Synthesis Ecology-Based Landscape Planning and Management

The words "sustain " or "sustainable " are commonly found in the mission statements of resource management agencies. The mission of the USDA Forest Service, for example, is to "sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. " Sustaining the health, diversity, and productivity of a resource has certain fundamental require-ments (Thayer 1989; Fedkiw et al. 2004). They start with a commitment to manage land and the water resources for the long term. It requires connecting the people living in the landscape with the natural resources that support their lives. It has to be inclusive of all sectors and functions of society by embracing meaningful civic involvement. And finally, sustaining the health, diversity and productivity of natural resources must create opportunities and preserve choices for people. These require-ments necessitate a comprehensive approach in which economic, environmental, and social sustainability are given equal weight and are considered concurrently. Landscape ecology provides a conceptual as well as an operational framework for considering the three faces of sustainability. 2 Moving from Concept to Practice The five chapters in this section support moving from concept to practice. Practic-ing sustainability within the context of landscapes is the unifying theme among the chapters. Each chapter illustrates the utility of a landscape perspective for considering sustainability in a variety of social and environmental settings. In Chapter 14, Azevedo et al. evaluated the changes in landscape structure and function that occur due to th