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

Shore & Beach ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 83-91
Author(s):  
Tim Carruthers ◽  
Richard Raynie ◽  
Alyssa Dausman ◽  
Syed Khalil

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.

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott A. Hemmerling ◽  
Monica Barra ◽  
Harris C. Bienn ◽  
Melissa M. Baustian ◽  
Hoonshin Jung ◽  
...  

Abstract Numerical modeling efforts in support of restoration and protection activities in coastal Louisiana have traditionally been conducted externally to any stakeholder engagement processes. This separation has resulted in planning- and project-level models built solely on technical observation and analysis of natural processes. Despite its scientific rigor, this process often fails to account for the knowledge, values, and experiences of local stakeholders that often contextualizes a modeled system. To bridge this gap, a team of natural and social scientists worked directly with local residents and resource users to develop a participatory modeling approach to collect and utilize local knowledge about the Breton Sound Estuary in southeast Louisiana, USA. Knowledge capture was facilitated through application of a local knowledge mapping methodology designed to catalog local understanding of current and historical conditions within the estuary and identify desired ecological and hydrologic end states. The results of the mapping endeavor informed modeling activities designed to assess the applicability of the identified restoration solutions. This effort was aimed at increasing stakeholder buy-in surrounding the utility of numerical models for planning and designing coastal protection and restoration projects and included an ancillary outcome aimed at elevating stakeholder empowerment regarding the design of nature-based restoration solutions and modeling scenarios. This intersection of traditional science and modeling activities with the collection and analysis of traditional ecological knowledge proved useful in elevating the confidence that community members had in modeled restoration outcomes.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Achilleas G. Samaras ◽  
Maria Gabriella Gaeta ◽  
Adrià Moreno Miquel ◽  
Renata Archetti

Abstract. Numerical modelling has become an essential component of today's coastal planning, decision support and risk assessment. High resolution modelling offers an extensive range of capabilities regarding simulated conditions, works and practices, and provides with a wide array of data regarding nearshore wave- and hydro-dynamics. In the present work, the open-source TELEMAC suite and the commercial software MIKE21 are applied to selected coastal areas of South Italy. Applications follow a scenario-based approach in order to study representative wave conditions in the coastal field; the models' results are intercompared in order to test both their performance and capabilities, and are further evaluated on the basis of their operational use for coastal planning and design. A multiparametric approach for the rapid assessment of wave conditions in coastal areas is also presented, and implemented in areas of the same region. The overall approach is deemed to provide useful insights on the tested models and the use of numerical models – in general – in the above context, especially considering that the design of harbours, coastal protection works and management practices in the coastal zone is based on scenario-based approaches as well.


2013 ◽  
Vol 152 (S1) ◽  
pp. 57-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. M. KETTERINGS

SUMMARYIn recent years, the term ‘adaptive management’ has become integrated in government agriculture and conservation programmes in the United States. Adaptive management is described as ‘a process of developing improved management practices for efficient production and resource conservation by use of participatory learning through continuous systematic assessment’, by the NEERA1002 Coordinating Committee on Adaptive Nutrient Management. Such developments reflect recognition by government agencies of (1) the need for continuous improvement in managing agricultural systems to enhance productivity and environmental protection at farm, state, watershed and federal levels, and (2) the effectiveness of continuous systematic assessment and an outcome-based evaluation in achieving and documenting such progress. Various methods have existed for knowledge development and transfer in the past, some effective, others less successful. The present paper presents and discusses lessons learned from three different adaptive management approaches, implemented at field, whole farm and regional/state levels, which contributed to improvements in field, farm and regional/state balances for nitrogen and phosphorus in New York. These examples show that a combination of governmental regulations and an innovative, outcome-focused adaptive management approach that includes research, extension, and a focus on human dimensions (a people-based approach) will be most effective in obtaining greater sustainability of agriculture in future years.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan DeAngelis ◽  
Ariana Sutton-Grier ◽  
Allison Colden ◽  
Katie Arkema ◽  
Christopher Baillie ◽  
...  

In the United States, extensive investments have been made to restore the ecological function and services of coastal marine habitats. Despite a growing body of science supporting coastal restoration, few studies have addressed the suite of societally enabling conditions that helped facilitate successful restoration and recovery efforts that occurred at meaningful ecological (i.e., ecosystem) scales, and where restoration efforts were sustained for longer (i.e., several years to decades) periods. Here, we examined three case studies involving large-scale and long-term restoration efforts including the seagrass restoration effort in Tampa Bay, Florida, the oyster restoration effort in the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and Virginia, and the tidal marsh restoration effort in San Francisco Bay, California. The ecological systems and the specifics of the ecological restoration were not the focus of our study. Rather, we focused on the underlying social and political contexts of each case study and found common themes of the factors of restoration which appear to be important for maintaining support for large-scale restoration efforts. Four critical elements for sustaining public and/or political support for large-scale restoration include: (1) resources should be invested in building public support prior to significant investments into ecological restoration; (2) building political support provides a level of significance to the recovery planning efforts and creates motivation to set and achieve meaningful recovery goals; (3) recovery plans need to be science-based with clear, measurable goals that resonate with the public; and (4) the accountability of progress toward reaching goals needs to be communicated frequently and in a way that the general public comprehends. These conclusions may help other communities move away from repetitive, single, and seemingly unconnected restoration projects towards more large-scale, bigger impact, and coordinated restoration efforts.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 1499-1518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Achilleas G. Samaras ◽  
Maria Gabriella Gaeta ◽  
Adrià Moreno Miquel ◽  
Renata Archetti

Abstract. Numerical modelling has become an essential component of today's coastal planning, decision support and risk assessment. High-resolution modelling offers an extensive range of capabilities regarding simulated conditions, works and practices and provides with a wide array of data regarding nearshore wave dynamics and hydrodynamics. In the present work, the open-source TELEMAC suite and the commercial software MIKE21 are applied to selected coastal areas of South Italy. Applications follow a scenario-based approach in order to study representative wave conditions in the coastal field; the models' results are intercompared in order to test both their performance and capabilities and are further evaluated on the basis of their operational use for coastal planning and design. A multiparametric approach for the rapid assessment of wave conditions in coastal areas is also presented and implemented in areas of the same region. The overall approach is deemed to provide useful insights on the tested models and the use of numerical models – in general – in the above context, especially considering that the design of harbours, coastal protection works and management practices in the coastal zone is based on scenario-based approaches as well.


2009 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles M Francis ◽  
Peter J Blancher ◽  
R. Dean Phoenix

Bird population monitoring should be designed to enhance conservation of birds through informing policy decisions and management actions. Many different bird surveys are undertaken in Ontario ranging from province-wide multi-species programs such as the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas to single-species localized surveys for Species at Risk. Although most surveys provide some useful contributions towards understanding the status of bird populations, there remain significant gaps in both species and geographic coverages, especially in the northern half of the province, and few surveys are sufficient for evaluating the specific effects of current management practices on birds. Enhancing bird monitoring in the province should first involve clearly defining, quantitatively, the information required for management, conservation and decision-making, in the context of an adaptive management cycle, and then identifying the most cost-effective monitoring programs to obtain that information. This can most effectively be implemented through a cooperative effort involving all parties with an interest in bird monitoring data including federal and provincial government agencies, environmental non-government organizations, and industry. Key words: bird population monitoring, evaluation, adaptive management, decision-making


Shore & Beach ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 92-101
Author(s):  
Richard Raynie ◽  
Syed Khalil ◽  
Charles Villarrubia ◽  
Ed Haywood

The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) of Louisiana was created after the devastating hurricanes of 2005 (Katrina and Rita) and is responsible for planning and implementing projects that will either reduce storm-induced losses (protection) or restore coastal ecosystems that have been lost or are in danger of being lost (restoration). The first task of the CPRA board was to develop Louisiana’s first Coastal Master Plan (CPRA 2007), which formally integrates and guides the protection and restoration of Louisiana’s coast. The System-Wide Assessment and Monitoring Program (SWAMP) was subsequently developed as a long-term monitoring program to ensure that a comprehensive network of coastal data collection activities is in place to support the planning, development, implementation, and adaptive management of the protection and restoration program and projects within coastal Louisiana. SWAMP includes both natural-system and human-system components and also incorporates the previously-developed Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS), the Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) program, and fisheries data collected by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) in addition to other aspects of system dynamics, including offshore and inland water-body boundary conditions, water quality, risk status, and protection performance, which have historically not been the subject of CPRA-coordinated monitoring. This program further facilitates the integration of project-specific data needs into a larger, system-level design framework. Monitoring and operation of restoration and protection projects will be nested within a larger hydrologic basin-wide and coast-wide SWAMP framework and will allow informed decisions to be made with an understanding of system conditions and dynamics at multiple scales. This paper also provides an update on the implementation of various components of SWAMP in Coastal Louisiana, which began as a Barataria Basin pilot implementation program in 2015. During 2017, the second phase of SWAMP was initiated in the areas east of the Mississippi River. In 2019, development of SWAMP design was completed for the remaining basins in coastal Louisiana west of Bayou Lafourche (Figure 1). Data collection is important to inform decisions, however if the data are not properly managed or are not discoverable, they are of limited use. CPRA is committed to ensuring that information is organized and publicly available to help all coastal stakeholders make informed, science-based decisions. As a part of this effort, CPRA has re-engineered its data management system to include spatial viewers, tabular download web pages, and a library/document retrieval system along with a suite of public-facing web services providing programmatic access. This system is collectively called the Coastal Information Management System (CIMS). CPRA and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are also developing a proposal to create an interface for CIMS data to be exported to a neutral template that could then be ingested into NOAA’s Data Integration Visualization, Exploration and Reporting (DIVER) repository, and vice versa. DIVER is the repository that the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) program is using to manage NRDA-funded project data throughout the Gulf of Mexico. Linking CIMS and DIVER will make it easier to aggregate data across Gulf states and look at larger, ecosystem-level changes.


1992 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Tyson

Several authors have suggested that a particular managerial component was needed before cost accounting could be fully used for accountability and disciplinary purposes. They argue that the marriage of managerialism and accounting first occurred in the United States at the Springfield Armory after 1840. They generally downplay the quality and usefulness of cost accounting at the New England textile mills before that time and call for a re-examination of original mill records from a disciplinary perspective. This paper reports the results of such a re-examination. It initially describes the social and economic environment of U.S. textile manufacturing in New England in the early nineteenth century. Selected cost memos and reports are described and analyzed to indicate the nature and scope of costing undertaken at the mills in Lowell, Massachusetts, in the late 1820s and early 1830s. The paper discusses how particular cost information was used and speculates why certain more modern procedures were not adopted. Its major finding is that cost management practices fully measured up to the business complexities, economic pressures, and social forces of the day.


Author(s):  
Rosemary Foot

Like the study of China itself, theorists of power transition have lately experienced a resurgence of interest in their arguments. As China has emerged as the world’s second-largest economy, with the second-largest military budget, and has become more assertive internationally under a seemingly more powerful president, the picture painted is one of growing morbidity: war between China, the putative rising dissatisfied power, and the United States, the declining hegemon, has allegedly become highly probable. This chapter critiques these arguments and highlights the restraints on conflict that generally are given insufficient attention in power transition approaches that deal with the Sino-American relationship. The chapter argues that historical awareness among leaders, state agency, and complex economic trends that are central to the understanding of this hybrid world order, together with the domestic preoccupations of these two central protagonists, are factors that work to inhibit the outbreak of war.


Plant Disease ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. H. McKay ◽  
H. Förster ◽  
J. E. Adaskaveg

Few postharvest treatments are available for managing sour rot of citrus caused by Galactomyces citri-aurantii and they are generally not very effective. The demethylation-inhibiting (DMI) triazole fungicides propiconazole and cyproconazole were found to be highly effective and more efficacious than other DMIs evaluated, such as metconazole and tebuconazole, in reducing postharvest sour rot of citrus. Additional studies were conducted with propiconazole as a postharvest treatment because it has favorable toxicological characteristics for food crop registration in the United States and the registrant supports a worldwide registration. Regression and covariance analyses were performed to determine optimal time of application after inoculation and fungicide rate. In laboratory studies, decay incidence increased when propiconazole applications were delayed from 8 to 24 h (lemon) or 18 to 42 h (grapefruit) after inoculation. Effective rates of the fungicide were 64 to 512 μg/ml and were dependent on inoculum concentration of the sour rot pathogen and on the type of citrus fruit. Propiconazole was found to be compatible with sodium hypochlorite at 100 μg/ml and 1 to 3% sodium bicarbonate without loss of efficacy for decay control on lemon. The addition of hydrogen peroxide/peroxyacetic acid at 80 μg/ml slightly decreased the effectiveness of propiconazole. Heated (48°C) solutions of propiconazole did not significantly improve the efficacy compared with solutions at 22°C. In experimental packing-line studies, aqueous in-line drenches applied alone or followed by applications of the fungicide in storage or packing fruit coatings were highly effective, reducing sour rot to between 0 and 1.2% compared with 83.8% decay incidence in the control when treatments were made up to 16 h after inoculation. When the fungicide was applied in either fruit coating, decay was only reduced to 49.1 to 57.1% incidence. Tank mixtures of propiconazole with the citrus postharvest fungicides fludioxonil and azoxystrobin were highly effective in reducing green mold caused by isolates of Penicillium digitatum sensitive or moderately resistant to imazalil and sour rot. Propiconazole will be an important postharvest fungicide for managing sour rot of citrus and potentially can be integrated into current management practices to reduce postharvest crop losses caused by DMI-sensitive isolates of P. digitatum.


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