Brandt, L.A., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Boynton Beach, Florida, USA
Best, G.R., U.S. Geological Survey, Davie, Florida, USA

Restoration of the Everglades and other ecosystems requires a coordinated, integrated approach to addressing management issues using the best available scientific information.

Communication is one of the challenges faced in developing a truly integrated science program that addresses management issues. Managers and scientists may have different perspectives on restoration issues and needs based on their different backgrounds and job responsibilities. Managers are faced with having to make day to day decisions based on existing information, regardless of the level of certainty, while scientists seek to increase the level of certainty through hypothesis testing which may require multiple years and multiple studies. Often there are disconnects between how an individual study contributes to a managers ability to make better decisions. A part of this disconnect comes from incomplete communication from managers as to their real issues and needs, and incomplete communication from scientists to managers on how their projects contribute to the fulfillment of the managers needs. Improving science coordination, synthesis and integration of research data, and communication of research findings are high priority tasks necessary for Everglades Restoration. Mechanisms to do this include synthesis, and integration through a combination of workshops, meetings, and synthesis documents. We illustrate how these mechanisms have been useful for improving science management coordination between USFWS and USGS in the Everglades with specific examples form A.R.M. Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.

(Abstract from the 26th Annual International Wetlands Meeting in Charleston, SC June 5-10, 2005.)

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