Hallmarks of science missing from North American wildlife management.

ABSTRACT: Resource management agencies commonly defend controversial policy by claiming adherence to science-based approaches. For example, proponents and practitioners of the "North American Model of Wildlife Conservation," which guides hunting policy across much of the United States and Canada, assert that science plays a central role in shaping policy. However, what that means is rarely defined. We propose a framework that identifies four fundamental hallmarks of science relevant to natural resource management (measurable objectives, evidence, transparency, and independent review) and test for their presence in hunt management plans created by 62 U.S. state and Canadian provincial and territorial agencies across 667 management systems (species-jurisdictions). We found that most (60%) systems cont

SUBMITTER: Artelle KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5842039 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature