In the Settlement, monitoring is expected to continue until 2014, when the Water Board will review the Mono Basin's recovery. The monitoring plan describes monitoring activities for each of the four streams, their scope and duration, the protocol to be used in gathering data, and the methodology for analyzing the collected data. The restoration approach finally approved by the parties was one of adaptive management. This means that the actions described in the restoration plan may be refined or modified based on conclusions reached through monitoring. This approach allows flexibility, particularly important in a resource management field as new as restoration.
All parties agree that adaptive management is the best approach.
The Waterfowl Habitat Restoration Plan differed from the Stream Restoration Plan in that DWP agreed to not participate in future decision-making on waterfowl habitat restoration and monitoring. DWP would continue its brine shrimp productivity studies, open several channels on Rush Creek, and make its Mill Creek water rights available for rewatering Mill Creek, based on the recommendations of the foundation. It addresses an array of incredibly complex issues. Not only do we expect that significant restoration can be achieved, but data collected during monitoring will result in a case history of tremendous value to others working on stream and waterfowl habitat management up and down the Eastern Sierra. Heidi Hopkins is the Committee's Eastern Sierra Policy Director.