Developing an Adaptive Framework for Managing a Large-Scale River Restoration Program on the San Joaquin River

The San Joaquin Restoration Program (SJRRP) was established to restore 153 miles of the San Joaquin River, one of California’s largest rivers.  Following completion of Friant Dam and subsequent diversions of water, sections of this reach of the river have been dry during much of the past 60 years.  The legal settlement establishing SJRRP requires restoration of flows and fish in the restoration reach while minimizing effects on other stakeholders, primarily agriculture.   The restoration is being implemented through a multi-agency effort that includes channel modifications to accommodate restoration flows, development of flow schedules to optimize use of available restoration flows, and reintroduction of spring-run Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha.  The San Joaquin historically maintained one of the largest spring-run Chinook salmon populations in California, with annual escapement ranging from 200,000 to 500,000 adult spawners, but the run was extirpated when portions of the river went dry.  The implementation of restoration actions is a complex process involving implementing agencies, cooperating agencies, settling parties, local stakeholders, a technical advisory committee, a Program Management Team, and a Restoration Administrator.  The restoration is also a complex scientific effort, with the outcomes of restoration actions difficult to predict in advance.  Thus, the SJRRP is being implemented within an adaptive management framework.  An Adaptive Management Workgroup has been assembled to apply the framework, which includes evaluation, integration and synthesis of information to develop recommendations for continued Program implementation, assurance that new knowledge and understanding are adequately incorporated into SJRRP activities, and improvement of the quality of the science used to inform SJRRP activities.  The work group includes members with expertise in hydrology, water quality, invertebrate biology, food web dynamics, statistics, fish biology, and ecology. The work group will make recommendations to the Program Management Team regarding modeling, monitoring, studies, and other activities that would help fulfill SJRRP goals.  The work group will ensure validity and transparency of SJRRP science and obtain expert scientific advice by organizing an annual workshop, publishing in the scientific literature, and a commitment to peer review of syntheses, work plans, and reports.