• Briggs, Russell D.
  Cooperative Forestry Research Unit
  

Forest management doesn't occur in a vacuum; management impacts water, fish, and wildlife. There is increasing recognition of the need for communication among the scientific disciplines that focus on resource management. AS we move toward the future, joint meetings will become more common.

The pressures on New England forests for a variety of competing, sometimes conflicting uses are increasing geometrically. Development and fragmentation threaten to reduce the land base available for production of natural resources. Demand for wood products continues to increase along with demand for public access to recreation on forest lands. Public access, the topic of one the technical sessions, has provided both challenges and opportunities for resource management. Clearly, more intensive management will be required to increase yields of timber, wildlife and fish populations for a decreasing land area. In light of these trends, the theme for this meeting may more appropriately be stated as: "Forests and Wildlife Management in New England-We Can't Afford Not Too..."