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 Concept(s) | Adaptive Management Step and Actions | Riverscape Design Manual Chapter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Identify Overall Management Goals, Problems & Opportunities | - Identify the management goals and setting | Plan | Chapter 1, 2, 3 |
| - Identify causes of impairment and related processes | - Identify management goals and problem | ||
| - Look upstream and downstream and where possible address watershed issues before reach scale issues | |||
| - Don’t assume the stream needs to be fixed – erosion and channel migration are natural | |||
| 2. Determine Initial Objectives | - Identify causes of impairment and related processes | Plan | Chapter 1, 2, 3 |
| -Develop initial objectives | |||
| 3 & 4. Inventory and Analyze Resources (aka Assessments) | - Synthesis of previous assessments and planning efforts | Plan | Chapter 3 |
| - Embrace uncertainty due to natural variability as an asset | - Review past assessments | ||
| - Develop conceptual models of riverscape function |
| 5 & 6. Formulate and Evaluate Alternatives | - Question constraints and remove rather than introduce new constraints | Plan | Chapter 3 |
| - Evaluate alternative restoration strategies | - Determine and evaluate restoration actions | ||
| - Implement a trail to test conceptual models | |||
| 7. Make Decisions & Select Restoration Action | - Design for resilient projects to protect restoration investment in the future. | Plan | Chapter 3, 6 |
| - Develop monitoring plan, benchmarks (triggers) for implementing maintenance and addressing risk | |||
| 8. Implement the Plan | - Maximize natural processes – restore rather than constrain natural stream processes | Do | Chapter 4, 5, 6 |
| - Do no lasting harm during restoration | - Implement monitoring plan (including pre-project data) | ||
| - Implement low-tech process-based restoration | |||
| 9. Evaluate the Plan | - Follow up and learn | Evaluate, Learn, Adjust | Chapter 6 |
| - Adjust to if necessary increase efficiency of future projects | - evaluate monitoring data, update conceptual models and monitoring plan if necessary, and initiate maintenance as needed |