We have published our study on setting tiered management triggers in the Metlakatla CEM Program in the Environmental Management Journal’s special issue on Cumulative effects assessment, monitoring & management: State-of-the-art. Check it out here: https://rdcu.be/dZvEb
Management triggers are a set of markers that reflect increasing levels of concern about the condition of a value. Triggers mark the point at which a community starts to worry about the condition of a value (the cautionary trigger) and the point that marks a no-go zone for the community (critical trigger). Setting management triggers or thresholds is often talked about as a critical part of cumulative effects management, but is rarely done in practice. The Metlakatla First Nation shows that these types of thresholds can be set when the process is focused on the community’s values and goals. The Metlakatla CEM Program worked with Metlakatla members and staff through 7 full-day workshops in 2017/2018 to set triggers for 3 priority values: housing, butter clams, and FSC activity. Management triggers are important in CEM because they tell decision-makers when they need to act, or act more intensively, to restore values to an acceptable state.