| Abstract: | ![]()
This study attempted to resolve regulation problems up- and downstream of Flathead Lake and on the lake proper. Members of a technical working group, representing eight water and wildlife management agencies, contributed 75 regulation scenarios they deemed necessary to conserve or enhance ecological (fish and wildlife) and societal (hydropower production, flood control, and recreation) resources for which they had management authority. The hydrology model simulated the effect of each scenario on system water balance; scenarios that were within the physical and legal constraints of the system were accepted for determination of cumulative impacts on resources. A multiattribute tradeoff analysis was used to assess cumulative impacts to key resources as a consequence of each regulation scenario (simulation) accepted for evaluation. Impacts were subjectively and independently quantified by each member of the working group following a point and importance weighting system agreed to a priori. Valuation of impacts was done on the basis of 36 technical studies of the effects of regulation on system resources. Impact valuations were summed to yield a variable referred to as weighted cumulative impact (WCI), where the highest, positive WCI indicated least cumulative impact on resources. Scenarios were then ranked in terms of WCI. When ecological resources only were evaluated, the preregulation Flathead Lake scenario generated the highest WCI. However, when all resources were considered, scenarios ranked very differently but a preferred alternative was identified by virtue of its highest WCI. This interactive process of hydrology simulation and computation of cumulative impacts mediated resource conflicts and served as an important tool in deriving water management recommendations in the Flathead River Basin. The process may be useful elsewhere. |
