2012 NFMA Forest Planning Rule § 219.12 Monitoring

1. 2012 NFMA Forest Planning Rule§ 219.12 Monitoring

2. Four Main Sections: • (a) Plan (Unit Level) Monitoring Program • (b) Broader Scale Monitoring Strategies • (c) Timing & Process • (d) Biennial Evaluation of Monitoring Information 219.12 Monitoring

3. Two Levels of Forest Plan Monitoring Unit Level (Shoshone NF) Broader Scale (Greater Yellowstone Area)

4. Primarily made up of monitoring questions and associated indicators • Based on Plan components (desired conditions, objectives, standards, guidelines & land suitability) • Questions are designed to: • Test assumptions • Track changes • Measure management effectiveness inachieving or maintaining desired conditions or objectives 219.12 (a) Unit Level Monitoring Program

5. Status of select watershed conditions Status of select ecological conditions (terrestrial & aquatic) Status of focal species (related to 219.9 Diversity) Status of ecological conditions (see 219.9) related to T&E, candidate, and conservation concern species Program must have at least one question that addresses each of these areas:

6. Status of visitor use, satisfaction & meeting recreation objectives Changes due to climate change and other stressors Progress toward meeting DC’s & objectives (including multiple-use opportunities) Effects of mgmt systems on land productivity Required Monitoring questions (cont’d)

7. Developed by Regional Forester • Address plan monitoring questions best answered at a scale broader than one plan area • Coordinated with R&D, S&PF, partners, and public • May include multiple regions • Must be financially and technically feasible • Must complement other ongoing monitoring efforts 219.12 (b)Broader-Scale Monitoring Strategies

8. Forest Plans developed under prior rules must update the monitoring program to comply with new rule within 4 years • RF’s must develop broader-scale strategies ASAP • Both monitoring levels must take into account: • existing inventory, monitoring and research programs • opportunities for multi-party monitoring • Opportunities to work together with Indian tribes 219.12 (c) Timing and process

9. Include information from both unit and broad scale monitoring Must be documented in a written report available to public First evaluation must be done within 2 years following plan approval or adoption of updated monitoring program Must include decision on need to change the Plan, mgmt activities or monitoring program 219.12 (d) Biennial Monitoring Evaluations

10. Developing meaningful monitoring questions and indicators Assessing progress toward achieving desired conditions Integrating unit monitoring with broad scale monitoring Assessing all required monitoring areas to various degrees Establishing and conducting broad scale assessments Incorporating monitoring needs of multiple Regions Providing opportunities for multi-party monitoring Engaging the public and other government entities Identifying trends for use in biennial evaluations Where Will DATIM Help?

11. Help Forests and Regions improve monitoring designs and data analyses by providing nationally consistent tools Help Forests to better document their monitoring needs Increase the ability of the Agency to inform decisions and adaptively manage resources based on statistically sound information Help “Old Rule” Forests develop new monitoring programs (4 year requirement) Where Will DATIM Help (con’t)