Oregon Project: The development of integrated adaptive management for restoration of freshwater-estuarine ecosystems

Oregon Project

The development of integrated adaptive management for restoration of freshwater-estuarine ecosystems

January 2013 - December 2025

Personnel

Participating Agencies

Bay Delta Office
Central Valley Project Improvement Act Fisheries
CVPIA

California Central Valley is the largest basin-estuary comoplex on the Pacific Coast that supports more than 500 fish, wildlife and plant species. It is also the home of millions of people that depend on the freshwater resources of the area . By its nature , the management of water resources in the Central Valley involves the evaluation of potential tradeoffs between conservation objectives, such as restoring or conserving at-risk species, and other values, such as providing reliable water supply to the public. This can result in conflict among competing objectives making the decision-making difficult. We are integrating management, science, and monitoring using the structured decision making process to develop an adaptive framework for restoration of aquatic ecosystems.

Research Publications

Research Publications	Publication Date
Peterson, J.T., E. McCreless, A. Duarte, P. Wohner, S. Hamilton, J. Medellin-Azuara, and A. Escriva-Bou. Structured Decision Making for Scientific Management in the San Francisco Bay-Delta. Environmental Science and Policy. 157, p.103775. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2024.103775 \| Abstract \| Publisher Website	May 2024	A structured decision making (SDM) approach can help evaluate tradeoffs between conservation and human-benefit objectives by fostering communication and knowledge transfer among stakeholders, decision makers, and the public. However, the process is iterative and completing the full process may take years to accomplish. Thus, it can be difficult to initiate an SDM effort when problems seem insurmountable. In many instances, SDM may not even be the best or correct approach for addressing the conservation problem at hand. We describe the implementation of an SDM process to help inform difficult decisions related to competing objectives. We convened a diverse stakeholder group from the largest estuary in the western United States; the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Bay-Delta). The stakeholder group consisted of representatives from local, state, and federal agencies, non-profit organizations, and recreational fishermen. The stakeholder group agreed on a problem statement and identified four priority objectives related to Chinook salmon, delta smelt, water availability and reliability, and agricultural water use. Furthermore, they proposed 14 candidate management actions to achieve their objectives. The group then used existing quantitative models and data to evaluate trade-offs in proposed management actions to identify areas of agreement of proposed candidate actions. The clear communication of the problem statement and objectives among the stakeholder group, along with evaluation of tradeoffs and uncertainty via decision-support models suggest that SDM may work in the Bay-Delta. We further communicate lessons learned during our implementation of SDM to help guide future SDM efforts in the region and elsewhere.
Peterson, J.T. and A. Duarte. 2020. Decision analysis to develop and evaluate restoration strategies for Chinook salmon in California’s Central Valley. Restoration Ecology https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13244 \| Abstract \| Publisher Website	November 2020	A considerable amount of resources have been invested in ecological restoration projects across the globe to restore ecosystem integrity. These restoration strategies are often diverse and have been met with mixed success. In this paper, we describe the Chinook salmon (<i>Oncorhynchus tshawytscha</i>) decision-support models developed by the Central Valley Project Improvement Act Science Integration Team as part of a larger structured decision making effort aimed at maximizing natural adult production of Chinook salmon in California’s Central Valley, USA. We then describe the decision analytic tools the stakeholder group used to solve the models and explore model results, including stochastic dynamic programming, forward simulation, proportional scoring, relative loss, expected value of perfect information, response profile analyses, and indifference curves. Using these tools, the stakeholder group was able to develop and quantitatively evaluate restoration strategies for multiple Chinook salmon runs simultaneously, a first for the restoration program. Furthermore, information uncovered during this process was then used to direct efforts towards targeted research/monitoring to reduce critical uncertainties and make better restoration decisions moving forward. The decision sciences have established a wide range of analytical tools and approaches to simplify complex problems into key components, and we believe the concepts described in this paper are of great interest to many restoration practitioners that undoubtedly face similar difficulties when implementing restoration strategies for complex systems.
Gilligan-Lunda , E.K., A. Duarte, and J.T. Peterson. 2024. Habitat use of anadromous and amphidromous sturgeons in North America: a systematic review. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 81(5): 508-524. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2023-0222 \| Abstract \| Publisher Website	May 2024	Sturgeons are among the most endangered fishes in the world. Although habitat restoration is often a primary mechanism to restore sturgeon populations, there is a paucity of information to identify habitat across broad scales to support these efforts due to typical small sample sizes, inadequate replication of studies, and limited spatial extent. We synthesized information across five species of amphidromous and anadromous sturgeon throughout North America to identify species-specific knowledge gaps and conduct a quantitative comparison of species-habitat relationships. Combined species habitat suitability indices indicate excellent sturgeon spawning habitat as depths between 4 – 11 meters and velocities of 0.6 – 1.4 m/s. River habitat for non-spawning fish is depths between 5.5 – 15.5 meters and velocities of 0.2 – 0.4 m/s. Estuary habitat is depths between 4 – 11 meters. No estuary velocity estimates were documented by any of the evaluated species. We provide some of the first baseline estimates of habitat use for many populations that can contribute towards development of empirically grounded decision support tools used for management decision making and to prioritize information needs for recovery.

Technical Publications

Technical Publications	Publication Date
Peterson, J.T., K. McDonnell, M.C. Colvin. 2014. Coarse Resolution Planning Tools for Prioritizing Central Valley Project Improvement Act Fisheries Activities. Draft Progress Report to Central Valley Project Improvement Act Fisheries Program.	August 2014
Peterson, J.T., E. McCreless, A. Duarte. 2019. Structured Decision Making for Scientific Management in the San Francisco Bay-Delta. Annual Progress Report to U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Bay-Delta Office.	May 2019
Peterson, J.T., A. Duarte, K. McDonell. 2019. ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT OF CENTRAL VALLEY PROJECT FISHERIES PHASES I - V. Draft final report to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Central Valley Improvement Act Program, Sacramento CA.	January 2020

Presentations

Presentations	Presentation Date
Peterson, J.T., E. Gardner, T. Neal, Larson, M., C. Couch, J. Romer, F. Monzyk, M. Kent, and C. Schreck 2023.Unexpected Threats: Parasite Infections in Reservoir-rearing Juvenile Chinook Salmon in Willamette Basin Reservoirs. Oregon Lakes Association annual conference Nov 15-16, Corvallis, OR.	March 2023
Lunda, E., J.T. Peterson, and A. Duarte. 2023. Habitat use of anadromous sturgeon in North America: a systematic review. Oregon Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, Feb 28-Mar 3.	March 2023
Lunda, E., J.T. Peterson, A. Duarte., and T. Swannack. 2023. Characterizing the effects of environmental variability and individual biological characteristics on green sturgeon recruitment success. Oregon Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, Feb 28-Mar 3	March 2023
Larson, M., C. Couch, C. Murphy, M. Kent, and J. Peterson. 2023. Diet and Philonema infections in reservoir-rearing juvenile Chinook Salmon. Oregon Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, Feb 28-Mar 3	March 2023
Isreal, J., M. Beakes, E. Buttermore, J. Gosselin, J. Peterson. 2024. Participatory science strategies for evaluating species, water, and power tradeoffs. 9th World Fisheries Congress, Seattle WA, March 2024.	March 2024
Duarte, A. and J.Peterson. 2020. The role of optimization in solving decision-support models for natural resource management. Annual Meeting of the Oregon Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, March 4-6, Bend, OR.	March 2020
Diaz, L., J.T. Peterson, and A. Duarte. 2023. A meta-analysis of Oncorhynchus mykiss habitat use and ontogenetic niche shifts incorporating geographic variability. Oregon Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, Feb 28-Mar 3.	March 2023
Couch, C., J. Peterson, M. Kent, and C. Schreck. 2023. Big fish with tiny friends: the role of the microbiome in Pacific salmon health. Oregon Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, Feb 28-Mar 3	March 2023

Theses and Dissertations

Theses and Dissertations	Publication Date
McDonnell, K.N. 2019. The Influence of Scale in a Structured Decision Making Framework for Chinook Salmon Management. PhD Dissertation, Oregon State University.	June 2019

Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Oregon Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Oregon Project

The development of integrated adaptive management for restoration of freshwater-estuarine ecosystems

January 2013 - December 2025

Personnel

Participating Agencies

Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Oregon
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources