Forest Plan Maintenance Program

Monitoring Program

Prioritization Process

The 2008 Forest Plan outlines a framework for identifying high priority information needs and updating them through time. The basic steps in the framework process are as follows:

1. Determine the most important environmental, social, and economic stressors, factors, or information gaps for each resource.
2. For each resource, define the crucial question or questions facing that resource tied to the goals and objectives of the Forest Plan.
3. Prioritize information needs based on:
   1. Degree of risk;
   2. Degree of uncertainty;
   3. Extent of knowledge need;
   4. Role in ongoing program; and
   5. Likelihood of success.
4. Determine:
   1. General approach (inventory, monitor, research study, white paper, integrated analysis);
   2. Cost and potential availability of funds;
   3. Who potentially could pursue relative to various partner agencies, private interested parties, and groups within the Forest Service; and
   4. Timeframe for addressing.
5. Use the prioritized list as input to the funding allocation process and interagency prioritization.
6. Schedule review of policy/practice when new results are available.
7. Periodically validate steps 1 and 2 and repeat steps 3 through 7.

Forest Service and other participating agency personnel are encouraged to enter information needs in the information needs form.