Understand the ecological consequences of possible societal decisions related to changes in human populations and ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest and develop transferable tools to support management of ecosystems at multiple spatial scales.

We will focus on development of transferable methods for evaluation of ecosystem management alternatives to strengthen linkages between ecosystem research activities and ecosystem management applications in the Pacific Northwest. To this end, the PNW-ERC will work within the following objectives:

• Characterize Ecosystem Condition and Change

characterize ecosystem condition and trajectories of change across multiple scales of time and space including large river basins and ecoregions, provide an understanding of each scale and relationships among scales,

• Identify and Understand Critical Processes

  identify and understand critical anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic processes related to ecosystems and the consequences of their interactions,

• Evaluate Outcomes

  develop and demonstrate tools for evaluating potential outcomes of alternative future natural resource use, management, and policy action.