Monitoring
Each national forest and grassland are governed by a management plan in accordance with the National Forest Management Act (NFMA). These plans set management, protection and use goals and guidelines. Monitoring conditions on a forest or grassland ensures projects are done in accordance with plan direction and determines effects that might require a change in management.
Monitoring and Evaluation Reports
- 2020-2021 Forest Plan Monitoring and Evaluation Report Public Letter
- 2020-2021 Monitoring and Evaluation Report
- 2018-2019 Monitoring and Evaluation Report
Monitoring and evaluation reports help the Superior to determine how well the Land and Resource Management Plan (2004 Forest Plan) is working. We monitor with three broad categories and to answer the following basic questions:
- Implementation Monitoring - Did we do what we said we were going to do? This question answers how well the direction in the Forest Plan is being implemented. Collected information is compared to objectives, standards, guidelines, and management area direction.
- Effectiveness Monitoring - Did it work how we said it would? This question answers whether the application of standards and guidelines is achieving objectives, and whether objectives are achieving goals.
- Validation Monitoring - Is our understanding and science, correct? This question answers whether the assumptions and predicted effects used to formulate the goals and objectives are accurate.
The 2004 Forest Plan, Chapter IV, Monitoring and Evaluation, provides programmatic direction for monitoring and evaluating Forest Plan implementation. It defines the over-arching, strategic questions that must be addressed by the Forest Service through monitoring, including broad timetables and schedules for analysis and reporting.
The monitoring and evaluation process enables the Forest Service to assess its effectiveness in moving toward stated management goals and desired conditions.
Archived monitoring and evaluation reports are available on request.