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High-performance teams in wildlife conservation: A species reintroduction and recovery example

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Abstract

Reintroduction of animals to the wild to establish free-ranging viable populations is a valuable conservation tool, but ecological skills alone are not enough to ensure a successful reintroduction; also needed to do the work are effectively designed and managed programs. This article suggests general guidelines for organizing and managing reintroduction programs, reviews some basic organizational issues, and considers ways to develop high-performance teams The need to integrate reintroduction programs into their larger interorganizational context is discussed. The reintroduction program's structure must be appropriate for its function and should be properly staffed, led, and buffered from its political environment It should process information well, learn rapidly from its own mistakes, and be creative A high-performance team devotes most of its energies to solving external rather than internal problems

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative, Box 2705, 83001, Jackson, Wyoming, USA

    Tim W. Clark

  2. Department of Interdisciplinary Technology, Eastern Michigan University, 48197, Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA

    Ron Westrum

  3. Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield Zoo, 60513, Brookfield, Illinois, USA

    Tim W. Clark

Authors
  1. Tim W. Clark
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  2. Ron Westrum
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Clark, T.W., Westrum, R. High-performance teams in wildlife conservation: A species reintroduction and recovery example. Environmental Management 13, 663–670 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01868305

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