Self‐sustaining populations are a conservation vision, not an operational objective

Abstract It is common for species conservation plans to identify the establishment or maintenance of a “self‐sustaining population” as an objective. However, this statement vaguely conflates different formulations and interpretations of population viability, management costs, and cultural preferences for non‐invasive population management. Hidden value judgments and assumptions about these components can create disagreement and conflict among partners. Thus, although a simple statement about “achieving self‐sustaining populations” can be a powerful strategic vision, evoking important shared values, it will not be effective as an operational objective for conservation decision making. Best practices in decision making emphasize the importance of fundamental objectives that are clear, unambiguous, and operational. Conservation planners may be better served by replacing the self‐sustaining concept with better‐defined fundamental objectives using quantitative statements about viability and clearly laying out ecological, economic, and cultural values.