needs of future generations. Managing for Inealthy ecosystems conserves biological 

 diversity, allows for sustainable development and thus provides economic opportuni- 

 ties. 



Ecosystem management does not eliminate the necessity for making tough choices. 

 The range of natural ecosystem variability is likely to differ in some important respects 

 from future conditions of ecosystems and landscapes desired by society. In virtually 

 all possibilities, compromises must be struck between natural processes and societal 

 demands. In attempting to reach a desired future condition, managers may alter the 

 hierarchy of ecosystems and create resource interactions in both space and time. 

 The nature of ecosystem disturbance and recovery will partly determine these 

 interactions. 



Resource interactions, as results of ecosystem management or other types of man- 

 agement, are difficult to predict across multiple spatial and temporal scales because 

 they tend to be site specific and complex. Each one must be viewed individually. 

 Findings of the 1989 RPA Assessment and this Update indicate that resource interac- 

 tions will likely increase in the future as demands grow for all of the uses of the forest 

 and rangeland resource base. As ecosystem management strategies are refined 

 through implementation of adaptive management, new information will become 

 available on resource interactions through coarse- and fine-scale analyses at a 

 variety of spatial and temporal scales. Another future source of information will be 

 ecoregion assessments of function, process, and condition, similar to the East Side 

 Ecosystem Health Assessment which has been completed. This information will be 

 considered in future RPA Assessments. 



Epilog Renewable natural resources will always be important to the economic welfare and 



quality of life for the citizens of the United States and the world. This Assessment has 

 pointed out the many opportunities Americans have to use their resources to improve 

 the public's economic welfare and quality of life. The 1992 UNCED meeting high- 

 lighted the importance of forests to the global environment. International dimensions 

 of U.S. forestry help to put the U.S. situation in perspective relative to the forest 

 resource situation in other countries. Establishment of a Deputy area for international 

 forestry within the Forest Service is tangible evidence of a commitment to be out- 

 ward-reaching with forestry programs. Establishment of U.S. positions on global 

 issues such as deforestation and biological diversity is especially challenging be- 

 cause of the diverse nature of ownership and management of the domestic forest 

 resource. 



Through activities such as cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization 

 and the Economic Commission for Europe in a Global Forest Assessment, the United 

 States can help to establish the information base necessary to make judgments about 

 issues such as deforestation. Active membership in organizations such as the Inter- 

 national Tropical Timber Organization provide a basis for exchange of information and 

 views from importing and exporting countries. Experience in these international 

 activities can also serve to help further define the U.S. role in international forestry 

 matters. 



70 



