Goals for the Idagon

Six Goals for the Idagon

1. Increase the Idagon Economic Product
The Idagon Economic Product (IEP) is the principal economic indicator. It counts net income from crop production and electric power production. In most simulations, the IEP will be around $1,000 million per year. It is nearly a "Billion Dollar" system. The goal is to boost the IEP to $1,050 million per year.

2. Maintain Land Use Patterns:
Historically, one million acres of land has been irrigated by diversions in Area 1 and by pumping in Area 2. This activity has given rise to the development of support industries as well as to towns and villages. These activities are valued in their own right (i.e., separate from the contribution of crop production to the IEP.) Consequently, an additional goal has been established--to maintain at least 95% of the land in both areas under irrigation.

3. High Flow in the Big Fish During April
The 3rd goal is to achieve a rate of flow of 68 MAF/year during April in the section of The Idagon after the Big Fish. This flow is considered important to aid the salmon smolts in their spring migration (see chapter 13 in the book).

4. Adequate Flow Below Canyon Lake
The section of The Idagon immediately below Canyon Lake is considered important for water quality, for wildlife and for recreation. The 4th goal calls for at least 4 MAF/year of flow in this section during all months of the year.

5. Maintain High Flow at Big Springs
The discharge at Big Springs was around 6 MAF/year one hundred years ago. But the flow is now around 10 MAF/year, and this high flow is important for water quality, for wildlife and for industries that have developed below Big Springs. The 5th goal is to maintain this flow at 9 MAF/year or greater.

6. Adequate Flow Below American Lake
The final goal concerns the section of The Idagon immediately below American Lake. It is considered important for water quality, for wildlife and for recreation to maintain at least 3 MAF/year in this section during all months of the year.

Setting Priorities

The six goals have been established for the Idagon. All parties agree that each goal has some merit. But there is considerable disagreement about the relative merit of each goal. For the Idagon exercise, you are free to define your own priorities by the "weights" you attach to each of the six goals. Each goal deserves a minimum weight of 1. The sum of the 6 weights must be ten. An illustrative set of weights are listed below. (These are the default values in the flight simulator.)

**Default Weights**
goal	weight
1st	3
2nd	2
3rd	2
4th	1
5th	1
6th	1

The minimum weight of 1 has been assigned to the 4th, 5th and 6th goals. This means that each of these goals is considered equally worthy.

A weight of 2 has been assigned to the 2nd and 3rd goals. These goals are considered equally worthy and are twice as important as the previous goals.

The highest weight is assigned to the 1st goal, to increase the IEP by 5%. The weight of 3 suggests that achieving this goal is 50% more important than meeting the 2nd and 3rd goals and it is three times as important as meeting the 4th, 5th and 6th goals.

If you don't agree with these priorities, feel free to use your own weights. But don't forget to check that the weights add up to 10. This will allow you to compare scores with others who are experimenting with the model.

The Score Keeper

To check whether you are meeting the goals during any month of a simulation, click the "keeping score" button. You'll see that the "score keeper" awards you 1 point per month for each goal that is satisfied. The model uses your own weights to calculate a weighted score. Since the weights must add up to 10, the maximum score is 10 points per month or 120 points per year.

There is one exception to this score keeping scheme--the exception is needed to deal with the timing of the salmon migration. The salmon smolts goal can only be measured in April, the month when the smolts need a high flow in The Idagon after its confluence with the Big Fish. If you meet the April flow target, the Score Keeper will assign all 12 points for this particular goal in the month of April.

You may view how your points are accumulating over time. The graph will show this month's score along with the accumulated score for the entire simulation. "Spikes" will appear in this graph if you happen to meet the flow target for April for the salmon smolts.

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