2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Room 62 (Lower level)

A Systems Feedback Control Loop Representation of the Resource Management Process

Daniel Hayes
Michigan State University
Bryan Burroughs
Michigan Chapter of Trout Unlimited

The natural resource management process is shown to be analogous to a system control structure. Seeing the process in this way yields important insights into some of the ways that the management process may be structurally ineffective.

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A Poor Climate for Recovery: Using Structured Decision Making to Explore Climate Adaptation Alternatives to Recover an Endangered Species

Christopher L. Hoving
Michigan Department of Natural Resources/Michigan State University
Gregor Schuurman
National Park Service
Kimberly R. Hall
The Nature Conservancy

Climate change is a complicated challenge to endangered species protection and recovery. The recent loss of the Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) from its southernmost population is an example of this challenge. The loss of this population complicates recovery of the species, and managers are unsure how best to respond to such a broad-scale threat. We used structured decision making to lead a team to create shared mental models and explore trade-offs of climate adaptive management interventions.

Using Structured Decision Making to Inform Future Management Directions for Wild Turkeys in Michigan

Bryan Stevens, William Porter, Michael Jones, and James Bence
Michigan State University
Al Stewart and David Luukkonen
Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Many public stakeholders are concerned about the future of wild turkey populations. We used structured decision making to evaluate turkey management options in Michigan. We developed a group of interested stakeholders and integrated them into the evaluation of policy decisions. The group helped identify management objectives and options, and hypothesized drivers of turkey populations. This facilitated collaborative modeling and ensures that our analyses address issues relevant to stakeholders, making it likely our work will influence management decisions. This approach has allowed us to transparently confront uncertainty in turkey management, and will enable reduction of uncertainty over time using systems thinking and simulation.