Missouri River restoration efforts should include adaptive management, report urges

Ecology. Synthesizing U.S. river restoration efforts.

River restoration

[1] River restoration is at the forefront of applied hydrologic science. However, many river restoration projects are conducted with minimal scientific context. We propose two themes around which a research agenda to advance the scientific basis for river restoration can be built. First, because natural variability is an inherent feature of all river systems, we hypothesize that restoration of ...

Medicine Should Be More Like Missouri Harlan

Missouri is the “Show Me” State. Although the origins of the term are uncertain, it seems that it might have been etched into the national consciousness during a speech by U.S. Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver. In an 1899 speech he stated, “I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri...

River Restoration in the Twenty-First Century: Data and Experiential Knowledge to Inform Future Efforts

Despite some highly visible projects that have resulted in environmental benefits, recent efforts to quantify the number and distribution of river restoration projects revealed a paucity of written records documenting restoration outcomes. Improving restoration designs and setting watershed priorities rely on collecting and making accessible this critical information. Information within the unp...

Adaptive management of coastal ecosystem restoration projects

There is a clear need to apply better and more effective management schemes to coastal ecosystem restoration projects. It is very common for aquatic ecosystem restoration projects not to meet their goals. Poor performance has led to a high degree of uncertainty about the potential success of any restoration effort. Under adaptive management, the knowledge gained through monitoring of the projec...