Watershed Adaptive Management
Fraser Shilling
Department of Environmental Science & Policy
University of California, Davis
fmshilling@ucdavis.edu
Watershed Adaptive Management
• Watershed assessment
– Scoping and question formulation
– Basic description
• Watershed management
– What can we influence
– Conceptual modeling
• Policy intersection
– Policies, actions, actors
California Watershed Assessment
Manual
http://cwam.ucdavis.edu
What is “Watershed Assessment”?
"The biology lives in the
hydrology, and the hydrology
flows over the geology."
(Mattole River Estuary Dynamics of Recovery, 1995,
by the Mattole Restoration
Council)
“Assessment is used to mean
the analysis of watershed
information to draw
conclusions concerning the
conditions in the watershed.”
(Nehalem River Watershed
Assessment, 1999, Portland
State University)
A watershed assessment is: a
science-based process for
analyzing a watershed's current
condition and the likely causes
of these conditions.”
CWAM Structure
Watershed Adaptive Management
• Watershed assessment
– Scoping and question formulation
– Basic description
• Watershed management
– What can we influence
– Conceptual modeling
• Policy intersection
– Policies, actions, actors
Formulate the Question(s)
• Are you interested in overall watershed
condition and drivers?
• Are you interested in a particular stressing
activity or process?
• Are you interested in a specific place(s) in
the watershed?
• What timeframe are you interested in?
Things flow downhill/stream and assessing the whole watershed is
relevant for making land-use, water quality, and water supply
decisions
Water Temperature in Yuba
30
Degrees Celsius
25
20
15
10
5
0
-5
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Month (2000 - 2001)
Site 1
Site 7
Site 13
Site 19
Site 2
Site 8
Site 14
Site 20
Site 3
Site 9
Site 15
Site 21
Site 4
Site 10
Site 16
Site 5
Site 11
Site 17
Site 6
Site 12
Site 18
Sep
Oct
What is flowing
downhill/
downstream?
Pesticides, Metals, Nutrients,
Sediment, Flows, Invasive
species
Habitat Quality, Species
presence, Flooding, Permit
compliance, Aesthetics
Pesticides, Metals, Nutrients,
Sediment, Flows, Organic
carbon, Invasive species
Habitat Quality, Species
presence, Flooding, Permit
compliance, Aesthetics
Habitat Quality,
Species presence,
Beach pollution,
Aesthetics,
Flooding,
Watershed Adaptive Management
• Watershed assessment
– Scoping and question formulation
– Basic description
• Watershed management
– What can we influence
– Conceptual modeling
• Policy intersection
– Policies, actions, actors
Influence diagrams and
conceptual models
Boxes indicate concepts and arrows indicate influence or
connection. The boxes can be attributes or processes, the arrows
can be hypotheses, or based on knowledge of the system
Ecosystem Attribute Conceptual Model
General
Reid and Zeimer
Ecosystem Restoration Conceptual Model
Focused
Ecosystem Restoration Conceptual Model
ActionSpecific
Ecosystem Attribute Conceptual Model
Policy nexus
Reid and Zeimer
Ecosystem Attribute Conceptual Model
Policy nexus
Endangered Species
Act, Fisheries statutes,
Int’l treaties
Endangered
Species Act,
SWRCB
permits,
THPs, CEQA,
ACE 404
Endangered Species
Act, FERC relicensing, SWRCB
permits, ACE 404
Now we are going to draw a
conceptual model
Contact
Fraser Shilling
Department of Environmental Science and Policy
University of California, Davis 95616
530-752-7859
fmshilling@ucdavis.edu
http://cwam.ucdavis.edu
Big Sur Coast, Pracheta Kokate (Grade 11)
(courtesy California Coastal Commission, 2005, Coastal Art & Poetry Contest)