摘要：While adaptive management (AM) is becoming a preferred natural resource management approach, the conditionsnecessary to engage in AM are not always present. In order for AM to work, there must be an ability to engage in experimentationand then incorporate what is learned. Just as few rivers are unequivocally either "runnable" or "unrunnable" by a whitewaterboater, successful AM depends on a number of factors, including legal frameworks and requirements, resource allocation regimes,and existing infrastructure. We provide a classification framework for assessing the physical and institutional capacity necessaryfor AM using the international classification for whitewater. We then apply this classification framework to the design of anAM program for New Mexico's Rio Chama. As the case study illustrates, the classification system facilitates learning andprovides an engaging way of thinking through problems and involving stakeholders. It can also help keep perceived limitationsfrom becoming fixed reality, and it can be used to develop the conceptual model on which AM is based. The classificationsystem allows practitioners to assess whether AM is possible by providing a way of thinking through the issues involved.
关键词：adaptive management; conceptual model; Rio Chama; river restoration
