Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy
http://ejournal.nbii.org
© 2008 Schroeder
Spring 2008 | Volume 4 | Issue 1
38
COMMUNITY ESSAY
Comprehensive conservation planning and ecological
sustainability within the United States National Wildlife Refuge
System
Richard L. Schroeder
Fort Collins Science Center, United States Geological Survey, 2150 Centre Avenue, Building C, Fort Collins, CO 80526 USA (email:
Rick_Schroeder@usgs.gov)
Author’s Personal Statement:
For the past ten years, I have had the privilege of working with the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) of the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service as it develops Comprehensive Conservation Plans (CCP) for each refuge
unit. I have read and studied published CCPs, and paid particular attention to the scientific and biological aspects of
these plans. Of particular interest to me has been the mandate to sustain healthy populations of fish, wildlife, and
plants and the biological integrity, diversity, and environmental health of the refuge system, or, essentially, the “eco-
logical sustainability” of the system. One of the great difficulties in trying to implement a concept as profound and
complex as ecological sustainability is to determine how one might measure progress toward its achievement. In this
essay, I have tried to select a few simple but relevant factors to serve as indicators of such progress. A wise older
friend of mine, in explaining her personal view of changing the world, said that some of the problems we face are like
a huge ball blocking our path. She knew that she alone could not move the ball, but her goal was to at least nudge it
in the right direction. It is my hope that this essay serves as a nudge to NWRS as it moves toward the goal of eco-
logical sustainability.
Introduction
The National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS)
of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
has been in existence for over 100 years, but it was
only recently that these designations received a s