Clarifying the role of the resist-accept-direct framework in supporting resource management planning processes

Gregor W Schuurman¹, Wylie Carr¹, Cat Hawkins Hoffman¹, David J Lawrence¹, Brian W Miller², Erik A Beever^{3

4}, Jean Brennan⁵, Katherine R Clifford⁶, Scott Covington⁷, Shelley D Crausbay⁸, Amanda E Cravens⁹, John Gross¹, Linh Hoang¹⁰, Stephen T Jackson¹¹, Abraham J Miller-Rushing¹², Wendy Morrison¹³, Elizabeth A Nelson¹⁴, Robin O'Malley¹⁵, Jay O Peterson¹⁶, Mark T Porath¹⁷, Karen Prentice¹⁸, Joel H Reynolds¹⁹, Suresh A Sethi²⁰, Helen R Sofaer²¹, Jennifer L Wilkening²²

Affiliations

¹ Climate Change Response Program, National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
² U.S. Geological Survey, North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
³ U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Bozeman, Montana, USA.
⁴ Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA.
⁵ Climate Adaptation, Landscape Partnership, Auberry, California, USA.
⁶ Western Water Assessment, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
⁷ Science Applications in the Pacific Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon, USA.
⁸ USDA Forest Service, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
⁹ U.S. Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Corvallis, Oregon, USA.
¹⁰ Mountain Planning Service Group, USDA Forest Service, Missoula, Montana, USA.
¹¹ U.S. Geological Survey (Emeritus), National Climate Adaptation Science Center, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
¹² Acadia National Park, National Park Service, Bar Harbor, Maine, USA.
¹³ Office of Sustainable Fisheries, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
¹⁴ Parks Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
¹⁵ Robin O'Malley LLC, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
¹⁶ Office of Science and Technology, NOAA Fisheries, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
¹⁷ Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wood River, Nebraska, USA.
¹⁸ USDOI Bureau of Land Management, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
¹⁹ Solutions Consulting, LLC, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
²⁰ Aquatic Research & Environmental Assessment Center, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, New York, USA.
²¹ U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Hawaii National Park, Hawai'i, USA.
²² National Wildlife Refuge System, Natural Resource Program Center, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.

PMID: 40391403
PMCID: PMC12309628
DOI: 10.1111/cobi.70062

Clarifying the role of the resist-accept-direct framework in supporting resource management planning processes

Gregor W Schuurman et al. Conserv Biol. 2025.

. 2025 May 20;39(4):e70062.

doi: 10.1111/cobi.70062. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Climate Change Response Program, National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
² U.S. Geological Survey, North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
³ U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Bozeman, Montana, USA.
⁴ Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA.
⁵ Climate Adaptation, Landscape Partnership, Auberry, California, USA.
⁶ Western Water Assessment, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
⁷ Science Applications in the Pacific Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon, USA.
⁸ USDA Forest Service, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
⁹ U.S. Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Corvallis, Oregon, USA.
¹⁰ Mountain Planning Service Group, USDA Forest Service, Missoula, Montana, USA.
¹¹ U.S. Geological Survey (Emeritus), National Climate Adaptation Science Center, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
¹² Acadia National Park, National Park Service, Bar Harbor, Maine, USA.
¹³ Office of Sustainable Fisheries, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
¹⁴ Parks Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
¹⁵ Robin O'Malley LLC, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
¹⁶ Office of Science and Technology, NOAA Fisheries, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
¹⁷ Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wood River, Nebraska, USA.
¹⁸ USDOI Bureau of Land Management, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
¹⁹ Solutions Consulting, LLC, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
²⁰ Aquatic Research & Environmental Assessment Center, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, New York, USA.
²¹ U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Hawaii National Park, Hawai'i, USA.
²² National Wildlife Refuge System, Natural Resource Program Center, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.

PMID: 40391403
PMCID: PMC12309628
DOI: 10.1111/cobi.70062

No abstract available

Keywords: Adaptive management; climate change adaptation; communication, conservation; ecological transformation; planning.

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Figures

**FIGURE 1**
The resist–accept–direct (RAD) framework, which supports existing adaptive‐management‐based planning and decision‐making processes, principally during the design step, as illustrated for (a) Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation (CMP, 2020) and (b) the Climate‐Smart Conservation Cycle (Stein et al., 2014). Figures adapted from CMP (2020) and Stein et al. (2014).

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

1. Conservation Measures Partnership (CMP) . (2020). Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation Version 4.0 /2020 . https://conservationstandards.org/wp‐content/uploads/sites/3/2020/10/CMP...
1. Cross, M. S. , Zavaleta, E. S. , Bachelet, D. , Brooks, M. L. , Enquist, C. A. , Fleishman, E. , Graumlich, L. J. , Groves, C. R. , Hannah, L. , Hansen, L. , & Hayward, G. (2012). The adaptation for conservation targets (ACT) framework: A tool for incorporating climate change into natural resource management. Environmental Management, 50, 341–351. - PMC - PubMed
1. Hammond , J. S. , Keeney, R. L. , & Raiffa, H. (1998). Smart choices: A practical guide to making better decisions. Harvard Business School Press.
1. Jackson, S. T. (2021). Transformational ecology and climate change. Science, 373, 1085–1086. - PubMed
1. Landres, P. B. , Morgan, P. , & Swanson, F. J. (1999). Overview of the use of natural variability concepts in managing ecological systems. Ecological Applications, 9(4), 1179–1188.

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Clarifying the role of the resist-accept-direct framework in supporting resource management planning processes

Affiliations

Clarifying the role of the resist-accept-direct framework in supporting resource management planning processes

Authors

Affiliations

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References

LinkOut - more resources

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