Landscape assessment in the bitterroot ecosystem management research project

Landscape assessment is an integral part of implementing Ecosystem Management. Understanding existing conditions for an entire landscape provides a spatial context for defining goals and objectives. Participants can explore "what if" scenarios of management alternatives. Simulation models, such as SIMPPLLE, provide probable future landscape conditions under each alternative, as well as an estimate of the level of various disturbance processes that probably would occur. Management planning models, such as MAGIS, predict the outputs of selected resources over time, predict effects upon other resources, and provide benefit/cost summaries for each alternative. An overview of results from a major collaborative effort in the Stevensville District, Bitterroot National Forest are presented for possible comparison with similar case studies in other regions.