Abstract for: Combining System Dynamics and Structure Decision Making for Chronic Wasting Disease Policy

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a fatal prion disease affecting white-tailed deer and other cervids. In now affects a number of US states. Management of the disease is complex, due to spatial heterogeneity, diverse stakeholder interests, and limited agency resources. This work describes the use of a system dynamics model to support the update of Wisconsin's 15-year CWD management plan. Following Structured Decision Making methodology, stakeholders generated alternative actions and metrics of interest. Simulations, automated in Python, mapped the effects of each action package on their metrics, providing visual and quantitative summaries of performance along each dimension. Stakeholders could then weight outcomes according to their preferred metrics. Inclusion of the model in the stakeholder process provided a consistent structure for discussion and focused effort on important leverage points.