Analyzing Measure Use in Ecosystem Management

For this project RAND began by analyzing how environmental measures are developedand used in decision making. First, the RAND researchers examined a wide range ofmeasure efforts to understand the different ways that such measures are used. Then a subset of cases where measures were more likely to be used directly inpolicy and management decision making were identified and examined. This analysisfocused on understanding what was the relationship between monitoring data,measures, modeling, and decision making. By analyzing these practical cases andsurveying practitioners in the field RAND asked and answered the questions: Whatmakes the measures useful for decision making? What lessons can be learned forother ecosystem management efforts which are trying to use measures moreeffectively in the decision making process? What are the implications forfederal monitoring and assessment efforts? The cases which were analyzed covereda range of ecosystem efforts in terms of scale, environmental issues addressed,and types of decision makers. A smaller subset of nine in depth case studieswere further analyzed to illustrate and explore the range of issues. These ninecase studies included: Eglin Air Force Base; Niobrara Preserve; Multi-SpeciesConservation Plan in San Diego; Ohio EPA; Tampa Bay; Mecklenburg County, NC;Chesapeake Bay Program and Grizzly Bears in the Swan Valley. The results of thisproject are currently being documented.