Sustainable Water and Environmental Management in the California Bay-Delta (2012) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix B: Summary of A Review of the Use of Science and Adaptive Management in California's Draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan
Appendix B: Summary of A Review of the Use of Science and Adaptive Management in California's Draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan
Pages 217-224
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From page 217... ...
The Delta supplies water from the state's wetter northern regions to the drier southern regions and also serves as habitat for many species, some of which are threatened and endangered. The restriction of water exports in an attempt to protect those species together with the effects of several dry years have exacerbated tensions over water allocation in recent years, and have led to various attempts to develop comprehensive plans to provide reliable water supplies and to protect the ecosystem.
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From page 218... ...
. It is intended to obtain long-term authorizations under both the state and federal endangered species statutes for proposed new water operations -- primarily an "isolated conveyance structure," probably a tunnel, to take water from the northern part of the Delta for export to
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From page 219... ...
The BDCP aims to address management and restoration of the San Francisco Bay Delta Estuary, an estuary that extends from the Central Valley to the mouth of San Francisco Bay. Thus, given that the BDCP describes a bay delta conservation plan, the omission of analyses of the effects of the BDCP efforts on San Francisco Bay (aside from Suisun Bay)
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From page 220... ...
To obtain an incidental take permit, it is logical to identify a proposed project or operation and design conservation methods to minimize and mitigate its adverse effects. But if the BDCP were largely a broader conservation program, designed to protect the ecosystem and provide a reliable water supply, then a more logical sequence would be to choose alternative projects or operating regimes only after the effects analysis was complete.
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From page 221... ...
. It also is not clear whether and how the draft BDCP incorporated the analyses for the Delta Risk Management Strategy and the framework developed by the Interagency Ecological Program related to factors affecting pelagic organism decline.
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From page 222... ...
goals are coordinated and integrated into a single resource plan and how this fits into and is coordinated with other conservation efforts in the Delta, for example, the broader Delta Plan. ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT Numerous attempts have been made to develop and implement adaptive management strategies in environmental management, but many of them have not been successful, for a variety of reasons, including lack of resources; unwillingness of decision makers to admit to and embrace uncertainty; institutional, legal, and political preferences for known and predictable outcomes; the inherent uncertainty and variability of natural systems; the high cost of implementation; and the lack of clear mechanisms for incorporating scientific findings into decision making.
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From page 223... ...
The panel concludes that the Independent Science Advisors provided a logical framework and guidance for the development and implementation of an appropriate adaptive management program for the BDCP. However, the draft BDCP lacks details to demonstrate that the adaptive management program is properly designed and follows the guidelines provided by the Independent Science Advisors.
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From page 224... ...
Yet the panel underscores the importance of a credible and a robust BDCP in addressing the various water management problems that beset the Delta. A stronger, more complete, and more scientifically credible BDCP that effectively integrates and utilizes science could indeed pave the way toward the next generation of solutions to California's chronic water problems.
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