Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
achieving the overall mission of an organization or agency. It is possible that the missions of some
organizations and agencies do not fully embrace ecological restoration. A conflict of desired out-
comes may result among the different stakeholders. To avoid wasted resources or an outcome that
fails to satisfy the stakeholders, this situation must be resolved before proceeding.
Here is a sample mission statement: “Restore the natural landscape and habitat conditions to
how they were when the ranch was in operation.”
Goals, Objectives, and Actions
Establishing goals and objectives is the most powerful and defining act in the restoration plan-
ning and design process: powerful because no other planning product sets in motion so many
subsequent decisions and follow-on activities; defining because objectives, once invoked, become
touchstones against which all subsequent project results are measured. Successful restoration proj-
ect development begins with clearly stated goals and objectives. These statements are then trans-
lated into specific project requirements, which are actionable items that the project team uses as
a road map to guide the project design (box 3-3).
Goals are expressed very early in the planning process and serve to define the overall purpose
of the project (Doyle and Straus 1976). A goal is a complete statement of purpose or direction;
it is general in nature, broad in scope, and flexible enough to persist over time. Goals describe
expected results—they paint a picture or a vision of a desired state or condition. They are stated in
clear, succinct, and easily understood terms and are as inclusive as possible, meeting the interests
of a broad-based group of project stakeholders. Effective goals serve the following purposes:
• Enable us to focus on achieving desired long-term outcomes rather than starting out trying
to resolve “urgent” problems and issues
• Promote consistency of perspective among the many different stakeholders involved in the
planning process
• Enable further uniformity of requirements and actions among overlapping governmental
jurisdictions
• Form a basis for testing the validity of suggested objectives, actions, and programs in the
context of meeting the stakeholders' vision for the ultimate state or condition of the resources
All projects exist to satisfy certain stakeholder goals. If needs are not seen to exist, no action will be
taken to satisfy them. Martin and Tate (1997) say that if the stakeholders' goals are satisfied, then
the project can be judged a success. Therefore, one imperative for restoration project managers is
to focus the project restoration team on answering the following questions:
• What is the project supposed to accomplish?
• Has the stakeholder identified any goals or objectives for the project?
• Who are the stakeholders that are most directly affected by the need?
• Do the stakeholders agree that it is a worthwhile need?
• Can we resolve the need with restoration techniques?
• Are there policies or restrictions that may limit or impede the restoration efforts?
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