Description
America’s natural systems and landscapes are impacted by increasing land-use pressures and widespread resource threats amplified by a rapidly changing climate. These changes are occurring at an unprecedented pace and scale. As a result, public land and natural resource managers in the United States are confronted with increasingly complex decisions that have important ramifications for ecological systems and humans. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) of the Department of the Interior (DOI) and other DOI agencies have recently implemented several programs to coordinate research, development, and technical assistance to support these natural resource managers. For example, through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, DOI has implemented Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs; http: //www.fws.gov/science/SHC/lcc.html), wherein various partners work together to ensure the sustainability of America’s natural resources by leveraging resources and strategically targeting scientific research
