The Committee has developed findings and recommendations which 

 are presented here in summary form. The recommendations are 

 discussed further in Section III. The findings are based on information 

 in Section V. 



3. SUMMARY OF 

 FINDINGS AND 

 RECOMMENDATIONS 



Ecological research activities are scattered throughout many agencies 

 of the Federal Government with little overall coordination, direction, or 

 definition of priorities. Large volumes of survey, monitoring, and 

 research information of ecological value are gathered by Federal 

 agencies, but with limited or specialized use, generally primarily by the 

 collecting agency. These data, together with non-Federal information, 

 constitute resources of enormous value if selected, focused, analyzed, 

 and integrated for applicability to specific environmental problems, to 

 strengthening the ecological basis for regulatory actions in land, 

 water, air, and resource management and to mitigation of environ- 

 mental impacts. Without a Federal focus, response to problems which 

 require ecological information or capability will continue to be 

 fragmented, costly, redundant, and reflexive rather than strategic, effi- 

 cient, and contributory to national goals and productivity. 



Synthesis and application of ecological information to the construc- 

 tive realization of diverse societal goals and Federal missions is 

 essential to maintain the resource base and quality of life in the Nation. 



Finding A 



1. Establish a National Ecological Service which would 

 serve as an operational focus in the Federal 

 Government for programs of ecological significance. • It 

 would be integrative in purpose and would be primarily 

 analytical in function. The principal functions of the 

 Ecological Service would be to: 



a. Define ecological problems relevant to achieving 

 national goals and critical to human welfare. 



b. Assemble, analyze, and synthesize ecological 

 information and present it in operational form. 



c. Conduct selected research to fill critical needs. 



Reconn mendations 



The national interest can be advanced by more adequate application to 

 Federal Government policy and operations of ecological knowledge, 

 principles, and capability for the beneficial management for man of 

 the Nation's biosphere. Management of renewable resources, while 

 presently based partly on ecological principles, must be improved by 

 using advanced ecological methodology and regional ecosystem 

 approaches. The greatest need for advanced ecological research is in 

 forecasting ecological effects of technological and sociological develop- 

 ments; i.e., determining "environmental impact." Forecasting ecolog- 

 ical effects requires knowledge of the living and non-living components 

 of the Nation's ecosystems and the ability to perform manipulative 



Finding B 



' Several member agencies of the Federal Council for Science and Technology do not 

 endorse this recommendation of the Ad Hoc Committee on Ecological Research. 



