Scientific management of the cougar is the subject of the first lecture. (Image courtesy of the National Park Service.)
Instructor(s)
Dr. David Mattson
Dr. Herman Karl
MIT Course Number
11.959
As Taught In
January IAP 2007
Level
Graduate
Course Description
Course Features
Course Description
For the last century, precepts of scientific management and administrative rationality have concentrated power in the hands of technical specialists, which in recent decades has contributed to widespread disenfranchisement and discontent among stakeholders in natural resources cases. In this seminar we examine the limitations of scientific management as a model both for governance and for gathering and using information, and describe alternative methods for informing and organizing decision-making processes. We feature cases involving large carnivores in the West (mountain lions and grizzly bears), Northeast coastal fisheries, and adaptive management of the Colorado River. There will be nightly readings and a short written assignment.