P. J. Sulllivan et al. published a committee report in Fisheries journal in 2006 (31, #9, p. 460-464) titled “Defining and Implementing Best Available Science for Fisheries and Environmental Science, Policy, and Management.” The report provides a good overview of the difficulties of determining “best available science” and why frequently there are disagreements among scientists as well as between scientists and policymakers. In my book, Wildlife Politics, I have an entire chapter devoted to these issues concerning wildlife preservation. For example, use of different assumptions or different parameters in models can result in conflicting predictions about whether a species (e.g., wolverines) should be listed as endangered due to climate change. Inadequate data exist among many threatened species. There are many examples of political interference with and/or manipulation of science by agencies responsible for wildlife conservation. Scientific findings do not directly determine policy decisions but these decisions are made by public agencies and/or courts. Uncertainty and questions of the “burden of proof” also play a key role in affecting conservation decisions.
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During my research for the book, I noticed that there was no blog available for sharing informaton on wildlife conservation and thus I set up this blog to accomplish this purpose. Please share any informaticoncerning issues related to wildife policy and politics. I welcome feedback from users concerning this blog and website.
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