Draft EIS/EIR for the San Luis Reservoir SRA Resource ...

4. Plan Overview
in the Plan Area (outlined in Sections 4.2 and 4.3) and the desired indicators and
standards (see Section 4.5.3).
4.5.2 Adaptive Management
Adaptive management is an explicit and analytical process for adjusting
management and research decisions to better achieve management objectives. The
process includes a number of steps, beginning with the identification of issues,
opportunities, and constraints (discussed in Section 3.4), a vision for the Plan
Area (Section 4.1), and goals and guidelines for visitor use management that will
lead to the desired future conditions (Section 4.2). The goals and guidelines and
management zones established in this Plan serve to prescribe the future carrying
capacity of the Plan Area by identifying the maximum number of facilities that
may ultimately be developed. Adaptive management is an ongoing, iterative
process of determining desired conditions, selecting and monitoring indicators
and standards that reflect these desired conditions, and taking management action
when the desired conditions are not being realized. If the managing agency
determines that a specific location within the Plan Area is not meeting the desired
future conditions, then management action would begin. Management action
could determine that the violation was caused by natural variation (e.g., by a
storm) or by human-induced variables (e.g., trampling associated with hiking).
Management actions should comply with the requirements of NEPA/CEQA and
other applicable regulations and could include, but are not limited to, the
following:
• Site management (e.g., facility design, barriers, site hardening,
area/facility closure, redirection of visitors to suitable sites);
• Regulation (e.g., the number of people, the location or time of visits,
permitted activities, or allowable equipment);
• Enforcement of regulations (e.g., patrols, notification, citations);
• Education (e.g., information signs and exhibits, interpretive programs,
visitor’s center exhibits, brochures and fliers, public meetings, meetings
with user groups); and
• Altering access (e.g., parking in proximity to sensitive resources, limiting
certain types of access such as vehicular access in certain areas).
4.5.3 Plan Area Quality Indicators
Indicators and standards of quality are integral components of determining
recreation carrying capacity of an area. Indicators are defined as measurable,
manageable variables that help define the quality of the visitor experience;
standards of quality are defined as the minimum acceptable condition of indicator
variables (Manning 2001). Quality indicators assist land managers in determining
whether desired future conditions are being met. For each of the planning areas,
an overall goal is presented in Table 4-4, and quality indicators and corresponding
management actions are shown to provide examples of indicators and adaptive
management actions that could be used. These will be enhanced as the Plan is
implemented.
San Luis Reservoir SRA 4-73
Draft RMP/GP and Draft EIS/EIR