Tongass National Forest Plan Maintenance Program

Monitoring Program

Biodiversity Ecosystem

Forest Plan Objectives and Monitoring Plan Questions

The following objectives, monitoring questions, evaluation criteria, and adaptive feedback mechanisms are identified in Table 6-1 of the 2008 Forest Plan.

Objective

Forest biodiversity will be monitored with two coarse-filter approaches. The first assesses the spatial distribution and composition of old-growth reserves and the cumulative harvest of old-growth timber by biogeographic province. The second examines emerging information concerning conservation of plant and animal species on the Forest. We will also monitor biodiversity at the finer scale and look at selected species as well as implementation of standards and guidelines (i.e., Legacy Standards and Guidelines).

Monitoring Plan Question

1. Is the old-growth habitat protected under the Forest Plan being maintained to support viable and well distributed populations of old-growth associated species and subspecies?

2. Are the effects of biodiversity shown through the cumulative change in old-growth by biogeographic province consistent with the estimates of the Forest Plan (change could includes effects of timber harvest, land exchanges or conveyance, windthrow, insect and disease, climatic change, etc)?

3. Is old growth structure retained in the matrix adequate and is it representative of old growth types across VCUs and across the Forest?

4. What are the cumulative effects of changes to habitats that sustain rare plants?

Sampling/Reporting Period

Annual/5 Year

Evaluation Criteria

1. Changes in the system of large, medium and small habitat reserves and non-development LUDs WILD1 II.B.

2. Changes in the amount of old growth in relations to finer scale classification (i.e., plant associations) at appropriate scales: WILD1 II.B.

3. Amount and effectiveness of retained old-growth structure, including legacy and other retained patches, within managed landscapes.

4. Habitat changes for threatened, endangered, and sensitive taxa: WILD4, FISH5, and PLA1.

Data and Inventory Sources

Silviculture inventory; wildlife inventory, Forest GIS layers

Feed Back Mechanism

Evaluate management practices and change, if needed; Timber Standards and Guidelines; Wildlife Standards and Guidelines

Inventory and Monitoring Data and Reports

This section is a location where resource-specific inventory and monitoring data and reports can be stored and made available for review by Forest Service and other participating agencies, as well as interested members of the public.

Procedures and Tools

The Procedures and Tools subsection of this web site provides information on important procedures and tools used in Forest Plan implementation. These procedures and tools are provided on this web site to help ensure that they are applied in an accurate and consistent manner.