Step 5: Monitor and evaluate effectiveness of implemented actions

Monitoring is critical for understanding if management actions are effective over time or if management should be altered in the future to account for new information. The final step of the Adaptation Workbook is to identify monitoring items that may be used to answer these kinds of questions.

The outcome of this step is a list of items that can be monitored over time. Try to think of at least one monitoring item for each of your management objectives. You should especially consider monitoring items that will help judge the effectiveness of your recommended adaptation tactics.

Time and resources can often limit monitoring efforts, so focus on creating a monitoring plan that is realistic and feasible. 

For example:

If you are managing a beef pasture and one objective is to maintain the reliability of the forage supply, you may want to monitor items forage quality and production by recording the number of days of feeding livestock use hay in the winter and the weight gain of calves during this time. 

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