But at every site data gathering is going on. So think of that OBFS network integrated with our big brothers the LTER program in a way that already does rep resent a large part of the environmental change monitoring across the country. We are having a heluva time getting up on the Web. Now I will talk about biodiversity in terms of our field stations and long-term data bases and how they might be contrasted and compared across the country. Unfortunately I have not had time to do that comparison so what I will do is tell you what is g oing on at my site and compare it to what I think is going on at other sites.
Biodiversity is a complex subject and it can be looked at in a lot of ways.
Distribution and abundance of animals is the essence of ecology. How we talk about biodiversity is co mplex. How we integrate humans is complex. In many respects it is uninteresting or unuseful if it is not attached to some kind of interpretation. We have tried to incorporate this idea in what we call the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem in northern Montana and southern Bri tish Columbia with the greater Yellowstone area.