June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 24

PHOTO COURTESY OF ART WEBER

CONSERVATION

A pine planting site is restored
to a native prairie several years
after being harvested.

From Pines to Prairie: Putting Adaptive
Resource Management to Work
By Tim Schetter, Ph.D.

A

s I scanned the perfectly straight rows of densely spaced pines
at Metroparks Toledo's (Ohio) Oak Openings Preserve, I knew
we had a problem. Planted with enthusiasm by earlier generations of conservationists to stabilize soils after the dust bowl, the
original intent was to harvest them for timber. But in the flat northwest Ohio
landscape dominated by farm fields and woodlots of native hardwoods, the
pines quickly became a popular destination for park visitors seeking seclusion and the hint of iconic western landscape the pines inspired. In deference
to the public, previous park managers didn't have the heart to follow through
with the original plan. Now the pines were finally succumbing to lack of sunlight - no longer able to produce enough sap to expel bark beetles or resist
summer droughts. Within a couple decades, many would be dead. To my
surprise, " adaptive resource management " was the solution to my problem.

The Benefits Outweigh
the Challenges
Adaptive resource management is a
structured, iterative process that allows for robust decision making in
the face of uncertainty by learning
from previous management out24	 Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 02 1 | PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N .O R G

comes. In practical terms, it simply
means: develop a plan, implement
it, monitor the outcome, evaluate
and communicate the results, and
use what you've learned to adapt
and improve future actions. While
this cycle seems perfectly intuitive, it

can be challenging to implement effectively due to competing demands
on our limited time and financial
resources. Real-world challenges
and information gaps often keep
us from fully completing each step
before moving on to the next. But
each repetition of the cycle expands
our knowledge, and I can attest that
adopting this management philosophy will save your agency many future headaches and ensure that your
actions are sound and defendable in
the face of public scrutiny.
Our plan for the 400 acres of
non-native pines representing a
tenth of our preserve's land area
was to immediately harvest all
plantings at risk of collapsing within 10 years (100 acres in total) and
restore these sites to native prai-



June 2021 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2021 - Parks & Recreation

June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - Intro
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - Cover1
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - Cover2
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 1
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 2
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 3
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 4
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 5
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 6
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 7
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June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 9
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June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 15
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June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 18
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 19
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 20
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 21
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 22
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 23
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 24
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 25
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June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 37
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 38
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 39
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 40
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 41
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June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 55
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 56
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - Cover3
June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - Cover4
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