Implementation Of Adaptive Management Research Articles

Towards Adaptive Water Management—Optimizing River Water Diversion at the Basin Scale under Future Environmental Conditions

The degree of success of river water diversion planning decisions is affected by uncertain environmental conditions. The adaptive water management framework incorporates this uncertainty at all stages of management. While the most effective form of adaptive management requires experimental comparison of practices, the use of optimization modeling is convenient for conducting exploratory simulations to evaluate the spatiotemporal implications of current water diversion management decisions under future environmental changes. We demonstrate such an explorative modeling approach by assessing river water availability for diversion in a river basin in Northern Spain under two future environmental scenarios that combine climate and land use change. An evolutionary optimization method is applied to identify and reduce trade-offs with Supporting Ecosystem Services linked to environmental flow requirements for relevant local freshwater species. The results show that seasonal shifts and spatial heterogeneity of diversion volumes are the main challenges for the future diversion management of the Pas River. Basin-scale diversion management should take into account the seasonal planning horizon and the setting of tailored diversion targets at the local-level to promote the implementation of adaptive management. The presented assessment can help with strategic placement of diversion points and timing of withdrawals, but it also provides deeper insight into how optimisation can support decision-making in managing water diversion under uncertain future environmental conditions.

УПРАВЛІННЯ ПІДПРИЄМСТВАМИ НА ОСНОВІ АДАПТИВНОГО ПІДХОДУ

This study emphasizes that it is very difficult to do business in the conditions of total war, but you need to adapt and survive. It has been established that the processes of formation and structuring at the macro-micro level do not occur by chance, there are clear patterns in them that ensure the harmonization of the interests of all market participants, will contribute to expanded reproduction and adaptive economic development, providing for an adequate response to changes in the external environment. From the authors’ point of view, one of the possible ways to reduce the level of uncertainty in the activity of socio-economic systems is to use the method of adaptive management. Therefore, the deepening of research on the implementation of adaptive management becomes relevant in the crisis conditions of the functioning of enterprises, in particular grain processing ones, it will provide a new vector of development of all branches of the national economy. Considering the immensity of this topic, the authors presented only a few of their views on the processes of modeling and management of adaptive systems in a fragmentary manner. The definition and modeling of model time scales and intervals in the control system, as well as observation thresholds and conditions for correction of management decisions, were proposed. For socio-economic systems, mathematical formalization is difficult to implement due to difficulties in describing the behavior of their elements and the relationships between these elements due to the uncertainty of changes in internal parameters, in particular, due to the human factor. The main reason for the complexity of the formalization of the parameters and the management process is the high degree of uncertainty of the parameters of the external market environment, competition, and periodic crisis phenomena. It has been proven that the application of an adaptive approach allows creating a management system that meets the criteria of mobility, simplicity of the organizational structure, compliance with the strategic goals and objectives of the enterprise, activity profile, orientation to end consumers, the possibility of timely adjustment of financial indicators and integration of economic activity in order to adapt to market uncertainties.

Adaptive Management of Flows in a Regulated River: Flow-ecology Relationships Revealed by a 26-year, Five-treatment Flow Experiment

Adaptive management (AM) is often proposed as a means to resolve uncertainty in the management of socio-ecological systems but successful implementation of AM is rare. We report results from a 26 year, five-treatment, AM experiment designed to inform decision makers about the response of juvenile salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.) to flow releases from a dam on the regulated Bridge River, British Columbia, Canada. Treatments consisted of a baseline (no dam release) and four different dam release regimes that followed a semi-natural hydrograph but varied in the magnitude of spring-summer freshet flows. We found total salmonid biomass was highest at the lowest flow release, and decreased with increasing flow, consistent with a priori predictions made by an expert solicitation process. Species-specific responses were observed that in some cases could be attributed to interactions between the flow regime and life history. The relationship between juvenile biomass and flow resulting from the experiment can inform decisions on water management for this river. The documentation of successful AM experiments is sorely needed to allow for reflection on the circumstances when AM is likely to deliver desirable outcomes, and to improve other decision processes that require fewer resources and less time to implement.

Adaptive capacity in the multi-level management system of migratory waterbirds: a case study of participatory goose management in Sweden

Adaptive management (AM) is one approach to manage migratory waterbirds, but obstacles to the implementation of AM require adaptive capacities in the management system (rules, institutions, action situations). This study aims to examine the adaptive capacity of participatory goose management in Sweden. Considering the biophysical and institutional context, we analyzed how tangible, individual, and governance assets were associated with technical and social learning. Interviews with informants in the national council for geese, swans, and cranes, and local management groups (LMGs) were conducted, and documentation reviewed. Results revealed evidence of a local preparedness in areas with an LMG. Nevertheless, the study highlighted a need to formalize the evolving system, to consider a more systematic implementation of AM (including regulations allowing for adaptive responses), and to ensure stakeholder acceptance for management tools and visions. The study illustrates the need for a broad set of assets to ensure learning in participatory management.

Mechanism for implementation of adaptive management of staff in the transport industry

Methods. The results were obtained as a result of the application of methods: systematization and generalization, analysis and synthesis – in the process of considering the main modern approaches to the content of the concept of «adaptive personnel management» of the enterprise; classification and analytical method – in the process of clarifying the constituent elements of the development of adaptive personnel management, specifying the content of adaptive personnel management, researching the factors affecting the productivity of the company's employees. Results. The adaptation system is necessary in order to reduce the time that a new employee usually needs to learn in a new place, to quickly «blend» into the team, to understand the requirements that the company sets for them, and to reach the required level of productivity faster. For a transport company, the adaptation system significantly reduces staff turnover during the trial period, which leads to a reduction in recruitment costs. A competently developed system of adaptation allows the employee who joined the new team to feel more comfortable, and the management – to get the maximum return from his work in the shortest possible time. The company's personnel adaptation program includes goals and a list of tasks within the framework of the responsibilities of a new employee (driver, machinist, freight forwarder, etc.), the terms of their implementation and the expected result, a list of normative documents regulating the work of the unit, necessary for the employee's assimilation adaptation period, as well as other information that contributes to the fastest possible entry into the position of a new employee. Novelty. The issue of adaptation of new employees at the transport enterprise is summarized, the approaches of domestic and foreign scientists to the definition of the essence of the term adaptation are analyzed, the key aspects of worker adaptation are highlighted, and the main tools for the implementation of the adaptation policy are also defined. Systematization of theoretical material was carried out to identify differences and opportunities for improvement of the Adaptation Program at domestic enterprises. The main problems faced by employees during the adaptation period have been determined, and recommendations for building an effective adaptation system at the enterprise have been formulated. Practical value. Development directions of various tools have been formed for the effective construction of adaptation, which allows to provide the transport enterprise with highly qualified and competitive personnel, able to quickly cope with the tasks, demonstrate a sufficient level of professional competence and experience, become part of the team and find a common language with the direct manager. The adaptation system with complex and time-consuming tasks is substantiated, the solution of which affects the reduction of personnel management costs, the reduction of personnel turnover, the improvement of indicators of the efficiency of its work, will form a positive attitude to work, the team and loyalty to the enterprise as a whole.

An adaptive management implementation framework for evaluating supplemental sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) controls in the Laurentian Great Lakes

Invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) populations in the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin have been suppressed for over 60 years primarily by migration barriers and lamprey-specific pesticides. Improving control outcomes by supplementing barriers and pesticides with additional control strategies has been a long-standing objective of managers and stakeholders, but progress towards this objective has been limited. We developed an adaptive management implementation framework and applied it to this objective. The framework consists of a set of adaptive management implementation goals (develop effective monitoring practices, develop effective participatory process, and conduct management experiments), a set of aspirational targets hypothesized to be related to Sea Lamprey Control Program adaptive capacity (multi-level political and social organization, creation of safe-to-fail decision making arenas, and effective use of multi-criteria decision analysis), and a feedback loop linking adaptive capacity and progress towards adaptive management implementation goals. Progress towards improving sea lamprey control outcomes by integrating supplemental control strategy into the Sea Lamprey Control Program may be possible through adaptive management implementation.

Trust is Essential to the Implementation of Adaptive Management on Public Lands

Adaptive management of natural resources explicitly incorporates learning into a process of science-based decision making. First proposed in the late 1970s, over time, adaptive management has become an increasingly common approach to management of complex social-ecological systems characterized by high uncertainty and conflict. Rangelands used for livestock production are one such system. Management outcomes of any given livestock operation are a unique combination of the local ecology found in a particular place, the management goals and approach of the operator and regulators, and regulatory requirements. Scholars have hypothesized that adaptive management can reduce conflict by allowing experimentation and increased management flexibility when there are competing viewpoints. We used a change to adaptive management for grazing allotment administration implemented by the US Forest Service in Arizona and New Mexico to evaluate this research question. We interviewed ranchers and Forest Service employees in Arizona and New Mexico to understand how they define adaptive management, what changes they experienced due to the shift to adaptive management, and their perceptions of the impacts of adaptive management. A decade after its implementation, our data show that adaptive management alone does not reduce conflict but can help reduce conflict where trust between permittees and the US Forest Service is strong. Where trust is lacking, adaptive management may strengthen existing patterns of conflict. These findings have important management implications for the use of adaptive management in the administration of public lands and as a conflict management tool.

Investigating Hydrological Variability in the Wuding River Basin: Implications for Water Resources Management under the Water–Human-Coupled Environment

Understanding and quantifying changes in hydrological systems due to human interference are critical for the implementation of adaptive management of global water resources in the changing environment. To explore the implications of hydrological variations for water resources management, the Wuding River Basin (WRB) in the Loess Plateau, China, was selected as a case study. Based on the Budyko-type equation with a time-varying parameter n, a human-induced water–energy balance (HWEB) model was proposed to investigate the hydrological variability in the WRB. The investigation showed that runoff continuously reduced by 0.424 mm/a during 1975–2010, with weakly reducing precipitation and increasing groundwater exploitation causing a decrease in groundwater storage at a rate of 1.07 mm/a, and actual evapotranspiration accounting for more than 90% of precipitation having an insignificantly decreasing trend with a rate of 0.53 mm/a under climate change (decrease) and human impact (increase). Attribution analysis indicated that human-induced underlying surface condition change played a dominant role in runoff reduction by driving an increase in actual evapotranspiration, and that mainly impacted the overall decrease in runoff compounded by climate change during the entire period. It is suggested that reducing the watershed evapotranspiration and controlling groundwater exploitation should receive greater attention in future basin management.

A flow-weighted ensemble strategy to assess the impacts of climate change on watershed hydrology

Evaluation of hydrological response to future climate change is essential for water quality risk assessment and adaptive management implementation within a watershed context. In this study, we present a modeling framework that integrates a hydrological model with projections of General Circulation Models (GCMs). Temperature and precipitation projections of six GCMs with two downscaling methods are used to force the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model in the Hamilton Harbour watershed in Ontario, Canada. A flow-based weighting strategy was developed to integrate the projections of multiple GCMs based on their ability to recreate empirical flow frequency distributions in multiple monitoring sites. Our study renders support to the ability of the weighted model ensemble to draw meaningful hydrological forecasts. Nonetheless, we also note that the ensemble strategy understates the frequency and magnitude of flow extremes, and therefore the domain that is collectively delineated by individual GCMs can still provide complementary planning information. Climate change is projected to trigger a distinct increase in air temperature and precipitation during the late winter-early spring period, which in turn will likely result in an earlier snowmelt and changes in the magnitude and timing of peak flow events. Analysis of the water cycle shows that the sensitivity of the individual hydrological components to climate change may vary along the urban-to-agriculture gradient. The projected declining soil–water content in agricultural catchments highlights the likelihood of more intensified drought conditions in the croplands. Evapotranspiration rates will likely increase across the entire watershed, whereas surface runoff could be reduced but less so in urbanized locations. Overall, our findings suggest that any future planning exercise to ameliorate the prevailing water quality conditions will only be insightful if we consider the interplay between climate change and urbanization processes in the area.

Adaptive, Multipaddock Rotational Grazing Management: A Ranch-Scale Assessment of Effects on Vegetation and Livestock Performance in Semiarid Rangeland

A comprehensive understanding of multipaddock, rotational grazing management on rangelands has been slow to develop, and the contribution of adaptive management (Briske et al. 2011) and sufficient scale (Teague and Barnes 2017) have been identified as key omissions. We designed an experiment to compare responses of vegetation and cattle in an adaptively managed, multipaddock, rotational system with that of a season-long, continuous system at scales comparable with those of a working ranch. We hypothesized that 1) year-long rest periods in the adaptively managed, rotational pastures would increase the density and productivity of perennial C3 graminoids compared with continuously grazed pastures and 2) adaptive management, supported with detailed monitoring data, would result in similar cattle performance in the rotational as in the continuously grazed pastures. However, we found little supporting evidence for grazing management effects on C3 graminoid abundance or production under either above-average or below-average precipitation conditions during the 5-yr experiment. Furthermore, adaptive rotational grazing resulted in a 12–16% reduction in total cattle weight gain relative to continuous grazing each year. Our work shows that the implementation of adaptive management by a stakeholder group provided with detailed vegetation and animal monitoring data was unable to fully mitigate the adverse consequences of high stock density on animal weight gain. Under adaptive rotational grazing, C3 perennial grass productivity and stocking rate both increased following above-average precipitation. But when adaptive rotational management was directly compared with continuous grazing with the same increase in stocking rate, continuous grazing achieved similar vegetation outcomes with greater cattle weight gains. We suggest that managers in semiarid rangelands strive to maintain cattle at stock densities low enough to allow for maximal cattle growth rates, while still providing spatiotemporal variability in grazing distribution to enhance rangeland heterogeneity and long-term sustainability of forage production.

Resilience of aquatic systems: Review and management implications

Our understanding of how ecosystems function has changed from an equilibria-based view to one that recognizes the dynamic, fluctuating, nonlinear nature of aquatic systems. This current understanding requires that we manage systems for resilience. In this review, we examine how resilience has been defined, measured and applied in aquatic systems, and more broadly, in the socioecological systems in which they are embedded. Our review reveals the importance of managing stressors adversely impacting aquatic system resilience, as well as understanding the environmental and climatic cycles and changes impacting aquatic resources. Aquatic resilience may be enhanced by maintaining and enhancing habitat connectivity as well as functional redundancy and physical and biological diversity. Resilience in aquatic socioecological system may be enhanced by understanding and fostering linkages between the social and ecological subsystems, promoting equity among stakeholders, and understanding how the system is impacted by factors within and outside the area of immediate interest. Management for resilience requires implementation of adaptive and preferably collaborative management. Implementation of adaptive management for resilience will require an effective monitoring framework to detect key changes in the coupled socioecological system. Research is needed to (1) develop sensitive indicators and monitoring designs, (2) disentangle complex multi-scalar interactions and feedbacks, and (3) generalize lessons learned across aquatic ecosystems and apply them in new contexts.

Strategies to improve implementation of adaptive management practices for restoration in coastal Louisiana

Natural resources of coastal Louisiana support the economies of Louisiana and the whole of the United States. However, future conditions of coastal Louisiana are highly uncertain due to the dynamic processes of the Mississippi River delta, unpredictable storm events, subsidence, sea level rise, increasing temperatures, and extensive historic management actions that have altered natural coastal processes. To address these concerns, a centralized state agency was formed to coordinate coastal protection and restoration effort, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA). This promoted knowledge centralization and supported informal adaptive management for restoration efforts, at that time mostly funded through the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA). Since the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in 2010 and the subsequent settlement, the majority of restoration funding for the next 15 years will come through one of the DWH mechanisms; Natural Resource and Damage Assessment (NRDA), the RESTORE Council, or National Fish and Wildlife Foundation –Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund (NFWF-GEBF). This has greatly increased restoration effort and increased governance complexity associated with project funding, implementation, and reporting. As a result, there is enhanced impetus to formalize and unify adaptive management processes for coastal restoration in Louisiana. Through synthesis of input from local coastal managers, historical and current processes for project and programmatic implementation and adaptive management were summarized. Key gaps and needs to specifically increase implementation of adaptive management within the Louisiana coastal restoration community were identified and developed into eight tangible and specific recommendations. These were to streamline governance through increased coordination amongst implementing entities, develop a discoverable and practical lessons learned and decision database, coordinate ecosystem reporting, identify commonality of restoration goals, develop a common cross-agency adaptive management handbook for all personnel, improve communication (both in-reach and outreach), have a common repository and clearing house for numerical models used for restoration planning and assessment, and expand approaches for two-way stakeholder engagement throughout the restoration process. A common vision and maximizing synergies between entities can improve adaptive management implementation to maximize ecosystem and community benefits of restoration effort in coastal Louisiana. This work adds to current knowledge by providing specific strategies and recommendations, based upon extensive engagement with restoration practitioners from multiple state and federal agencies. Addressing these practitioner-identified gaps and needs will improve engagement in adaptive management in coastal Louisiana, a large geographic area with high restoration implementation within a complex governance framework.

Overview of statewide geophysical surveys for ecosystem restoration in Louisiana

The System Wide Assessment and Monitoring Program (SWAMP) was implemented by the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) to develop an Adaptive Management Implementation Plan (AMIP). SWAMP ensures that a comprehensive network of coastal data collection/monitoring activities is in place to support the development and implementation of Louisiana’s coastal protection and restoration program. Monitoring of physical terrain is an important parameter of SWAMP. For the first time a systematic approach was adopted to undertake a geophysical (bathymetric, side-scan sonar, sub-bottom profile, and magnetometer) survey along more than 5,000 nautical miles (nm) (excluding the 1,559 nm currently being surveyed from west of Terrebonne Bay to Sabine Lake) of track-line in almost all of the bays and lakes from Chandeleur Sound in the east to Terrebonne Bay in the west. This data collection effort complements the regional bathymetric survey undertaken under the Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) Program in the adjacent offshore areas. This paper describes how a study of this magnitude was conceptualized, planned, and executed along the entire Louisiana coast. It is important to note that the initial intent was to collect bathymetric data only for numerical modelling for ecosystem restoration and storm surge prediction. Geophysical data were added for oyster identification and delineation. These first-order data also help comprehend the regional subsurface geology essential for sediment exploration to support Louisiana’s marsh and barrier island restoration projects.

THEORETICAL BASES OF ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT OF AGRARIAN SPHERE OF THE REGION

The theoretical principles of adaptive management of agrarian sphere of the region are formulated in the article. The current state and main directions of the study of adaptive management are outlined. It has been identified that adaptive management is an interdisciplinary concept and has a wide scope. Based on the morphological analysis the following basic approaches to the interdisciplinary interpretation of the definition of “adaptive management” are identified and substantiated: process, system, structural, system-structural, functional and complex. Representatives of each approach to interpretation are described, characteristics and advantages and disadvantages are outlined. The mechanism, functions and stages of forming an adaptive control system at micro- and macro-levels are investigated. On the basis of the performed theoretical analysis, the aut hors formulated the definition and created the author's model of implementation of adaptive management, which involves making management decisions based on changes in the environment of the object's existence and its adaptation to them. The essential differences of adaptive, anti-crisis and antisipative management are outlined. The purpose, main task, orientation, period and form of implementation, tools, characters of interaction with the operating environment, goals, processing and ways of gathering information of such types of management are investigated. A wide range of definitions of adaptive management at the micro and macro levels have been analyzed and evaluated. The concept of adaptive management of agrarian sphere of the region is defined. The connection between the level of development of infrastructure, institutions, institutes and efficiency of the economy of the country and agrarian sphere in particular is noted. It is determined that the adaptive management of the agrarian sphere of the region should be based on a systematic approach using modern methods of management theory.

Matching Ecosystem Functions with Adaptive Ecosystem Management: Decision Pathways to Overcome Institutional Barriers

Environmental management strategies aim to protect or repair ecological assets (ecosystems, species) so that their ecological and social values can be preserved. However, creating an effective strategy is difficult because multiple government departments are involved and because water and land use legislation and policy instruments are often fragmented. A key obstacle that is often overlooked is the spatial mismatch between ecological processes and institutional organisation (i.e., legislative framework and government departments). Successful management depends on the ability to cultivate resilient ecosystems through institutional reforms that take into account the complexity of ecosystems while supporting cross-sectoral and scale-dependent decision-making within the science–policy interface. Here, we use a case study approach to illustrate how collective strategic decisions can be made to manage a valued ecosystem situated within an urban matrix. We used a three-step framework to guide our approach and commenced by identifying a range of adaptation measures (i.e., management interventions) and the actors responsible. For each adaptation measure, we then investigated (i) mismatches among ecosystem and institution scales and levels; (ii) institutional barriers; and (iii) the role of actors in decision making. We use this information to identify ‘decision pathways’: i.e., a flexible decision-making platform that assists stakeholders to make strategic short- and long-term decisions. Key insights included the discussion of policy and practical experiences for ecosystem management at different levels and the necessary conditions to provide better alignment between jurisdictional an ecosystem scale to guide decision makers accordingly. We detail the institutional and jurisdictional changes that must be implemented across all levels of governance to protect and support the resilience of environmental assets. ‘Short-term’ decision pathways were preferred among actors and cross-level cooperation at jurisdictional level provided an adequate fit with the ecosystem scale. ‘Long-term’ decisions require substantial change of the institutional framework to enable the implementation of adaptive management. Although challenges at institutional and jurisdictional scales remain, decision pathways promote adaptive ecosystem management through a better fit of jurisdictional and institutional roles/policy and ecosystem-scale processes.

The relationship between adaptive management of social-ecological systems and law: a systematic review

Adaptive management has been considered a valuable approach for managing social-ecological systems involving high levels of complexity and uncertainty. However, many obstacles still hamper its implementation. Law is often seen as a barrier for moving adaptive management beyond theory, although there has been no synthesis on the challenges of legal constraints or how to overcome them. We contribute to filling this knowledge gap by providing a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature on the relationship between adaptive management and law in relation to social-ecological systems. We analyze how the scholarship defines the concept of adaptive management, identifies the legal barriers to adaptive management, and the legal strategies suggested for enabling this approach. Research efforts in this domain are still highly geographically concentrated in the United States of America, unveiling gaps concerning the analysis of other legal jurisdictions. Overall, our results show that more flexible legal frameworks can allow for adaptive management without undermining the role of law in providing stability to social interactions. Achieving this balance will likely require the reform of existing laws, regulations, and other legal instruments. Legal reforms can facilitate the emergence of adaptive governance, with the potential to support not only adaptive management implementation but also to make law itself more adaptive.

Adaptive management intentions with a reality of evaluation: Getting science back into policy

In Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin water reform has been contentious as government attempts to reconcile historical over allocation of water to irrigation with the use of water for environmental outcomes. However, in many aspects, scientific knowledge of the environment is either imperfect, incomplete or environmental responses are unpredictable, with this uncertainty preventing definitive policy and closure of political arguments. In response to uncertainty and knowledge gaps, adaptive management has been written into the legislation, along with provisions for periodic evaluation.This research ascertains how adaptive management is understood by policy makers, with this indicative of future implementation of adaptive management. The way in which adaptive management is constructed by policy makers is determined through legislation, public speeches, government reports and semi-structured interviews. The findings demonstrate that adaptive management has been subsumed by evaluation. The loss of adaptive management as a distinct concept is seen as a loss of science and discovery from the policy process, with the dominance of evaluation discussed as limiting innovation and reinforcing a ‘muddling through’ of policy.

Stakeholder Participation in Freshwater Monitoring and Evaluation Programs: Applying Thresholds of Potential Concern within Environmental Flows.

The complex nature of freshwater systems provides challenges for incorporating evidence-based techniques into management. This paper investigates the potential of participatory evidence-based techniques to involve local stakeholders and make decisions based on different "knowledge" sources within adaptive management programs. It focuses on the application of thresholds of potential concern (TPC) within strategic adaptive management (SAM) for facilitating inclusive decision-making. The study is based on the case of the Edward-Wakool (E-W) "Fish and Flows" SAM project in the Murray-Darling River Basin, Australia. We demonstrate the application of TPCs for improving collaborative decision-making within the E-W, associated with environmental watering requirements, and other natural resource management programs such as fish stocking. The development of TPCs in the E-W fish and flows SAM project helped improve stakeholder involvement and understanding of the system, and also the effectiveness of the implemented management interventions. TPCs ultimately helped inform environmental flow management activities. The TPC process complemented monitoring that was already occurring in the system and provided a mechanism for linking formal and informal knowledge to form explicit and measurable endpoints from objectives. The TPC process faced challenges due to the perceived reduction in scientific rigor within initial TPC development and use. However, TPCs must remain tangible to managers and other stakeholders, in order to aid in the implementation of adaptive management. Once accepted by stakeholders, over time TPCs should be reviewed and refined in order to increase their scientific rigor, as new information is generated.

Missing the trees for the forest? Bottom-up policy implementation and adaptive management in the US natural resource bureaucracy

For decades, natural resource agencies in the United States have attempted to restore ecosystems using adaptive management, a process that emphasizes experimental learning to reduce uncertainty. Most studies show that it rarely occurs in practice and explain implementation failures as organizational issues. This study draws on policy implementation theory to suggest that behaviors and attitudes of individuals may better explain implementation gaps. This comparative case study finds differences between experts implementing adaptive management in the Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States Geological Survey. These include differences in attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors aimed at promoting individual autonomy, performance standards, and defending individual interests on the job. Policy implications are twofold: first, that individual behaviors impact adaptive management implementation and intrinsic motivation to perform such functions. Second, regardless of agency, experts view their work as a social good. This suggests that a devolved planning process may remedy implementation obstacles.

A general risk-based adaptive management scheme incorporating the Bayesian Network Relative Risk Model with the South River, Virginia, as case study.

Adaptive management has been presented as a method for the remediation, restoration, and protection of ecological systems. Recent reviews have found that the implementation of adaptive management has been unsuccessful in many instances. We present a modification of the model first formulated by Wyant and colleagues that puts ecological risk assessment into a central role in the adaptive management process. This construction has 3 overarching segments. Public engagement and governance determine the goals of society by identifying endpoints and specifying constraints such as costs. The research, engineering, risk assessment, and management section contains the decision loop estimating risk, evaluating options, specifying the monitoring program, and incorporating the data to re-evaluate risk. The 3rd component is the recognition that risk and public engagement can be altered by various externalities such as climate change, economics, technological developments, and population growth. We use the South River, Virginia, USA, study area and our previous research to illustrate each of these components. In our example, we use the Bayesian Network Relative Risk Model to estimate risks, evaluate remediation options, and provide lists of monitoring priorities. The research, engineering, risk assessment, and management loop also provides a structure in which data and the records of what worked and what did not, the learning process, can be stored. The learning process is a central part of adaptive management. We conclude that risk assessment can and should become an integral part of the adaptive management process. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017;13:115-126. © 2016 SETAC.