Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership (PNAMP) Integrated Status and Trend Monitoring (ISTM) Workgroup: Developing Tools to Assist in the Regional Development and Coordination of Large-Scale Aquatic Monitoring Programs

Each year millions of dollars are spent in the Pacific Northwest to monitor the status and trend of anadromous salmonids and the ecosystems that support them.  While the need for this information is increasing, funding is generally limited and declining.  One potential way to provide better information on the health of Pacific Northwest salmonid populations and their habitat is for regional monitoring entities to work together to develop more coordinated, efficient, and effective monitoring programs.  By taking advantage of lessons learned from past monitoring efforts and applying well-coordinated monitoring approaches, technical and fiscal resources can be more effectively used across the region. A more coordinated regional monitoring approach will also assist in data sharing, enabling analyses with increased scientific rigor.  The Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership’s (PNAMP) Integrated Status and Trend Monitoring (ISTM) project is intended to assist PNAMP’s participating members in developing strategic action plans for monitoring in the bi-state Lower Columbia River project demonstration area, as well as to demonstrate the general approach to developing such plans for other areas in the Pacific Northwest.  Key features of this effort are improved understanding of the extent and qualities of existing salmon and habitat monitoring programs, key gaps, and how a region-wide “master sample” concept can be applied to select sampling locations where appropriate. Generic objectives in the ISTM project for both habitat and fish are: 1) Identify decisions, questions, and monitoring objectives; 2) Review existing programs and designs and identify gaps; 3) Identify monitoring designs, sampling frames, protocols, and analytical tools; 4) Use trade-off analyses to develop recommendations for monitoring; 5) Recommend implementation and reporting mechanisms.