Multiple use forest management in a catchment context

Abstract

Over the past several decades there has been an acceleration of needs, uses, and expectations of forest lands in many countries. Indeed, foresters in the United States are faced with exciting opportunities to provide answers on complex issues of planning, policy, and science related to multiple use management. Integrated catchment management provides a powerful analytical framework for evaluating alternative mixes of forest uses across multiple scales of spaces and time.

The objectives in this contribution are (1) to briefly review the history of multiple use forest management on public lands in the United States; (2) to illustrate, with examples, past and present approaches to multiple use management in a catchment context; and 3) to suggest promising approaches, methods, and technology to meet future needs. Present concerns and issues related to multiple use forest management have previously been reviewed for Great Britain and for the United States. In fact, the literature is replete with essays on the "state-of-affairs" and what needs to be accomplished. Less evident are recorded efforts to meet the more important need for application and testing of current theory on real-world forested landscapes. However, there is a reason to be optimistic about the future, as reflected by conferences such as the one whose proceedings constitute this book (and related field trips to project areas), and recently published findings on perspectives of ecosystem management.

Citation

Swank, Wayne T. 1998. Multiple use forest management in a catchment context. Proceedings of an international conference; 1996 September 11-13; Aberdeen Research Consortium, Land Management and Environmental Sciences Research Centre. Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom: The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute: 27-37.