Select a priority areas for preparation of a comprehensive management plan and develop programs necessary and useful for protection of threatened or endangered species; (3) Develop multilevel training programs for wildlife scientists, conservation unit managers, and wardens and game guards; and (4) Examine methods for raising public awareness and concern for the conservation of wildlife, particularly threatened and endangered species.
Development and use of DAM, a computer-implemented learning exercise designed to illustrate manag... more Development and use of DAM, a computer-implemented learning exercise designed to illustrate management of a large multiple-use reservoir system, is described. Five management roles are available to students using DAM: (1) a regional planning commissioner; (2) a fisheries manager; (3) a power company executive; (4) a recreation specialist; and (5) a city mayor. We found that allowing students to switch roles emphasized inherent management conflicts and increased total system appreciation. There is no “best” management scheme for DAM. In practice, students manage until they can agree on and defend a particular strategy. The specific goal of DAM is to provide students with an understanding of the principles and problems of managing a multiple-use resource. Response from students indicates this goal was achieved. DAM is currently played by students' keypunching decisions on computer cards and submitting these to the computer center. An improvement would be to place DAM on a permanent file for access by remote typewriter terminal.
A basic job of fisheries management agencies is to forecast the demand and produce the necessary ... more A basic job of fisheries management agencies is to forecast the demand and produce the necessary supply of fishing opportunities. Present day angling consumption rates often exceed managers' ability to supply fishing opportunities of the desired quality. Therefore, a primary means for improving fisheries management may be to regulate angling consumption. Operations research techniques are well suited for handling the complexities involved with planning multiple action policies for regulating angler consumption. PISCES is a computer-implemented simulator of the inland fisheries management system of Tennessee, but is adaptable for use in any state. The purpose of PISCES is to aid in planning fisheries management decision policies at the macro-level. PISCES generates predictions of how fisheries management agency activities will affect angler use for a fiscal year. Subjective probability distributions for random variables and Monte Carlo simulation techniques are employed to produce an expected value and standard deviation for each prediction. Test runs under realistic hypothetical situations and discussions with personnel of Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency suggest that PISCES may help fisheries management agencies to improve budget allocation decisions, to formulate multiple action policies for regulating angler use, and to enhance fisheries development. A hypothetical application of PISCES in Tennessee is given.
Publication VPI-FWS-4-75, Virginia Polyechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, 1975
Fisheries management is the practice of analyzing, making, and implementing decisions to maintain... more Fisheries management is the practice of analyzing, making, and implementing decisions to maintain or alter the structure, dynamics, and interactions of habitat, aquatic biota, and man to achieve human goals and objectives through the aquatic resource. The purpose of this article is to place ecosystem modeling into a fisheries management framework, specifically as appropriate to recreational fisheries management. Recreational fisheries are especially complex, but prediction is the essence of fisheries management. Managers usually predict the consequences of a proposed decision in a number of ways including rules of thumb, past experience, population models, experimentation, trial and error, and pure guess. A key problem in making accurate predictions of the consequences of a proposed management decision is the complexity of most fisheries. Arithmetical calculation has been the major problem with using mathematical models in fisheries management. This problem has been solved to some degree by "simulating" fisheries. Most fisheries and ecosystem models are quite similar in approach and philosophy, but there is substantial variation between models when viewed according to their intended use or function. Models used in fisheries may be classified as to habitat, biological, or social type, or combinations of the three categories. Fisheries, when viewed in the broadest sense, include habitat, biological, and social aspects. The future role of modeling in recreational fisheries management may or may not be great and depends in large measure on the relationship between modelers and decision-makers.
This book is a useful read for any scientist with even a modest interest in environmental policy ... more This book is a useful read for any scientist with even a modest interest in environmental policy or politics, but I recommend it especially to scientists unfamiliar with the continuing controversy over how some scientists misuse science in environmental policy and politics. The book will also be of interest to political scientists and others well versed in the scholarly literature concerning science, scientists, and public policy, but Roger Pielke's core analysis and message will not be surprising to these readers. Pielke makes the case that the most helpful role for scientists to play is that of the honest broker. He describes how honest brokers of science are essential to a well-functioning democracy and for the overall, long-term health of the scientific enterprise.
This book addresses an important issue. Large-scale conversion of forests to accommodate human n... more This book addresses an important issue. Large-scale conversion of forests to accommodate human needs (e.g., agriculture, fuel, transportation, flood control) began long ago and continues today. In spite of widespread conversions, forests still cover vast regions of the world. The remaining forests are often intensively managed to satisfy increasing human needs (e.g., wood, fiber, paper). Forests, whether altered or not, greatly influence conditions in many aquatic environments. In aquatic environments, many species of fish are especially important to humans for food, recreational, cultural, or spiritual values. Therefore, for both utilitarian and scholarly reasons, it is important to understand how human actions affect forests, how the resultant changes affect aquatic environments (especially fish), and how the relationship between forests and fish can best be managed. This book makes a significant contribution to the science and natural resource management literature. Its worldwide perspective is an especially important feature. The editors are to be lauded for undertaking the monumental task of identifying, organizing, and managing the writing efforts of several dozen scientists and, ultimately, producing a book that is well integrated, consistently written, and refreshingly comprehensive, a monumental challenge to be sure, but one where their success is well demonstrated by a first class book.
As do all professions, natural resource management reflects the social and political context of t... more As do all professions, natural resource management reflects the social and political context of the times. In the final two decades of the twentieth century, a number of concepts emerged of what might constitute an approach to effectively implementing public priorities regarding ecological and natural resources. The various specialties of natural resource management developed somewhat different concepts, and they were described by a variety of shorthand, often confusing, descriptors such as watershed approach, community-based conservation, collaborative stewardship, adaptive management, new forestry, landscape-scale environmental protection, place-based management, and various formulations of ecosystem and ecosystem-based management. These concepts were usually not rigorously defined and differed in many ways, but they all purported to offer a different way to manage natural resources than had been done prior to the 1980s. This book reflects a distillation of these concepts into what has survived and become generally and loosely known as “ecosystem management.” Overall, I like the book and commend the authors for providing a readable, timely, and relevant text. It provides a good balance between facts and self-learning through discussion of real world case studies. It reads well and shows the extensive experience of the authors in teaching the material.
Terms such as sustainability, sustainable development, biological integrity, biological diversity... more Terms such as sustainability, sustainable development, biological integrity, biological diversity, ecosystem management, and ecosystem health frequently are at the core of policy debates in part because their precise meanings are the subject of vigorous scientific argument. Further, there are profound policy ambiguities, even apparent contradictions, embedded in each of these terms. For the past two decades, Bryan Norton has been a leader in trying to bring intellectual order to the search for meaning for these now ubiquitous terms. Overall, this is an excellent book, but it does have a shortcoming in that it is a collection of previously published, stand-alone essays, and thus there is considerable redundancy overall. A thorough editing of the entire volume would have better focused the message. Norton does, however, provide a useful service by consolidating his considerable past contributions to the field of environmental philosophy under a single cover.
Introductory fisheries books have become increasingly difficult to write. Gone are the days when... more Introductory fisheries books have become increasingly difficult to write. Gone are the days when there was a widely shared set of core concepts and approaches that constituted fisheries management. Today, many fisheries are in a state of crisis and “business as usual” is not acceptable. Reaching the biological limits in countless fisheries has radically altered how they are managed, or even who has the authority to make management decisions. In addition, the long-term transition in fisheries from hunting wild fish to growing fish in captivity continues, occurring in just a few years for some species. Further, changes in society, especially the democratization of governance and the emergency of environmental priorities, have removed much of the administrative power of professional fisheries managers. Consequently, it is often not clear precisely what constitutes “modern” fisheries management, nor how it should be implemented. In summary, this is an excellent, well-written book. It is contemporary in its treatment of scientific knowledge and management concepts. It would be a valuable addition to any fisheries bookshelf.
Ecosystem management has often been touted as an approach to avoid the metaphorical “train wrecks... more Ecosystem management has often been touted as an approach to avoid the metaphorical “train wrecks” in implementing ecological policy. In the 1990s, major federal land management agencies publicly embraced ecosystem management as the preferred paradigm for managing the lands entrusted to them. Ecosystem management was espoused most enthusiastically for managing the national forests. Proponents of implementing the ecosystem management paradigm for the national forests asserted that the previously accepted management paradigms, especially multiple use management, were tilted inappropriately toward commodity production (e.g., timber, cattle, and minerals) and had not given sufficient emphasis to non-commodity outputs (e.g., recreational uses and water supplies) or to issues of ecological protection (e.g., species preservation, biological diversity, ecological integrity, nature reserves). Proponents also argued that ecosystem management would better reflect societal priorities for national forests than prior management paradigms had done. Although many people embraced the ecosystem management paradigm for the national forests, for the past 10 years there has been an ongoing discussion over exactly what is meant by “ecosystem management.” Indeed, there continues to be a wide range of opinion amid much bewilderment about the meaning and implications of such terms as ecosystem health, ecological integrity, sustainability, and biological diversity.
Many champions of using the metaphor of human health to portray the condition of ecological syste... more Many champions of using the metaphor of human health to portray the condition of ecological systems argue that it integrates human activity and well-being, social organization, and natural systems. The editors here are forceful supporters of using the metaphor. Ecosystem health, as delineated in this book, is extraordinarily broad, having biophysical, socioeconomic, human health, spatial/temporal, and stressor dimensions. The purposes of this edited volume are two-fold: to describe and defend the basic rationale for using ecosystem health as a societal goal and to describe how the concept of ecosystem health should be used in practice. Ecosystem health is much more than a purely biological concept, a fact confirmed by the disciplines represented by the five editors of the book (i.e., biology, economics, public health, medicine, and environmental protection). Many of the chapters are written by one or more of the editors, but other authors are interspersed among the 23 chapters and they too represent a broad cross section of disciplines and perspectives. Applying the human health metaphor to ecological systems is controversial, and the editors are well aware of the arguments leveled against ecosystem health. They do not shy away from confronting the arguments raised by critics, but confront them openly.
Is there really much more that could be written about the decline of salmon in the Pacific Northw... more Is there really much more that could be written about the decline of salmon in the Pacific Northwest? After all, the scientific aspects of the salmon decline have been reasonably well known for many years. Sure, we learn a little more each year about the biology of salmon, but the salmon policy "problem" does not have a lot to do with fish or even science. It is about trade-offs — difficult, unpopular, wrenching trade-offs. If only it were only otherwise, the solutions would be so much more politically viable. In short, concern over the decline or salmon is an example of a wickedly challenging ecological policy question for which there are no easy policy or political answers, nor solutions that only require spending more money. How, then, is it that we need another scientific review of the decline of Pacific salmon? The Committee on Protection and Management of Pacific Northwest Anadromous Salmon was formed in 1992 by the National Research Council at the request of Congress. The committee's charge was to evaluate the options for long-term sustainability of salmon stocks and the economic and social consequences of such changes, ground that had been plowed by many others. Overall, this is a good book and worth the purchase price to anyone interested in salmon biology and policy. It is unfortunate, however, that such a highly visible effort did not concentrate on the heart of the salmon policy question, societal trade-offs of which salmon is only one of many. Perhaps it is time to look at alternatives to restoration of salmon — such as managing for fish species better adapted to the highly modified aquatic and terrestrial environment of the Pacific Northwest.
The specific goals of the editors are to explain how energy use has changed as society has evolve... more The specific goals of the editors are to explain how energy use has changed as society has evolved and to assess the ecological consequences of trends in energy supply and use. The editors define energy use in much broader terms than the conventional number of kilowatt hours used or the amount of wood, coal, or oil burned. Rather, they follow societal changes from early hunter-gatherers through modern industrial times, as well as speculate on future trends. Two important but controversial public policy questions are: how to sustain ecological resources and what, if anything, to do about the number of humans inhabiting the planet. These policy questions are the focus of Food, Energy, and Society. Answering both questions involves complex science and a mix of clashing fundamental individual values and preferences.
Debate over natural resource and ecological policy is often fierce. Whether driving spikes into ... more Debate over natural resource and ecological policy is often fierce. Whether driving spikes into Douglas fir to discourage harvest or liquidating a company's timber holdings to drive up short term corporate profit and shareholder value, this debate may have more in common with war than democracy. Presidents, governors, business owners, and school teachers can be forced to take sides in debates that offer no safe havens. Conflict over ecological policy is particularly severe in the Pacific Northwest. The future of forest and range lands, both public and private, is up for grabs. The combatants are engaged in a confrontation of prodigious proportions, a confrontation whose implications few fully appreciate. It is a battle for control of land, but in a larger and more important sense, it is a war of competing cultures, values, and philosophy. The debate is not simply competition between rural and urban residents, between college graduates and high school dropouts, or between workers in the silicon forest and the redwood forest. It is a battle of ideas, a battle of cultures, and a battle over the future of western civilization. It is the ideas that interest Alston Chase. Not the protests. Not the Wall Street takeover strategies. Not the policy advocates masquerading as impartial scientists.
This book is well written, interesting, and insightful. Biologists and lay readers both will fin... more This book is well written, interesting, and insightful. Biologists and lay readers both will find it worthwhile as a general interest book. Fradkin splits California into seven ecological regions and then shows how the characteristics of each region have shaped its human use. Ecological regions are diverse, ranging from lush redwood forests to bleak deserts. Human use is also diverse, ranging from the agriculturally dominated Central Valley to the urbanized South Coast region. The purpose of the book is to identify the influences of the ecological regions. Fradkin is an excellent storyteller. He selects interesting material and presents it smoothly and effectively. He is a professional writer and it shows. References are used throughout, but their use does not interfere with the easy flow of the text.
This is the sixth edition of a textbook first published in 1971. It is intended for students in ... more This is the sixth edition of a textbook first published in 1971. It is intended for students in introductory natural resource conservation and environmental science courses. The topics covered are diverse: ecology, economics, ethics, human population demographics, soils, hydrology, water pollution, fisheries management, coastal and marine resources, rangeland management, forest management, wildlife management, biological diversity, extinction, pesticides, waste management, air pollution, non renewable resources, renewable resources, and sustainability. The writing and general tone have a strong policy advocacy flavor, as the authors freely admit in the preface and reinforce throughout the book. Thus, the book an aura of political advocacy rather than the neutrality common in textbooks.
This book evolved from a series of seminars on environmental management and sustainable developme... more This book evolved from a series of seminars on environmental management and sustainable development sponsored by the United Nations Environment Program. Chapters are transcriptions of those seminars presented in the early 1990s in Nairobi, Kenya. More than 50 authors from around the world contributed to this book. Environmental Management is organized into three sections: policy issues surrounding sustainable development and environmental management; ecological problems, mostly from a developing nation perspective; and case studies on environmental management from different countries. The third section is the largest. The book has a strongly international and educational orientation. Authors are almost always representatives of their government; few consultants or academics are represented. Many authors are employed by education agencies or information transfer units. Environmental Management should be valuable to those people interested in issues of sustainability and environmental management or protection from an international perspective.
Surviving with the Biosphere contains 30 chapters, each written by a distinguished scholar of int... more Surviving with the Biosphere contains 30 chapters, each written by a distinguished scholar of international stature. The chapters deal with climate change; agricultural and forest policy and practices; the use of the oceans; marine and freshwater fisheries management; genetic and biological diversity; social and economic stresses; human population issues; clashes between competing rights within and between societies; causes of social conflict; north/south tensions; philosophies of government; and future environmental conditions. Two general audiences are likely to be interested in Surviving with the Biosphere. The primary audience of scientists is likely to find the various chapters on environmental issues to be credible, balanced, and relevant. There is little new information offered, but the chapters are excellent summaries of the current state of knowledge. The other potential audience consists of those interested in environmental, natural resource, and social policy questions. The information offered them here is less crisp and more diffuse than that on environmental issues. There is also a strong dose of a utopian world view in some of the discussions.
The purpose of this book is twofold: to evaluate a scientific problem and to offer a potential r... more The purpose of this book is twofold: to evaluate a scientific problem and to offer a potential research solution. The problem is the lack of information that credibly addresses the scientific understanding of the ecological consequences of global climate change. At best, it is difficult to determine with confidence how ecosystems, and all biological components, respond to climate change both past and future. This is a common problem in science, but it is highly visible as the scientific community attempts to provide policy and decision making officials with credible information on the likely consequences of climate change. It is obvious that we only poorly understand how ecosystems respond to climate change. It is not lack of data alone, but lack of relevant data and understanding, that limit our ability to predict ecological changes due to climate change. The solution addressed in the book is a research opportunity, perhaps unique, to conduct experiments to assess the effects of climate change. The longitudinal transect, especially the one along the west coast of North and South America, has long intrigued scientists as a vehicle for studying ecosystems and geophysical processes. There are many similarities between north and south, as well as some useful differences in terrestrial, marine, and atmospheric components. Here, perhaps, is the opportunity to produce particularly relevant data for solving portions of the climate-change problem.
The environment is not constant, a fact many of us forget as we immerse ourselves in efforts to u... more The environment is not constant, a fact many of us forget as we immerse ourselves in efforts to unravel the intricacies of today's biological problems. The earth, its atmosphere, and its biotic resources are in a constant state of short- and long-term change. Understanding short-term changes occupy most research efforts, but long-term change is often crucial to interpreting current data on populations, species, communities, ecosystems, and biomes. After the Ice Age presents a natural history of northern North America for the last 20,000 years. The changes that took place in what is now Canada and the northern United States may well be the most dramatic occurring anywhere on the planet North America was home to the dire wolf, mastodons, mammoths, sabretooth cats, camels, horses, sloths, and lions. What happened to these and many other lesser-known species? How did changing climate, land, and biota interact to cause extinctions? The answer makes fascinating reading.
Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 1989
This book is a hybrid ecology text and citizen's guide to protecting the environment. The core o... more This book is a hybrid ecology text and citizen's guide to protecting the environment. The core of the book is organized into eight chapters focusing on the life-support environment, levels of ecological organization, the ecosystem, energetics, material cycles and physical conditions of existence in ecosystems, population ecology, development and evolution, and major ecosystem types of the world. The treatment of ecology is solid, well balanced, and clear throughout the book. Odum provides brief but accurate summaries of many of the current issues in ecology, including biological diversity, the Gaia hypothesis, and scientific debates surrounding the Clean Air Act. He avoids the tendency to overemphasize current trends in ecological thought that in a few years may be regarded as aberrations.
Principles of Fishery Science undoubtedly will be one of the standard introductory texts on fishe... more Principles of Fishery Science undoubtedly will be one of the standard introductory texts on fisheries science. The authors possess the diverse and extensive professional backgrounds and experiences necessary to write a comprehensive text book on fisheries science. The stated purpose of this book is to present the principles of fisheries management to readers assumed to have a firm foundation in the biological, physical, mathematical, and social sciences. The purpose of this book is roughly the same as Fisheries Science published 22 years ago.
Emphasis is on current and controversial North American and international ecological policy issue... more Emphasis is on current and controversial North American and international ecological policy issues. Primary focus is exploring the role of scientists, technocrats, elected and appointed officials, the public, and interest/advocacy groups in ecological policy analysis and implementation. Specific topics and case studies considered are: (1) basic principles of policy analysis; (2) managing wildfire on public lands; (3) balancing competing demands for scarce water supplies; (4) managing large predatory wildlife, especially wolves, cougars, and grizzlies; (5) recovering and sustaining wild salmon runs; (6) determining appropriate use of genetically modified organisms; (7) resolving multiple use conflicts in managing public forests; (8) tackling human-caused climate change; (9) assessing the political clashes over whaling and other marine mammals; and (10) unscrambling conflict and controversy over marine protected areas and ecosystem management.
The overall public policy goal of restoring runs in the Columbia River Basin enjoys widespread pu... more The overall public policy goal of restoring runs in the Columbia River Basin enjoys widespread public support, but billions of dollars have failed to reverse the long-term, general decline of wild salmon in the Basin. To answer the question of whether the effort to rebuild runs through the hatchery production and release of salmon, I asked 58 well-known salmon scientists to predict (anonymously) how the overall abundance of Columbia River Basin salmon (including steelhead) would change after 20 years if fishing was stopped and hatcheries were closed. About 83% predicted that current (wild plus hatchery) salmon abundance (overall Columbia Basin run) would decline without hatchery stocking and fishing. Most surveyed experts predicted that stopping fishing and closing hatcheries would not greatly change the current overall wild-only abundance in the Basin. Based on these experts, salmon fishing and hatchery additions are not currently believed to be among the major drivers of the low abundance of wild salmon in the Columbia River Basin. The current overall abundance of wild salmon in the Columbia River Basin (roughly 3-5% of pre-1850s levels) is within the expected range, given the amount and availability of good salmon habitat, past and current ecological changes, and overarching trends in oceanic and climate conditions. Stopping fishing and closing hatcheries likely will not drastically change the current wild salmon abundance in the Basin, and it may well drive wild runs even lower than their already very low levels, according to many experts.
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• About 83% predicted that current (wild plus hatchery) salmon abundance (overall Columbia Basin run) would decline without hatchery stocking and fishing.
• About 12% predicted that the resulting overall wild salmon abundance would be greater than the current (wild plus hatchery) abundance.
• Most surveyed experts predicted that stopping fishing and closing hatcheries would not greatly change the current overall wild-only abundance in the Basin.
• Based on these results, salmon fishing and hatchery additions are not currently believed to be among the major drivers of the low abundance of wild salmon in the Columbia River Basin.
• The current overall abundance of wild salmon in the Columbia River Basin (roughly 2-4% of pre-1850s levels) is within the expected range, given the amount and availability of high-quality salmon habitat, past and current ecological changes, and overarching trends in oceanic and climate conditions. Thus, stopping fishing and closing hatcheries likely will not drastically change current wild salmon abundance in the Basin — and it may well drive wild runs even lower, according to many experts.
Video: https://media.oregonstate.edu/media/0_melddnvc
https://media.oregonstate.edu/media/t/0_u6ku9zwn