Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Florida
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

The Southeastern Adaptive Management Group (SEAMG) was created in 2001 for the purpose of achieving a better science-based approach to wildlife conservation and management. The principal mission of the group is “To better integrate research and management for the purpose of improving how natural resource management decisions are made.” As part of this mission, the SEAMG is responsible for exploring and developing quantitative tools that improve and facilitate the integration of research and management. A distinguishing feature of the SEAMG is that it seeks ways to achieve a heightened level of integration between researchers and managers. At this level of integration, management actions themselves are viewed as opportunities for learning through experimentation, and the selection of management actions generally includes compromises between the (possibly) long-term value of learning and the short-term value of achieving more immediate management objectives. SEAMG scientists interact closely with scientists and managers of cooperating organizations to solve problems of natural resource management.