Management of the natural resources on District lands is an important priority. Recognizing the need for guiding principles in resource management, the Board of Directors adopted a series of Resource Management Policies in October 1994. These policies are intended as a tool to:

• Set the framework for the District’s resource management program;
• Provide general direction for issue-specific and site-specific planning;
• Give staff and Board the basis for informed, consistent, and effective resource management decisions;
• Inform the public of the purpose and intentions of the District’s resource management program; and
• Provide a basis for evaluation of the District’s progress in reaching its resource management objectives.

In 2003 the District initiated a Resource Management Five-Year Strategic Plan to identify and implement high priority resource management goals to ensure the long-term protection of natural and cultural resources on District preserves. With nearly 50,000 acres of land currently under protection, prioritizing the expenditure of funds and staff time on resource management activities must take into account many competing issues.

A Resource Management Policies Prioritization Workshop was held by the District’s Board of Directors in October 2004. During this workshop the Board and staff discussed and analyzed ten resource management issues affecting District lands, grouped the issues together by common themes and prioritized the order in which existing Resource Management Policies will be revised and new policies developed.

Resource Management Issues

The following resource management issues were identified as priorities for policy development and revision:

Each set of resource management issues will be the subject of a public workshop with the Board of Directors during which time revisions to existing resource management policies will be discussed.