I will give an overview of mathematical challenges that arise in developing management strategies for natural systems. The emphasis will be on issues that arise from the nature of the biological systems, including, but not limited to, limited data, nonlinearities, stochasticity, constraints that arise from biological issues, and time scales. I will illustrate the concepts by starting with some of the best studied examples, which come from fisheries, then discuss issues of invasive species, and finally move on to lesser studied and more poorly specified areas. The goal of the talk will be to set the stage for the workshop and initial discussions.