HOW WILL THIS MONITORING PROTOCOL BE IMPLEMENTED?
An implementation plan has been developed (see link below) and is based on the following ideas:
- Ensure that this monitoring does not become an unfunded mandate that detracts from local stewardship efforts by providing funding for local staff while they work on this monitoring. For example, IMPROVE air monitoring and the National Visitor Use Monitoring provide local staff funding for conducting monitoring activities.
- Centralize certain roles to improve cost-efficiency and reduce local workload. For example, it is not cost- or workload-efficient to have local staff for each of the 407 National Forest System wildernesses spend time acquiring nationally available data when a single person can access these data and make them available within the Infra-WILD Wilderness Character Module for use in this monitoring.
- Monitor 20% of the 407 wildernesses per year (grouped functionally to improve work efficiency) to reduce the overall impact on the wilderness program yet still keep this monitoring visible.
- Develop efficient online training materials, task-oriented online help, and develop courses that can be given at regional training academies.
- Implement a well-designed change management program to continually review, improve, and update this monitoring.
- Ensure that communication materials are well developed that allow all users (from line officers to local staff) ready access to the information they need about this monitoring program.
For more information, please see the following:
Wilderness Character Monitoring:
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