Managing Idaho's Landscapes for Ecosystem Services (MILES) is working to increase the state's capacity to sustainably manage ecosystems affected by urban growth. Rapidly growing mid-sized urban centers are altering the proximal ecosystem services on which they depend, a trend of global significance. There is a critical need for scientific research to support the sustainable management of ecosystem services and inform sustainable policy making. Knowledge acquired through MILES will increase the science-based decision support available to help sustainably manage Idaho's resources.

Working with community partners, MILES will utilize existing and newly acquired data on ecological and social processes to create tools and approaches for decision support. MILES will continue a long history of university-community engagement to advance workforce development and social-ecological system (SES) science and its application to a variety of real-world scenarios. The vision of MILES is for Idaho to be a research and education leader in coupled natural-human systems and associated ecosystem services.

For more information, visit the MILES Website at:  www.idahoecosystems.org