Ecology in the 1980s. II. Report of a discussion in northern England

This Research and Development paper contains a summary of the first regional conference by the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (ITE) on the subject of Ecology in the 1980s. It was concerned with northern England, with particular reference to the uplands, and was designed to develop a dialogue between research ecologists and the users of ecological information. The conference was held at the Cumbria Grand Hotel, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, on 13 and 14 April 1981. The conference was opened by Mr J N R Jeffers (Director, ITE) and Mr J C Dunning (Countryside Comissioner and Farmer). The number of major subject areas were identified and each was introduced by two speakers, one speaker representing the user interests and identified some of the problems which he considered relevant to ecology; the second speaker identified the contribution which can be made by ecological research. These introductory comments were followed by open discussion. The introductory comments and a summary of the discussions constitute the central part of this R & D paper. Mr Jeffers concluded the conference with a summary of ITE's approach to ecological research and Mr Dunning emphasised the importance of integrating our land use policies. ITE would like to thank the many people who participated so actively in the discussions and the staff who worked so efficiently to ensure the smooth running of the conference.