Adaptive management in natural resource conservation implies an iterative approach to decision making (http://structureddecisionmaking.org/index.htm). It presumes that knowledge remains incomplete and circumstances change continuously, so management is structured as an ongoing, learning process. Adaptive conservation commonly includes generalized phases of assessment, planning, implementation, and monitoring.  This approach has been formalized by the BLM under their "Landscape Approach," where REAs provide contextual input to subsequent planning decisions.  Assessments seek to understand past, current, and forecasted patterns among key resources and change agents across the entire ecoregion.  They document trends that need to be addressed in order to achieve agency goals. Planning processes specify management goals and objectives, and commonly take shape within Resource Management Plans (RMPs) that determine areas of emphasis in conservation or extractive resource use, and provide guidelines for site-level activity including needed restoration and mitigation.  Plans are typically developed within a given BLM field office but may be developed over larger landscapes.  Monitoring focuses on key parameters identified within prior assessment and planning phases, and sets the stage for periodic iterations of the adaptive management cycle.