Making Good Use of Adaptive Management 

Over the last two decades, natural resource scientists, managers, and View Making Good Use of Adaptive Management policymakers have increasingly endorsed “adaptive management” of land and natural resources. This approach, based on adaptive implementation of resource management and pollution control laws, is now mandated in a variety of contexts at the federal and state level. Yet confusion remains over the meaning of adaptive management, and disagreement persists over its usefulness or feasibility in certain contexts. This white paper is intended to help legislators, agency personnel, and the public better understand and use adaptive management.

Additional Authors: Holly Doremus, William Andreen, Alejandro Camacho, Robert Glicksman, Dale Goble, Bradley Karkkainen, Dan Rohlf, Dan Tarlock, Sandra Zellme, Shana Jones, Ling-Yee Huang