Organizational change as a component of ecosystem management

Ecosystem approaches to natural resource management place demands on adopting agencies to focus on those activities that support organizational change, especially communication activities, both to foster adoption of, and later to support continuance of ecosystem management activities. An assessment of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Ecosystem Approach to Fish and Wildlife Conservation found that implementation was incomplete, and its management team consequently took actions related to organizational transformation. This attention to organizational change, concentrated on both agency function and form, represents a new modus operandi for the governance of natural resource management agencies. The concept of leadership, as contrasted to management, is offered as an overlooked tool for achieving an ecosystem approach to natural resource management.