The Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (AMP) has been identified as a model for natural resource management. We challenge that assertion, citing the lack of progress toward a long-term management plan for the dam, sustained extra-programmatic conflict, and a downriver ecology that is still in jeopardy, despite over ten years of meetings and an expensive research program. We have examined the primary and secondary sources available on the AMP’s design and operation in light of best practices identified in the literature on adaptive management and collaborative decision-making. We have identified six shortcomings: (1) an inadequate approach to identifying stakeholders; (2) a failure to provide clear goals and involve stakeholders in establishing the operating procedures that guide the collaborative process; (3) inappropriate use of professional neutrals and a failure to cultivate consensus; (4) a failure to establish and follow clear joint fact-finding procedures; (5) a failure to produce functional written agreements; and (6) a failure to manage the AMP adaptively and cultivate long-term problem-solving capacity.
Adaptive management can be an effective approach for addressing complex ecosystem-related processes like the operation of the Glen Canyon Dam, particularly in the face of substantial complexity, uncertainty, and political contentiousness. However, the Glen Canyon Dam AMP shows that a stated commitment to collaboration and adaptive management is insufficient. Effective management of natural resources can only be realized through careful attention to the collaborative design and implementation of appropriate problem-solving and adaptive-management procedures. It also requires the development of an appropriate organizational infrastructure that promotes stakeholder dialogue and agency learning. Though the experimental Glen Canyon Dam AMP is far from a success of collaborative adaptive management, the lessons from its shortcomings can foster more effective collaborative adaptive management in the future by Congress, federal agencies, and local and state authorities.
The summer after my Junior year, I studied abroad in Denmark and was given the opportunity to create my own research topic. My interest in Sustainability has always revolved around food, so I started thinking about ways that I could incorporate this interest with the geographical backdrop of Århus, Denmark. Food is a medium for so many uniquely human creations: celebrations, art, connection, and taste. Food is also a big driver of climate change, as the meat and agriculture industries account for more than half of all greenhouse gas emissions. However, I wanted to research more than food. I wanted to incorporate balance; a balance of local and global food systems, a balance of individual and community relationships, and a balance of science and art. I wanted to show how food is a driving force in achieving global sustainability and resilience.
After much contemplation, I began researching the connections between local food and community wellbeing in the city. I interviewed farm-to-table chefs, local farmers, farmer’s market vendors, street food vendors, and consumers on their relationships with food. The topic itself was flexible and open-ended enough so that each interviewee could relate it to their lives in a unique way. I loved the research so much that I decided to continue interviewing stakeholders in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Through the continuation of my research in Arizona, I was able to include a comparative element that offered a better perspective on the matter. I found that the history of the country itself has a significant influence on people’s mindsets and actions surrounding food and the environment. The common theme I heard from all interviewees, however, was their confidence in the power of food to unite people to one another and to the natural world.
I chose to create this illustrated book because my research experience was a whole and inseparable experience; it could never be fully expressed in words. I wanted my project to be an intellectual and visual map of my journey, inspiring the reader to go on a journey of their own. Therefore, I partnered with an undergraduate art student at Arizona State University, Sofia Reyes, to help create my vision. I shared my experiences, photos, and stories with her so that she could create the beautiful watercolor paintings that make the book so visually appealing and accessible to all demographics. The images act as a way of engaging all of our human senses, initiating a stronger connection to the material presented.
Creating this project was my favorite experience as an undergraduate, and I feel fortunate to be able to tell the stories of those intimately tied to the local food system. I am in the process of entering my book in various competitions including Writer’s Digest, Reader’s Favorites, The Food Sustainability Media Award, and The Indie Book Awards. I am also going on to publish the book through a small publishing company.