American Water Resources Association (AWRA)

Melting Ice Photo

Preliminary Program

Welcome to Snowbird, Utah and the AWRA 2009 Second Summer Specialty conference on Adaptive Management! Many new and exciting adaptive management (AM) related developments have occurred since our first conference in Missoula, Montana. We look forward to reconvening here in Snowbird to continue our discussions on how we can best utilize AM to better manage our water resources.

We know that based on the submitted papers and the program developed by the Conference Committee there will be a focus on lessons learned, new technologies and methods, and many other important and interesting AM topics. Most importantly, together we will look ahead to see what opportunities and challenges are before us and how to best meet them through utilizing AM principles and tools.

Conference Field Trips

The overall goal of this conference is to establish a forum where more can be learned about the basis, theories, and practical aspects of AM; where we can gain a better perspective about national, regional and local directions, requirements and needs; and where experiences can be shared to improve existing programs and develop more rigorous, credible future programs.

In keeping with AWRA’s brand of “community, conversations, connections” we encourage you to spend time catching up with colleagues and friends as well as making new friends while here at Snowbird. We also hope that you’ll bring your family to spend some time enjoying all of the cultural and outdoor opportunities Utah has to offer! You can take a tram to the top of Hidden Peak (11,000 ft.), hike, bike, or horseback ride in Snowbird’s Mineral Basin and American Fork Canyon. You can visit Moab or one of Utah’s five national parks, fish the Provo River or white water raft through Split Mountain Gorge.

On behalf of the AWRA Adaptive Management Conference Committee we look forward to welcoming you to Snowbird! We hope that you will take a deep breath and relax, reconnect with friends and colleagues and enjoy the conference. See you there!

Sincerely,

	Gerald Sehlke Conference General Chairperson
	Mark Colosimo Conference Technical Program Chair

Jerry Sehlke discusses the 2009 Summer Conference

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.

Ten Reasons to Attend / Who
Should Attend

Discover the definition, structure and organizational approach to adaptive management and how to recognize and measure its success
Learn about surface and groundwater monitoring strategies that support adaptive management of water resources
Discuss riparian ecosystem effects related to climate change and how adaptive management can assist in restoration of riparian ecosystems
Gain an understanding of the uncertainty, policy, legal considerations and science considerations regarding climate change adaption
Listen to experts from the United States, Canada, and Mexico discuss the ramifications of adaptive management on International transboundary water resources issues
Develop an understanding of available models and other tools supporting adaptive management
Examine how adaptive management has been used in case studies of water supply and demand
Discover decision support systems and information management systems related to or that use adaptive management
Improve your ability to evaluate system operations to facilitate immediate and accurate decision making
Participate in and learn from the Oral and Poster Sessions, commercial exhibits and network with other water resources experts

Who Should Attend?

Agronomists
Climatologists
Consultants
Ecologists
Economists
Educators
Engineers
Hydrologists and Hydrogeologists
Information Technology Specialists
Legislative Staff
Local, State, Regional and Federal Government Representatives
Natural Resources Managers
NGO’s and Community Based Organizations
Physical Scientists
Planners
Policy Makers
Regulators
Researchers
Sociologists
Soil Scientists
Students
Utility Managers
Water Law Practitioners

Adaptive Environmental Management:
A Practitioner's Guide

Allan to launch new book on adaptive management at AWRA conference.

book

Adaptive Environmental Management: A Practitioner's Guide

Allan, Catherine; Stankey, George Henry (Eds.)

Conceptually, adaptive management is simply learning from past management actions to improve future planning and management.

However, adaptive management has proved difficult to achieve in practice. With a view to facilitating better practice, this new book presents lessons learned from case studies, to provide managers with ready access to relevant information.

Cases are drawn from a number of disciplinary fields, including management of protected areas, watersheds and farms, rivers, forests, biodiversity and pests.

Sponsors

HNTB

West Palm Beach, FL

Jacksonville, FL

HNTB

Mishawaka, IN

In Kind Sponsors