“Nature always wears the colors of the spirit” – EMERSON “Nature always wears the colors of the spirit” – EMERSON

Designing a state-wide volunteer monitoring

program

Paul C West--August, 2003—Citizen Monitoring Conference

The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to protect the

plants, animals and habitats that represent the diversity of life on

earth by protecting the lands and waters that they need to survive.

Setting Priorities

(Ecoregional Assessments)

Conservation Action

Designing Strategies

(Conservation Project Planning)

Measuring Success

• Volunteer monitoring examples

• Use of the monitoring data

• What to monitor

• Recommendations

Outline

Nature Conservancy monitoring programs

• Inform public policy or DNR priorities?

• Guide site-specific management actions?

Use of monitoring data

Types of IndicatorsFrom Cairns (1993):

Compliance indicators

Diagnostic indicators

Early-warning indicators

Current Status & Trends

Use of monitoring data

Shrub carrTussock sedge

meadow

pH HighLow

Su

rface w

ate

r in

pu

t &

n

utr

ein

ts

Hig

hLow

Wetlands of the Mukwonago River Watershed

Calcareous fen•Fire•Seasonal water level changes

•High contribution of calcium rich groundwater•Fire•Small scale disturbance

Relict kettle bog

Emergent marsh

Cattails

•Increase nutrients/ h20 levels

•Increase H20 levels, stable H20 level•Increase nutrients

•Reduce groundwater input•Fire exclusion

•Dry out wetland•Fire exclusion

•Restore hydroperiod•Kill cattails

•Burn

•Increase h20 levels

•Dry out wetland•Fire exclusion

What to monitor?

Hig

h

Wetlands of the Mukwonago River Watershed

What to monitor?

Tussock sedgemeadow

Emergentmarsh

Calcareousfen

CattailsShrub carr

1. Develop state-wide monitoring objectives based on conceptual models and key driving factors

Recommendations

Example: Between 2005 and 2010, we want to have a 90% probability of detecting a 10% change in [water quality, invasive species] and are willing to accept a 1 in 10 chance that we’ll say that a change occurred when it really didn’t.

Key components: timescale, chance of detecting change, minimum detectable change, what to monitor chance of detecting a false change

2. Monitor both target-based and threat-based monitoring (and possibly management-based, such as voluntary BMPs).

3. Focus on limited data at greatest number of sites

reduce observer bias

use for trend analysis to guide policy and budget decisions

complement detailed monitoring at fewer places, done by DNR and others.

4. Data management structure needs to be developed prior to collecting data.

Recommendations

5. Citizen-based monitoring should complement a comprehensive monitoring program

Recommendations

Landscape metrics: Overall extent; distribution, patch size

GIS-based Public agencies, possibly NGOs

Presence/absence or abundance of species; threat indicators

Field work Citizens, NGOs, public agencies

Community-level monitoring, eg., species inventory

Field work Public agencies; possibly NGOs

What? How? Who?

Recommendations

Cairns et al. 1993. A proposed framework for developing indicators of ecosystem health. Hydrobiologia 263: 1-44.

Elzinga et al. 1998. Measuring and Monitoring Plant Populations. BLM Technical Reference 1730-1.

Parrish et al. 2003. Are we conserving what we say we are? Measuring ecological integrity within protected areas. BioScience 53:851-860.

References