Six Lessons Learned in Applying Science in Coastal Ecosystem Restoration

Abstract

October 2013 San Francisco Estuary & Watershed Science: A Broad Perspective Six Lessons Learned in Applying Science to Coastal Ecosystem Restoration Donald F. Boesch University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Cambridge, MD 21613 USA boesch@umces.edu INTRODUCTION The commitment of the state and federal leadership for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) stating that science will guide how to best restore the ecosystem and how much water can be exported is welcome, of course. Further, the invitation from the Delta Stewardship Council to the scientific community to indicate what is needed and how the scientific engagement should be structured offers an opportunity to pro- vide that guidance. However, excellent and internationally recognized science has long been generated on the Bay–Delta ecosystem and programs and structures to develop and apply science in Bay–Delta decision-making have existed for several decades. Is this new commitment to science-guided decision-making merely lip service or does it present an unprec- edented opportunity? If so, how can scientific engagement be more effective going forward? And, is the scientific and engineering community really up to it? Here I offer six lessons learned from 40 years of experience conducting and apply- ing science for the management and restoration of coastal ecosystems in many parts of the United States and internationally. In particular, I have worked many years on the Chesapeake Bay, the Mississippi Delta, the Florida Everglades, and the Baltic Sea. Recently, I was called on by President Obama to serve on the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling (Oil Spill Commission 2011). In that effort, I was on the other side of the fence, gaining rare experience for a practicing scientist in sifting though voluminous information to determine what really matters for making decisions and policies, and on a very condensed time-table. From these experiences I offer this advice to scientists, engineers, and technical man- agers on how best to take advantage of the opportunity available for science-based decision-making under the BDCP, recognizing that policymaking itself is outside of