Science and structured decision making: fulfilling the promise of adaptive management for imperiled species

Scientists and policy makers have shown great industry in popularizing the concept of adaptive management for imperiled species, principally by promulgating slightly varying, multi-step adaptive-management cycles. Thirty years after the appearance of adaptive management in the scientific literature, the concept has gained acceptance as a readily recognized, conceptually simple conservation-planning vehicle, despite its lackluster track record. Successful adaptive management must be implemented as a step-wise, structured approach to incorporating scientific information into decision making. This may necessitate reconsideration of the overly simplified, cartoonish version of adaptive management being presented to policy makers, resource managers, and the public. We contend that adaptive management that targets listed species represents a complex process that can be resource intensive, including in its demand for guidance from research, monitoring, and modeling, therefore requiring substantial technical and institutional capacity. That considered, adaptive management has a great potential to improve the effectiveness and efficacy of resource management actions provided it is properly implemented.