7843

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7843
• Author: Stalnaker, C. B., et al.
• Title: The Instream Flow Incremental Methodology, A Primer for IFIM.
• USFW Year: 1995.
• USFW - Doc Type: Biological Report 29,
• Copyright Material: NO

Preface

This booklet is a primer on the Instream Flow Incremental Methodology (lFIM). Our objective for
this primer is to give you a short but comprehensive introduction to the background, philosophical and
ecological underpinnings, individual components, and steps in applying IFIM. As a primer, we have
tried to keep it simple. Scientific names and other technical details have been avoided, but the primer
includes relevant definitions (with key words or phrases indicated in italics for their first use),
summaries of the literature where you may wish to turn for further reading, and explanations to increase
your understanding of what IFIM is all about and how it works. The primer should reinforce your
growing knowledge and provide the necessary stepping stones into more advanced, certified training in
IFIM methods.
This primer is divided into five more or less independent sections. The first section reviews the history
of instream flow problems in the United States. Reading this section should provide you with an
understanding of why IFIM emerged to solve certain complex water management problems and hint at
future directions. The second section discusses the choice of instream flow methods and, more
importantly, provides a framework for deciding whether IFIM is appropriate for the kind of problems
you might be facing. The third section reviews the ecological underpinnings of IFIM from a historical
perspective. This section is meant to show you the degree to which IFIM components, or models,
represent the essence of the biological systems that we are attempting to understand. It is more detailed
than the other sections and meant specifically to be of interest to biologists and ecologists. Section four
delves into the broader philosophical, problem-solving approach embodied in IFIM. This perspective is
important because the 'facts' alone rarely dictate good decisions; it is how we employ those facts to
resolve instream flow problems in an interdisciplinary decision making arena that is important. The
fifth section outlines the logical steps in applying IFIM and the information flow that holds them
together. Here you will learn how to navigate through the IFIM process from tentative problem
identification to problem resolution.
Our objectives for this primer do not stop at the last page. We hope that as you learn more about
IFIM, you may be motivated to. continue your learning by enrolling in one or more of several advanced
courses dealing with IFIM. Please contact Conference Services at Colorado State University, Fort
Collins, Colorado 80523, or call 303-491-7767 for more course information and a catalog of available
National Biological Service courses sponsored by CSU. Technical questions should be directed to our
office at the address below.
We encourage IFIM users to suggest improvements that may increase the utility and effectiveness
of our products. Please use the comment form at the back of this booklet or send suggestions to:

Midcontinent Ecological Science Center
National Biological Service
4512 McMurry Avenue
Fort Collins, Colorado 80525-3400
303-226-9332
FAX [phone]
e-mail: [e-mail]

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