Parallels Between Different Planning Frameworks for Restoration

Table 1 from Bennett et al. (2019) — Nine planning steps, associated planning concepts, and adaptive management steps for planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating a restoration project. Adapted from NRCS (2007), Yochum (2016), Skidmore et al. (2011), and Bouwes et al. (2016).

Planning Step	Planning Concepts	Adaptive Management Step & Actions	Riverscape Design Manual Chapter
1. Identify Overall Management Goals, Problems & Opportunities	- Identify management goals and setting - Identify causes of impairment and related processes - Look upstream/downstream and address watershed issues before reach-scale issues - Don’t assume the stream needs to be “fixed” (erosion and migration are natural)	Plan	Chapters 1, 2, 3
2. Determine Initial Objectives	- Identify causes of impairment and processes	Plan - Develop initial objectives	Chapters 1, 2, 3
3 & 4. Inventory and Analyze Resources	- Synthesis of previous assessments and planning efforts - Embrace uncertainty as an asset	Plan - Review past assessments - Develop conceptual models of riverscape function	Chapter 3
5 & 6. Formulate and Evaluate Alternatives	- Question constraints and remove rather than introduce new ones - Evaluate alternative strategies	Plan - Determine and evaluate restoration actions - Test conceptual models	Chapter 3
7. Make Decisions & Select Restoration Action	- Design resilient projects to protect investments in the future	Plan - Develop monitoring plan, benchmarks (triggers) for maintenance and addressing risk	Chapters 3, 6
8. Implement the Plan	- Maximize natural processes - Do no lasting harm	Do - Implement monitoring plan (including pre-project data) - Implement low-tech restoration	Chapters 4, 5, 6
9. Evaluate the Plan	- Follow up and learn - Adapt to increase project efficiency	Evaluate, Learn, Adjust - Evaluate monitoring data, update conceptual models and monitoring plans as needed, and maintain structures as needed	Chapter 6

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