Establishing a statistically appropriate, cost-effective, and biologically meaningful monitoring program is surprisingly complex and not often achieved.  This course addresses all the diverse elements of designing and implementing a monitoring program for the conservation and management of biological resources and their habitats.  Participants will acquire a big picture conceptual framework for monitoring, which includes knowing when monitoring is needed and what defines a defensible monitoring program that supports decision making.  Participants will learn about sampling designs, the basic principles of data collection, and statistical models used to interpret long-term data, with examples that address a range of management objectives and resource decisions.  The challenge of monitoring within a management context is emphasized, with a focus on identifying clear objectives and evaluating progress toward those objectives

Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:

• Broadly define monitoring, including the distinctions between monitoring and inventory, as well as the differences between surveillance and targeted monitoring;
• Explain why and when monitoring is needed, including consideration of management objectives, identification of potential crises, comparison of different management strategies and recognition of trends and thresholds;
• List the following six steps in a monitoring program, and discuss key aspects of each:
• Definition of the objectives to be achieved;
• Design of the program, including specification of parameters to be measured and statistically defensible data collection techniques to be used;
• Implementation of the program, including samples sizes and quality control procedures for data collection and storage;
• Data analysis;
• Communication of the results; and
• Learning from the results to improve management and future monitoring.