Adaptive Implementation Approach

Collecting data on watershed conditions through water monitoring, RASCAL, soil quality testing, wildlife habitat assessments, surveys of farmers and landowners, and the like are all important for establishing baseline data — a starting point for improving water quality and watershed health.

Using those data to write a watershed plan sets goals and objectives for addressing priority resource concerns, established with stakeholder involvement. The plan also outlines strategies, tactics and timelines for achieving the goals and objectives.

But, in order to achieve the watershed plan's projected outcomes for improved water quality and watershed health, the plan must be implemented in a way that measures progress over time and includes a process for adapting the plan and adjusting strategies, tactics and timelines according to feedback received from performance measurement data collected on the ground and in the water.

This process of adaptive implementation — plan, implement, evaluate, adjust — can be employed effectively at multiple scales, from field and farm to sub-watershed and river basin, so that financial, human, and material resources are applied when, where and how they will achieve the best results.

When it comes to improving water quality in complex systems like agricultural watersheds, this adaptive implementation process requires long-term, substantial commitment from many stakeholders. ISA and its partners are in it for the long haul.