High-performance teams in wildlife conservation: A species reintroduction and recovery example

Abstract

/ Reintroduction of animals to the wild to establish free-ranging viable populations is a valuable conservation tool, but ecological skills alone are not enough to ensure a successful reintroduction; also needed to do the work are effectively designed and managed programs. This article suggests general guidelines for organizing and managing reintroduction programs, reviews some basic organizational issues, and considers ways to develop high-performance teams The need to integrate reintroduction programs into their larger interorganizational context is discussed. The reintroduction program's structure must be appropriate for its function and should be properly staffed, led, and buffered from its political environment It should process information well, learn rapidly from its own mistakes, and be creative A high-performance team devotes most of its energies to solving external rather than internal problems

Population viability analysis as a tool in wildlife conservation policy: With reference to Australia

“…This is useful because attempts to conserve small and declining populations can be expensive (Clark and Harvey 1988), difficult to organize (Clark and Westrum 1989), and prone to failure (Griffith andothers 1989, Clark andCragun 1991).…”

“…This can be important, particularly given the cost and logistic requirements for species recovery programs (Clark and Harvey 1988, Clark and others 1989, Clark and Westrum 1989, Murphy and others 1990) and the limited resources typically allocated for nature conservation. Thus PVA, in tandem with decision analysis, can assist in ranking tasks and allocating scarce resources (Soul~ 1989, Maguire andothers 1990).…”

A model for improving endangered species recovery programs

“…Team members should be protected from outside interference (Clark and Westrum 1989). Free flow of ideas and information is essential so that criticism can be raised and evaluated in a rational way.…”

Evaluation of nocturnal roost and diurnal sites used by whooping cranes in the Great Plains, United States

“…This endangered species is well known for its ongoing recovery from the brink of extinction, serving as an encouraging narrative for wildlife conservation worldwide (Cannon, 1996;Clark and Westrum, 1989). Whooping cranes from the AransasWood Buffalo population, the only self-sustaining and natural population, migrate through the Great Plains in the United States and Canada twice each year between breeding areas at Wood Buffalo National Park and surrounding lands near the border of the Northwest Territories and Alberta, Canada, and wintering areas along the gulf coast of Texas (Allen, 1952;Stevenson and Griffith, 1946).…”