W-04: An Overview of Structured Decision Making for Natural Resources Pre-registration and additional fees are required for participation. Sign up will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis via the online registration form.
HALF DAY AM- 9AM-12PM Fee: Student - $10; Professional $20 Contact: Brielle Thompson, Postdoc fellow, University of Missouri, brielle.thompson@missouri.edu Co-Organizer: Mike Colvin, US Geological Survey, Columbia Environmental Research Center
Overview: Fish and wildlife management involves making difficult decisions concerning natural resource problems. Familiar natural resource problems may include decisions on how many acres of land must be protected, how an endangered species should be reintroduced, whether an agency should conduct more monitoring of an invasive species, etc. The field of decision analysis offers tools such as Structured Decision Making (SDM) to help frame, structure, and identify solutions for such problems. Various Federal and State fish and wildlife agencies are increasingly using SDM to ensure a streamlined, fair, unbiased, and organized decision-making process. This workshop will provide an introduction to SDM and its key components: framing the natural resource management problem; articulating objectives; developing management actions and alternatives; using forecasting tools to evaluate the consequences, or outcomes, of alternatives; and using tradeoff methods to identify management alternatives when decisions involve multiple competing objectives. Throughout the workshop the instructors will provide real world case study examples and offer opportunities for participatory discussion. The workshop will end with a hands-on protype experience of a SDM process.
Intended Audience: Students and Professionals; beginner to advanced material covered
