Restoration Initiatives

Monitoring and Adaptive Management

Using foundational information collected in the baseline assessment, we are in the process of developing a monitoring and adaptive management plan for the entire Kane and Two Mile Ranches landscape. This plan will allow us to track progress toward our restoration goals and objectives that have been outlined in our restoration plan and will identify triggers for management action. In brief, we will be revisiting baseline assessment plots on intervals ranging from 3 years to 10 years (depending on vegetation type and expected rate of change) to assess change in vegetation and ground cover characteristics at landscape scales over time. At the project level, we intend to continue monitoring effects of restoration efforts at project implementation scales. Finally, we will continue monitoring livestock effects across the ranches strategically, measuring utilization on a monthly basis in areas of concern (around water sources, for example), revisiting long-term plots on a 2-3 year interval, and visiting exclosures on a 5-year interval to assess multi-decadal impacts of livestock grazing.

Monitoring and adaptive management will be critical to our success. We are committed to continually evaluating successes, failures, and lessons learned in a formal, transparent, and scientifically rigorous manner.  By creating and committing to an adaptive management program, we will increase our chances of on-the-ground success, as well as generate models for efficient, scientifically sound land management that can inform similar efforts across the Colorado Plateau and beyond.

To date, we have incorporated monitoring into 4 specific projects. Please click on the links to the right to learn more about these!