Incorrect management of unknowns may be just as inhibiting to scientific process as is the incorrect management of accumulated but untapped data.  In fact, the failure to consider existing data simply because it is not accumulated in a manner that readily yields itself to analysis may be akin to Don Quixote's �the greatest sin and the worst treason is to do the right thing for the wrong reason.� This presentation will examine how perceptions of conservation actions change when activities are viewed through disconnected environmental programs as opposed to a unified view when examined across programs. Initiatives such as conservation programs under the Farm Bill have a positive impact on maintaining biodiversity under the Endangered Species Act, yet when the goals of Farm Bill programs are not measurable to the goals the Endangered Species Act the benefit of local, on-the-ground improvements may not be realized. We will examine how voluntary or exploratory initiatives are working outside of or between current government programs to �connect the dots� where current law and practice do not. One timely example is the Sage Grouse Initiative, and what the effort undertaken there may teach us about bringing a more holistic approach to impact assessment and the balancing of agroecosystem services � so that in the future we can focus available programs and resources to do the right thing for the right reason.

Reducing uncertainty in the assessment of agroecosystem services: Future opportunities to differentiate between the scientifically unknown vs. the scientifically untapped

248th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.