Adaptive Management

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To address Louisiana’s coastal land loss crisis, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) will construct and operate sediment diversions to reconnect the Mississippi River to nearby wetlands to deliver fresh water, sediment, and nutrients. These projects will create a sustainable, productive delta and build and maintain tens of thousands of acres of wetlands that protect communities from storm surge and sea level rise, provide fish and wildlife habitat, and support a working coast.

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Sediment diversions will be operated using Adaptive Management (AM), which will help project managers achieve project goals while iterating over time as they collect data on changing conditions. Adaptive management is similar to perfecting a recipe – it starts with planning, putting the plan into action, gathering feedback, and then making adjustments to improve results. At the end of this process, we are left with a bountiful delta and a delicious gumbo to pass along to future generations.

How does adaptive management inform coastal restoration?

A primary goal of coastal restoration is to build and sustain as much land as possible, but there are key uncertainties regarding salinity changes, water levels, and changes to fish and wildlife populations. These uncertainties will need to be monitored and adapted to over time to ensure changing conditions are taken into account and adjusted for accordingly through management actions – minimizing negative impacts while maximizing land building and other management objectives. This project will unfold over time to allow for continuous learning and adjustment across many AM cycles.

How are adaptive management goals determined?

Peo Robust adaptive management takes into account multiple perspectives by bringing a variety of stakeholders, agencies, scientists and engineers to the table early on to agree on goals, objectives and decision-making processes.

By encouraging consensus through collaborative governance structures, adaptive management can support ecological, economic and community needs simultaneously.

Using adaptive management to inform the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion

planchecklist Louisiana is beginning to develop an adaptive management plan for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, a large-scale coastal restoration project. The plan will be a crucial guidebook to effective operations of the sediment diversion in the future.

The sediment diversion is being constructed in an already dynamic and ever-changing deltaic environment with innate uncertainties. But climate change and sea level rise add a layer of complexity to understanding the future of the Louisiana coast, both with and without the construction and operation of sediment diversions.

In Louisiana, there is no time to wait for perfect data, which is impossible to achieve. But adaptive management allows practitioners to take much needed action today while building a knowledge base for future decision-making, ensuring the overall goals for building and sustaining land are achieved, while also factoring in the needs of communities, fisheries, navigation, and other economic and social concerns.

Learn more about the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion here.

Adaptive Management Brings People Into the Process

Building a sustainable delta takes careful planning and strategic operations, but coastal managers and scientists have a lot of tools at their disposal.

Adaptive Management graphics: Credit: ESSA Technologies, Ltd.

AM will ensure they achieve diversions’ primary goal of land building, while also considering factors important to the communities, wildlife, and industries of the delta. This approach brings people into the process, providing you with access to information and opportunities to engage.