Introduction Overview Role of Analysis Inventory & Monitoring Types of Monitoring Components of a Plan Setting Up a Plan Monitoring Methods What Worked? Glossary & References Contributors Links Forms & Tools

Components of a Monitoring Plan for Road Decommissionining Complete draft (*.pdf) The following steps (adapted from Kershner, 1997) will help the interdisciplinary team to establish an effective monitoring plan for road decommissioning: Obtain management and leadership support for the monitoring. Monitoring dollars will always be limited as will available resources to conduct the monitoring. Without continued leadership support even the best designed monitoring plan can falter. Ensure that monitoring results are directly tied to management decisionmaking and goals. Some linkages can be identified from scoping questions in NEPA analysis. What are the commonly asked questions that management is challenged on regarding road decommissioning? Will the monitoring effort provide information that is critical for policymaking and reporting to the public? Can the monitoring be responsive to management’s timeframe? Define the participants in developing and implementing the monitoring plan. This should be an interdisciplinary team that jointly develops the monitoring goals and objectives. Ensure that the team has the technical expertise to set protocols, collect the data, and analyze the data. Determine overall goal or goals for road decommissioning monitoring. This may come from findings in the Roads and Watershed analysis, LRMP goals, or Aquatic Conservation Strategy. The following are example goal statements from the Aquatic Conservation Strategy (REF) Maintain and restore the physical integrity of the aquatic system including shorelines, banks, and bottom configurations. Maintain and restore the sediment regime under which aquatic ecosystems evolved. Elements of the sediment regime include the timing, volume, rate, and character of sediment input, storage, and transport. Maintain and restore the habitat to support well distributed populations of native plant, invertebrate, and vertebrate riparian-dependent species. These goal statements are broad and general. Too often the interdisciplinary team wants to further define the goals, but be patient in this step and look at the ecosystem from the broad scale. Select objectives that address the goal(s). A well written objective statement provides a clear picture of the outcome expected. It should be specific, concise, and most importantly, observable or measurable. Objectives can also be time specific statements of measurable planned results that respond to pre-established goals that can be found in the watershed analysis, roads analysis, or Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP) for the forest. If the team can not find specific measurable objectives, refer to indicators of “healthy” systems and use these for objectives. Select monitoring objectives that are the best indicators of change and measure them in the appropriate areas that are responsive to change. (Kershner) Design monitoring to detect change to (a) distinguish treatment effects from other variations, and (b) take replicate samples over space and time. Consider the geographic extent of your road decommissioning and watershed restoration plan and minimize the variability from site to site by selecting areas of similar size, geology, morphology, stream discharge, and other characteristics that may be important or unique to that site. Pretreatment inventory data is useful as a benchmark of condition prior to restoration. Prioritize monitoring activities. Identify what needs to be done and the sequence in completing that work. Consider time frames from monitoring relative to when change is expected. For example to evaluate cover effectiveness may be conducted the first year if a mulch or seed mix is a component of the treatment. To monitor the type of cover with regard to vegetation composition and species dominance may require sustained monitoring over several years to capture the change. To evaluate riparian vegetation at a road decommissioning site may require a less intensive monitoring over a longer duration to capture the change in community composition and spatial arrangement. Implement field prescriptions and techniques. There are five treatment levels for road decommissioning identified in the FSM 7712.11. Depending on the specific site a combination of the treatments may be implemented. The monitoring conducted and the treatment type are linked so effectiveness comparisons can be made. Analyze data and report results. Monitoring that sits in a binder will not be used. Complete an annual report on the monitoring results and present the findings to the district and/or forest leadership team. Better yet, share the team’s findings during field trips with the leadership team or local conservancy groups. Remember it is as important to learn from both the successes and failures. Adapt goals and objectives based on new information. “Whether monitoring demonstrates success or failure of outcome predictions, what is learned from monitoring will illuminate analysis and decisionmaking in the future.” (FS -643 1999)

Review The previous section provided a framework for organizing a road decommissioning monitoring program. The interdisciplinary team can use information from the watershed analysis and roads analysis to identify watershed restoration goals and objectives. Once restoration goals and objectives are identified, the team can select road decommissioning treatments that meet the objectives. The monitoring plan is the critical feedback mechanism that answers the interdisciplinary team’s questions on both the implementation and effectiveness of treatments selected. The interdisciplinary team should receive both guidance and feedback from management on the monitoring plan questions, activities, resources, and timeframes. The interdisciplinary team needs to have the skills for the design, analysis, and interpretation of the results and report findings to management and the public annually.