American Water Resources Association (AWRA)

Introduction

Abstracts

Sponsors

Call For Exhibits

Registration

Hotel/Travel

Help

AWRA Home

Call for Abstracts

The American Water Resources Association (AWRA) is pleased to announce its Summer Specialty Conference "Adaptive Management of Water Resources II". The Conference will be held June 29-July 1, 2009 in Snowbird, Utah.

Submit an Abstract / View Topics

What is Adaptive Management?

An adaptive management approach to water resources management implies a systematic approach that builds on trial and error utilizing feedback loops to allow us to learn from experience and to adjust our water management practices to address evolving issues and conditions. Adaptive management typically focuses on developing an understanding of the baseline physical (e.g., climate/hydrological), legal and socioeconomic aspects of a region or a basin.

It also includes quantifying management and scientific uncertainties and sensitivities, predicting ranges of potential changes, and developing testable management options and scenarios.

Finally, it includes planning for and managing those changes to reduce management risks or to take advantage of potential new opportunities that may present themselves (i.e., not all climate change or variability is "bad").

Adaptive management programs range from simple, informal, small scale activities to large, formal, long-term basin or landscape level programs. Generally, formal water resources-related adaptive management programs are conducted on a watershed or basin scale. In these programs management goals and objectives are formalized as a set of hypotheses which are linked to specific management actions and critical water resources parameters that can be monitored or measured, such that cause/effect relation between the management actions and the system responses can be ascertained. The results can then be used to refine the management actions to better meet the established management goals and objectives. By their nature, these programs must be comprehensive, long-term, iterative processes that continually gather information, re-evaluate the effects of management actions on the ecosystem, and then re-adjust management actions through the "feedback loop" process.

Water and natural resources systems are dynamic and, as stewards of these resources, we must continually adapt in order to address evolving issues and conditions such as population growth and migration, urbanization, land and water use changes, and climate variability / change. Our 2006 AWRA Specialty Conference in Missoula was the first of our investigations into this emerging approach to water resources management. Since then many new and exciting adaptive management activities have occurred and it seems appropriate that we reconvene to continue our discussions on how we can utilize adaptive management to better manage our resources. We will take stock of what has transpired in the past three years; discuss lessons learned and share new technologies, methods and information that have become available since our last gathering, most importantly we will look forward to see what opportunities and challenges are before us and how they can be met utilizing adaptive management principles and tools.

This conference is intended to engage the key managers, researchers and “on the ground” practitioners that currently are setting the trends relative to designing and implementing adaptive management programs. The overall goal remains the establishment of a forum where we can learn more about the basis, theories and practical aspects of adaptive management; where we can gain a better perspective about national, regional and local directions, requirements and needs; and where we can share experiences in order to improve our existing programs and to develop more rigorous, credible future adaptive management programs.

In this conference, we will continue developing a consensus on basic adaptive management terms and concepts, what constitutes a successful adaptive management program and what key "parts" are necessary to implement a successful program. Also, we will explore the theoretical basis, the legal, policy and socioeconomic drivers and the practical aspects of designing and implementing scientifically-based, but practical “real world” adaptive management programs. Finally, we will explore lessons learned, new/emerging issues and programs, and look for opportunities for interdisciplinary and interagency cooperation and coordination in the adaptive management field. For example, how can we cooperate, coordinate and adaptively manage water resources programs within and across a basin in light of projected climate change impacts? These and many other areas of interest to researchers, managers, decision-makers, and educators will be explored.

In addition to learning and networking with the experts, bring your family and/or friends and take a tram right to the top of Hidden Peak (11,000 ft), hike, bike, or horseback ride in Snowbird’s Mineral Basin and American Fork Canyon, visit Moab or one of Utah’s five national parks (Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Canyon Lands and Capitol Reef), fish the Provo River or white water raft through Split Mountain Gorge in Dinosaur National Monument or just relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery of Utah’s Wasatch Mountains. We hope you will join us in Snowbird!

Gerald Sehlke - Conference Chair
Mark Colosimo - Conference Technical Chair