Guidelines
Types of
Monitoring: Three general categories of salmon conservation monitoring are
often identified. They are: (1) Implementation monitoring (determines if standards and
guidelines were followed, (2) Effectiveness monitoring (evaluates if application of the
management plan achieved the desired goals), and (3) Validation monitoring (determines if
a cause and effect relationship exists between management activities and indicators or the
resource being managed.)
We urge the panel to focus on the
aspects of monitoring that can reveal the degree to which measures achieve the stated
management goals, especially in terms of salmon abundance.
Management Goals:
Strive to avoid debating the merits of
various salmon management goals. Examples of goals frequently cited are: (1) compliance
with the Endangered Species Act (achieving viable populations of species through time,
usually 100 years, in natural habitats0, (2) viable populations in abundance adequate for
continued harvest by tribal and non-tribal fishers, and (3) viable populations that
contribute historical levels of marine derived nutrients to riparian and upland forest
ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest. Different management goals will undoubtedly be
identified in the future.
The panel should focus on elements
of monitoring plans that could be applied to any salmon abundance based management goal.
Politics
and Policy: It may be impossible to completely separate sociological, political
and policy issues from monitoring plan development. Indeed, the actual achievement of any
monitoring plan will depends upon a successful political and policy making process.
However, to the extent possible, the panel should focus on the scientific design and
feasibility of monitoring plans.
Considerations
of Scale: The spatial scale of this project encompasses salmon conservation in
the Pacific Northwest Region. Within that context, the vast commons of the ocean or the
more discrete confines of a single watershed may be important.
The temporal scale of this project
should respond to likely time frames of salmon conservation plan commitments. These are
typically 100 years or longer. It may require many years of sampling to achieve
statistically valid data. So be it. If a scientifically sound validation monitoring plan
requires this temporal scale, it should be stated.
