Virtually all people have an interest in the maintenance of a healthy environment. In any case, and given that we live in a democratic society, decisions regarding the management of natural environments must be made using information from many perspectives. As such, no management decision can be made intelligently without sufficient knowledge of how natural systems work, and specifically what affects the life and death processes of living organisms. This is biology.
Science is a process of discovery.
Experimentation and the use of controls are our mainstays. In this regard, ecologists and environmental biologists encounter difficulties not shared with other scientists. Undisturbed habitats and communities are the answer, but sadly, these are essentially gone from the northern hemisphere. The truth is that we will never know what primal conditions were. We can substitute quality, long-term, research conducted on habitats, populations and communities that are protected from outside forces.