Managing for the enhancement of yields or the survival of one species invariably affects others; benefiting some, harming some. In contrast, the ecosystem approach intentionally preserves diversity rather than doing so incidental to maximizing one or a few kinds of organisms…The underlying idea is that an undisturbed ecosystem will permit a wide variety of organisms to exist in a quasinatural balance with minimal human subsides…Because human ecological knowledge is incomplete, there is great virtue in letting nature take its course rather than intervening – action which may be well-intended but sometimes misguided or even heavy handed…Most species in well-designed ecological reserves will maintain abundant levels and escape extinction indefinitely without species-oriented help, so long as they are not deprived of feeding, hiding and breeding places and are not polluted, hunted, or harassed severely. [Hunting is severe harassment.]
The report concludes:
Providing sufficient tracts of undisturbed land and fresh water
obviates the need for heroic intervention to prevent extinction. A
further advantage to the ecosystem approach is, once land is purchased,
administering ecological reserves is much less costly than managing
species by one. [Game management]