A proposed process for applying a structured decision‐making framework to restoration planning in the Atchafalaya River Basin, Louisiana, U.S.A.

Abstract Environmental decision‐making issues in the Atchafalaya River Basin (ARB), Louisiana require innovative approaches that combine scientific understanding and local stakeholder values. Management of the ARB has evolved from strong federal control to establish the ARB as a primary floodway of the Mississippi River and Tributaries Project to a state and federal collaboration to accommodate fish and wildlife resource promotion, recreational opportunities, and economic development. The management policy has expanded to include a growing number of stakeholders, but the decision‐making process has not kept pace. Current conflicts among many local stakeholder groups, due in part to their lack of involvement in the decision‐making process, impede restoration efforts. The absence of a long‐term collective vision for the ARB by both local stakeholder groups and management agencies further confounds these efforts. This paper proposes a process to apply a structured decision‐making framework, a values‐based approach that explicitly defines objectives, to promote stakeholder‐driven restoration efforts in the ARB and to better prepare for and manage long‐term environmental issues. The goals of this approach are: (1) to create a process founded on stakeholder values and supported by rigorous scientific assessment to meet management agency mandates and (2) to establish a transparent process for restoration planning in the ARB that incorporates current and future non‐governmental stakeholders into the decision‐making process. Similar frameworks have been successful in other river basins; we feel the structure of current restoration efforts in the ARB is well‐suited to adopt a values‐focused management framework.