Sense of purpose has to do with sustainability, ecosystem health, biological integrity and conservation of species, living in harmony with Nature's discordant harmonies. The idea is that it tends all to be multiscaler, encompassing both spatial and temporal dimensions. On this and much more I agree with Al Abee that we need to share design, information, and decisionmaking as we work to build public decisions. Whatever we design, we must remember that it is to be done by stakeholders who will want a say in both ideology and methodology. For advice on this front see Margaret J. Wheatley and Myron Kellner-Rogers' A Simpler Way .
Life is a journey, and so is management.
This thinking is certainly not unique, it's just a bit of that type thinking that sits close at hand here in my office. I also know that the political road forward will be littered with roadblocks. So it goes. Regarding the Forest Service and so-called natural resource management, address founding principles, emergent principles, policy, law, etc. This website houses several years worth of materials I have sent to Forest Service colleagues, including some of their feedback, on Sustainability, Ecosystem Management, Leopoldian Land Ethics, and more.