The second Adaptive Management Forum was held on February 3-5, 2021. Hosted by the Delta Science Program, the biennial Adaptive Management Forum provides an opportunity for the Delta community to share knowledge and promote collaboration on adaptive management of the system.
Below are the proceedings from the forum.
Revisiting the Foundations and Planning for the Future (Day 1, Session 1)
The opening plenary session narrated how adaptive management has evolved in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta region, from before it was a mandate of the Delta Reform Act to today. Emphasis was on lessons learned and pieces of history that remain relevant to adaptive management now and in the future. This session was moderated by Karen Kayfetz.
WRITTEN SUMMARY:
RESOURCES:
- Adaptive Environmental Assessment and Management, by C. S. Holling
- Adaptive Management of Renewable Resources, by Carl Walters
- DRERIP conceptual models, Department of Fish & Wildlife
- Collaborative Governance in the CALFED Program: Adaptive Policy Making for California Water, by Judith E. Innes, et al.
- CALFED Bay-Delta Program: Overview of Institutional and Water Use Issues, by CRS Reports
Speakers and presentation slides
- Overview – Karen Kayfetz
- Defining success for managing Delta resources (and defining failure as well) – Phil Isenberg, Founding Chair of the Delta Stewardship Council
- Bringing adaptive management to the Delta: CALFED to the coequal goals – Mike Healey, Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia
- Looking toward an uncertain future – Laurel Larsen, Delta Science Program
Practice of Adaptive Management Planning (Day 1, Session 2)
This lightning talk session highlighted examples of recent efforts to develop adaptive management and monitoring plans. Individual talks shared key challenges, highlights, and/or lessons learned from writing adaptive management plans.
WRITTEN SUMMARY:
RESOURCES:
- Interagency Adaptive Management Integration Team (IAMIT), webpage at the Delta Stewardship Council website.
- Adaptive management liaisons and consultations, webpage at the Delta Stewardship Council website.
- Collaborative Science and Adaptive Management Program (CSAMP), webpage at Bay Delta Live
- Bay Restoration Regulatory Integration Team (BRRIT), webpage at the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority
- South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project website
Speakers and presentation slides
- Overview – Karen Kayfetz, Delta Science Program
- Managing a flow pulse for food support – Brittany Davis, California Department of Water Resources
- Formation of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project’s adaptive management plan – John Bourgeois, Valley Water
- Project-level AMMPs to address program-level objectives– Stacy Sherman, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Suisun Marsh individual management plan updates – John Takekawa, Suisun Resource Conservation District
- Central Valley Project Improvement Act data management strategy – Megan Cook, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Group Q&A
Closing the Adaptive Management Loop (Day 2, Session 1)
This recording shows both sessions of day 2 of the Adaptive Management Forum.
Session 1: Closing the Adaptive Management Loop starts at the beginning of the video. This session will discussed the final steps of the adaptive management cycle (recognizing triggers and responding adaptively), with presenters sharing lessons learned and best practices for information sharing. Presentations highlighted collaborative structures for adaptive management and projects that effectively distill and translate information into on-the-ground action.
Speakers and presentation slides
- Closing the loop can happen whether you plan for it or not– Stuart Siegel, San Francisco State University
- Solutions for the sinking Delta: from research to implementation– Steve Deverel, HydroFocus
- South Bay Salt Pond restoration project: 15 years of adaptive management – where we are now– Donna Ball, San Francisco Estuary Institute/Lead Scientist for the SBSPR Project
- Adapting annually: establishing a rhythm for flow actions to benefit Delta smelt– Denise Reed, University of New Orleans
Adaptive Management Surprises and Successes (Day 2, Session 2)
Session 2: Adaptive Management Surprises and Successes starts at 1:44:00. This lightning talk session featured a series of talks that highlighted unexpected or events that were incorporated into subsequent project management approaches.
Speakers and presentation slides
- Overview – Dylan Chapple, Delta Science Program
- Black rails at Lindsey Slough: lessons learned for tidal marsh restoration – Sarah Estrella, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Restoration of tidal wetlands that are also endangered species habitat: the story of invasive Spartina and the California Ridgway’s rail – Marilyn Latta, State Coastal Conservancy
- Sears Point restoration project: adaptively managing shoreline erosion with a nature-based solution – Julian Meisler, Sonoma Land Trust
- Sonoma Creek enhancement project: improving ecological conditions in a centennial marsh – Meg Marriott, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge
- Integrating adaptive management across project phases at Montezuma Wetlands – Cassie Pinnell, Vollmar Natural Lands Consulting
- Landscape scale multiyear evaluation of aquatic veg control – Shruti Khanna, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Novel use of infrastructure: a large-scale field experiment using the Suisun Marsh Salinity Control Gates – Ted Sommer, California Department of Water Resources
- Group Q&A
Mechanisms of Adaptive Management (Day 3, Session 1)
This session featured a series of talks highlighting tools and practices that have been used successfully to support adaptive management. Topics included the use of pilot studies to inform full-scale management; predictive models (conceptual or quantitative) used in planning and decision making; and funding mechanisms that support adaptive management.
Speakers and presentation slides
- Overview– Annika Keeley, Delta Science Program
- Think big, start small: invasive vegetation pilot studies to inform large-scale restoration management – Gina Darin, California Department of Water Resources
- From conceptual to concrete: using models to build a monitoring plan– Rosemary Hartman, California Department of Water Resources
- Incorporating adaptive management into funding proposals– Sarah Lesmeister, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy
- Structured decision-making: CVPIA – Rod Wittler, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
- Quantitative modeling: Southport levee setback – Chris Bowles, cbec, inc., eco-engineering
The Future of Adaptive Management (Day 3, Session 2)
This session highlighted key uncertainties anticipated to drive the adaptive management cycle in the future and addressed specifically the challenges of adaptively managing for climate change among other changing conditions. The Forum closed with reflections from the organizers.
Speakers and presentation slides
- Learning from the willow: managing adaptively for future change– Letitia Grenier, San Francisco Estuary Institute
- Adaptive management in the time of COVID: how a global pandemic can inspire management of the Delta for a resilient future– Laurel Larsen, Delta Science Program
- Forum reflections and meeting close – Karen Kayfetz, Delta Science Program
Workshop A: Adaptive Management Planning 101
This workshop gave participants the tools necessary to develop an effective adaptive management and monitoring plan. Participants developed key sections of an Adaptive Management and Monitoring Plan (AMMP) for an example action. The workshop included information about regulatory requirements, a discussion of available resources, and hands-on group work time followed by discussion.
This recording only shows the workshop before the breakout groups.
Workshop resources
Workshop B: Introduction to the Delta Landscapes Scenario Planning Tool
The Delta Landscapes Scenario Planning Tool (DLSPT) workshop featured an interactive tutorial on using the DLSPT to evaluate different restoration/land-use scenarios. This workshop highlighted features of the tool that can inform planning for adaptive management.
This recording only shows the workshop before the breakout groups.
Workshop Resources
Workshop C : Permitting for adaptive management success
This workshop featured representatives from regulatory agencies discussing how adaptive management approaches can be taken as part of their respective processes. Their overview was followed by a world café style discussion to exchange information and find creative solutions. The target audiences for this workshop were proponents involved with writing and implementing adaptive management plans, project funders who can require adaptive management, and regulators who can build adaptive management into permits.
This recording only shows the workshop before the breakout groups.
Workshop Resources
- Introductory presentation
- US Army Corps presentation – James Mazza and Bryan Matsumoto
- San Francisco Regional Water Board – Agnes Farres
- US Fish and Wildlife Service – Jana Affonso
- San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission – Brenda Goeden
- Delta Stewardship Council – Annika Keeley
2019 Adaptive Management Forum
WRITTEN SUMMARIES
- ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT FORUM, Part 1: Panel shares perspectives on and experience with adaptive management
- ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT FORUM, Part 2: How adaptive management is applied in other ecosystems
- ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT FORUM, Part 3: Challenges and lessons learned with adaptive management in the Bay-Delta
- ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT FORUM, Part 4: Case studies from the Bay Delta system
