REU Site for Ecosystems in Transition:

The Role of Research in Assessing Ecosystem Responses to a Changing Environment:

This program will not be held in 2008.

We hope to resume the program in 2009.

Case Study Discussions: Linking Research, Policy and Management.

Ecological research priorities and funding are often influenced by the information needs of policy makers who must address current “hot” environmental issues. Unfortunately, research that adequately answers complex ecological questions often requires much more time than is available before policy decisions must be made. The result can be heated, often inconclusive debate. Through a series of three Case Study discussions, the REU students examined the difficulties that are faced in using the best available current research to develop management policies in a timely fashion, while also taking into account public opinion. The need to adjust management plans as better information becomes available from the scientific community also was discussed. Case Studies held in 2004 and 2005 included:

Responding to exotic pest invasion: the emerald ash borer in Michigan. This Asian pest was discovered in the Detroit area in 2001 and rapidly kills infested ash trees. Researchers, including Dr. Andrew Storer at MTU’s Center for Exotic Species (http://forest.mtu.edu/research/ces/ ) rapidly mobilized to learn as much as possible about the extent of the infestation, susceptibility of our native ash species, and potential control strategies. To prevent this potentially devastating pest from escaping the Detroit, Michigan - Windsor, Ontario area, potentially controversial measures are being considered, including removing all ash trees from a 3-mile-wide buffer zone surrounding the infested area and banning campers from bringing their own firewood to state parks and forests. Dr. Storer and colleagues from the Center for Exotic Species will present a discussion of: the research methods employed to rapidly learn about the invasion; the cooperative, international efforts of the research community, local governments and regulatory agencies needed to devise and implement control strategies; and the importance of communicating with the public to help ensure successful control while limiting the spread of false information that inhibits control efforts.

Wolf-man interactions: recovery, reintroduction and public perception. Gray wolf populations in the Upper Great Lakes region have recovered to the point that the species has been reclassified from endangered to threatened, and may soon be de-listed entirely. However special rules exist that allow taking wolves for protection of human safety and livestock, research, and other specific purposes. In other areas of the US, such as Yellowstone National Park and the southern Rockies, wolves have recently been reintroduced. In all of these areas, public opinion regarding wolves varies greatly among different groups and can be quite volatile. Researchers at MTU, including Dr. Rolf Peterson and Dr. John Vucetich, have been involved in wolf research in all of these regions as well as other locations world-wide. Discussions were held on the impact of wolves on ecosystems, the role of research in wolf reintroduction and recovery efforts, and the importance of understanding and addressing public concerns regarding these sometimes controversial efforts.

Research and policy: the chicken and egg of global change. State, national and international policies regarding the production of CO₂, NO_x, SO₄, and O₃ have existed for decades. Often, these policies have called for and funded the research needed to help define the possible consequences of these pollutants and appropriate control mechanisms. However, to realistically understand long-term effects in natural systems, multiple years of response data are needed. Consequently, regulations controlling emissions have been put in place before adequate research could be completed, displeasing both those who think the controls have gone to far and those who believe more needs to be done. Field-based global change research projects are only now reaching the point where sufficient long-term records exist, and realistic studies of the interactions among global change factors are almost wholly lacking. At MTU, researchers have been studying the long-term effects of N deposition, elevated CO_2,elevated O₃ and their interactions in natural forest ecosystems. Dr. Andrew Burton led a discussion of these research projects and the historical use of adequate research data (or lack thereof) for developing global change policies and regulation.

We were fortunate to have experts on the topics listed above at MTU and could bring in additional persons from federal and state agencies, graduate students working on these problems, and citizens who have specific concerns regarding the issues to participate in the Case Study discussions. The goal was for the REU students to understand that there are many sides to every issue, and research results are only one portion of the information that ultimately governs policy and management.

Following the three Case Study discussions, a group discussion on basic versus applied research was held. Students used examples from the Case Study discussions and from the projects on which they are working as a basis for this group session.