118-13 Monitoring Methods: an on-Line Tool for Helping Practitioners Find the Best Techniques for Monitoring Large Rivers
To advance scientific rigor and realize improved cooperation, it is essential to have clear documentation of and ready access to the field’s protocols and methods. Monitoring Methods (www.monitoringmethods.org) is an on-line tool that allows practitioners to document protocols and methods as well as share their experiences with and insights about those protocols and methods. This product was a collaborative effort between the Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership and State of the Salmon. Software was developed by Sitka Technology Group. Monitoring Methods also allows people to document adjustments to monitoring protocols, enabling them to maintain a record of what happened over the course of a multi-year study. Because the tool is accessible for free on-line, it allows people, often from multiple organizations, to work together on developing protocols and methods. This is an important feature for those working in large river systems which often require many jurisdictions to participate in monitoring activities. By providing a place where practitioners can be transparent about their techniques, we can better understand how and why data are collected. This, in turn, can increase our ability to share data, make it possible for managers, funders, and others to identify and make use of best practices, elevate scientific discourse, and promote the adoption of standards in the monitoring and evaluation of fish populations and aquatic habitats.