The Colorado Front Range Ecosystem Management Research Project: Accomplishments to Date

This article briefly describes the goals and objectives for the Colorado Front Range Ecosystem Management Project (FREM). Research under this project has addressed both biophysical and human dimensions problems relating to ecosystem management in the Colorado Front Range. Results of completed work are described, and the status of the ongoing demonstration project at Manitou Experimental Forest is given. The Colorado Front Range Ecosystem Management (FREM) project was initially funded in FY 1994 to address issues related to ecosystem management (EM) in an area (fig. 1) of rapidly growing human populations, complex and sensitive ecosystems, and diverse social and economic sys- tems. The original proposal contained six objectives, but because of limited funding, only three were addressed: 1. Integrate social, organizational, and ecological values and issues, and improve conflict management strategies and tradeoff analysis techniques to support land management planning. 2. Improve our understanding of key biological and physi- cal aspects of ecological systems and the interactions of humans on ecosystem structure, diversity, and productivity. 3. Initiate operation of a learning center to facilitate information sharing and to support the building of active partnerships.