Abstract
While adaptive management (AM) is becoming a preferred natural resource management approach, the conditions necessary to engage in AM are not always present. In order for AM to work, there must be an ability to engage in experimentation and then incorporate what is learned. Just as few rivers are unequivocally either runnable or unrunnable by a whitewater boater, successful AM depends on a number of factors, including legal frameworks and requirements, resource allocation regimes, and existing infrastructure. We provide a classification framework for assessing the physical and institutional capacity necessary for AM using the international classification for whitewater. We then apply this classification framework to the design of an AM program for New Mexico's Rio Chama. As the case study illustrates, the classification system facilitates learning and provides an engaging way of thinking through problems and involving stakeholders. It can also help keep perceived limitations from becoming fixed reality, and it can be used to develop the conceptual model on which AM is based. The classification system allows practitioners to assess whether AM is possible by providing a way of thinking through the issues involved.
Highlights
Adaptive management (AM) is growing in popularity among natural resource managers because of its capacity to address management challenges that involve high degrees of variability and uncertainty
In order to demonstrate the possible utility of our classification framework, we examine the potential for developing adaptive management (AM) strategies for water operations in New Mexico’s Rio Chama watershed as part of the Rio Chama Optimization Project (Optimization Project)
We developed the framework as team members of the Optimization Project, and we offer it as a theory-building exercise and as a possible way of determining when AM can be successful
Summary
The project aims to develop an adaptive environmental flow prescription that (1) preserves or enhances ecosystem conditions in the Wild and Scenic section of the Rio Chama, (2) meets the needs of river-oriented recreation (trout fishing and whitewater boating), and (3) improves the reliability and output of hydropower systems at the dams, while (4) achieving the current management objectives of maintaining water storage and delivery for irrigators, tribes, and municipalities. If flows greater than the combined capacities of the outlet works and hydropower facility are not required to meet project goals, this physical capacity issue is a Class I constraint and will not be a limitation. Similar to the maximum discharge limitations of the outlet works and hydropower facility, this physical capacity issue is a Class I constraint if the Optimization Project does not require the operation of the spillway to deliver high flows. There is a range of options available for resolving this issue, making it a Class III constraint
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