Submitted by: Douglas Clark, Bureau of Reclamation, 86-68260, 303.445.2271, drclark@do.usbr.gov
Proposal ID: 7515
| Title |
| Research and Development of a Comprehensive Guide of Tools for Management of Diverging Science in Reclamation Water Allocation Decisions. |
| State the Problem. How Do Your Research Outputs Contribute to Achieving Reclamation's Mission, and The S&T Program Mission and Performance Measures? | Findings of 2006 UC Reclamation Area Office focus groups as to the current state of conflict management in Reclamation, conducted by the author of this proposal, indicated that conflicting or diverging science was consistently an intractable stumbling block for resolution of competing claims to water. One area manager, for instance, said she wished that endangered fish could 'talk', i.e. tell managers exactly how much water they really required. In another area office, a biologist reported that the only fact that scientists could agree to was that the endangered fish (the Blunt nose shiner) 'needed water'. In the three area offices, there was general agreement that managing questions of diverging science is a very pressing issue that deserves serious study. A keen desire was expressed to find tools for managing conflicting scientific recommendations so that managers can make decisions. This research will conduct surveys of Reclamation managers to learn what techniques and tools are currently used to manage diverging science within Reclamation and what gaps exist. After doing an extensive literature review, the researchers will select several Reclamation cases for intensive study. They will develop case histories of these projects, conduct in-depth, intensive follow-up interviews, and construct case studies to explore what tools can be used and under what conditions to remedy these contentious issues. Case studies will be selected to present as nearly as possible archetypal scientific dispute types. (In the 2006 Reclamation Institutional Solutions Workshop, there was a general call for intensive case histories and studies of problems and solutions associated with water conflict). In the course of the literature review and surveys we will also seek to unearth promising new tools or techniques for managing diverging science. As a final step, we will put together a guide or manual that will describe each currently used or new tool (strengths and limitations) and then develop a decision-tree to help the user to understand when and under what conditions each tool might be the appropriate one to use. To summarize, the research questions are as follows: 1. What tools and techniques for managing diverging science and making allocation decisions in the face of competing scientific recommendations are Reclamation water managers currently using? 2. What tools and techniques have Reclamation water managers found to be successful? Why? 3. What tools and techniques have Reclamation water managers found to be unsuccessful? Why? 4. What potential tools and techniques are Reclamation managers not currently using that could potentially be useful? This research goes beyond previous work in this field, (eg. Adler, Barrett, et al Managing Scientific and Technical Information in Environmental Cases), in that it focuses on the specific problems addressed by federal water managers and the solutions that have worked for them. It also looks for solutions that would be relevant to them. The proposed research is a collaborative effort between the Bureau of Reclamation and the Policy Analysis and Science Assistance Branch of the U.S. Geological Survey (http://www.fort.usgs.gov/PASA/) whose goal is to "conduct and integrate biological, social, economic, and institutional analyses of conservation policies and management practices to help land and resource managers make informed decisions and resolve resource management conflicts". |