http://www.scf.rncan.gc.ca/authors/read/16571 Publications by C. Ste-Marie en-ca 2012-10-22 07:34:27 MST 2012-10-22 07:34:27 MST webmaster@nofc.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca http://www.scf.rncan.gc.ca/publications?id=34149 Assisted migration (AM) is often presented as a strategy to save species that are imminently threatened by rapid climate change. This conception of AM, which has generated considerable controversy, typically proposes the movement of narrowly distributed, threatened species to suitable sites beyond their current range limits. However, existing North American forestry operations present an opportunity to practice AM on a larger scale, across millions of hectares, with a focus on moving populations of widely distributed, non threatened tree species within their current range limits. Despite these differences (and many others detailed herein), these two conceptions of AM have not been clearly distinguished in the literature, which has added confusion to recent dialogue and debate. Here, we aim to facilitate clearer communication on this topic by detailing this distinction and encouraging a more nuanced view of AM. Mon, 22 Oct 2012 http://www.scf.rncan.gc.ca/publications?id=34149 http://www.scf.rncan.gc.ca/publications?id=33065 Assisted migration has been proposed as one tool to reduce some of the negative ecological consequences of climate change. The idea is to move species to locations that could better suit them climatically in the future. Although human mediated movements are not a recent phenomenon, assisted migration has lately been the source of debate, in particular within conservation biology circles. In this paper, we outline the major perspectives that help define differing views on assisted migration and shed some light on the ethical roots of the debate in the context of Canadian forests. We emphasize that there are many different forms of assisted migration, each responding to different (often unstated) objectives and involving unique risks and benefits, thus making the debate more nuanced than often portrayed. We point out certain seeming contradictions whereby the same argument may be used to both support and oppose assisted migration. The current debate on assisted migration primarily focuses on ecological risks and benefits; however, numerous uncertainties reduce our capacity to quantitatively assess these outcomes. In fact, much of the debate can be traced back to fundamental perspectives on nature, particularly to the ethical question of whether to deliberately manage natural systems or allow them to adapt on their own. To facilitate discussion, we suggest that the focus should move towards a clearer identification of values and objectives for assisted migration. Fri, 13 Jan 2012 http://www.scf.rncan.gc.ca/publications?id=33065 http://www.scf.rncan.gc.ca/publications?id=32975 The idea that humans can assist nature by purposely moving species to suitable habitats to fill the gap between their migration capability and the expected rate of climate change is being increasingly contemplated and debated as an adaptive management option. The interest in assisted migration, both in the scientific community and society at large, is growing rapidly and is starting to be translated into action in Canada. However, the concept is in its infancy; clear terminology has not yet been established and assisted migration still encompasses a broad range of practices. This introductory paper for the special issue of The Forestry Chronicle on the subject of assisted migration describes increasing interest in the subject and its complexity. It also provides an overview of the potential scale of assisted migration, proposes a terminology,and briefly introduces the following papers. Overall, the five papers aim to present a comprehensive state of the scientific and operational knowledge and the debate on assisted migration in the context of Canada’s forests. Fri, 16 Dec 2011 http://www.scf.rncan.gc.ca/publications?id=32975 http://www.scf.rncan.gc.ca/publications?id=32974 Fri, 16 Dec 2011 http://www.scf.rncan.gc.ca/publications?id=32974 http://www.scf.rncan.gc.ca/publications?id=32973 Fri, 16 Dec 2011 http://www.scf.rncan.gc.ca/publications?id=32973 http://www.scf.rncan.gc.ca/publications?id=28308 Fri, 25 Apr 2008 http://www.scf.rncan.gc.ca/publications?id=28308 http://www.scf.rncan.gc.ca/publications?id=16866 Tue, 22 Aug 2000 http://www.scf.rncan.gc.ca/publications?id=16866