Core Monitoring Plan

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This document describes a general plan and framework for the development of a core monitoring program for the GCDAMP during federal fiscal years 2011 through 2015. Detailed core monitoring plans with explicit methodologies for each resource category will be developed as outlined in this plan over the next several years. The proposed process is consistent with the strategies and objectives described in the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center’s (GCMRC) Strategic Science Plan (U.S. Geological Survey, 2007a) and Monitoring and Research Plan (U.S. Geological Survey, 2007b), and the GCDAMP Strategic Plan as amended by the Adaptive Management Work Group at their August 2003 meeting (AMWG written comm., 2003, hereafter cited as GCDAMP, 2003). Monitoring is a fundamental requirement of the adaptive management process (Walters, 1986; Walters and Holling, 1990). The Department of the Interior (DOI) Adaptive Management Technical Guide (Williams and others, 2007) identifies four primary purposes for monitoring within an adaptive management program: 1. To evaluate progress towards achieving management objectives 2. To determine resource status in order to identify appropriate management action 3. To increase understanding of resource dynamics via the comparison of predictions against field observations 4. To enhance and develop models of resource dynamics as needed In 1995, the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC) was created to fulfill the mandate in the 1992 Grand Canyon Protection Act for the establishment and implementation of a long-term monitoring and research program to ensure that Glen Canyon Dam is operated in a manner that protects the values for which the Grand Canyon National Park and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area were created. Since its inception, many of the GCMRC activities have focused on continuing certain monitoring tasks previously established under the Glen Canyon Environmental Studies program (termed here as “Legacy” monitoring), conducting field experiments, and developing technologies in support of development of a core monitoring program. Implementation of a long-term core monitoring program will require a significant commitment of qualified personnel to ensure that the program is implemented in a sustainable and timely manner. With a few exceptions, much of the data collection is proposed to be performed by cooperating agencies and contractors as discussed below; however, some monitoring, such as quality of water and sediment monitoring that has historically been part of the USGS mission, is proposed to continue internal to the GCMRC and the Water Resources Discipline within USGS.

GCDAMP Strategic Plan The GCDAMP Strategic Plan (AMPSP) is a long-term plan drafted in August 2001 by GCDAMP and GCMRC participants that identifies the AMWG’s vision, mission, principles, goals, management objectives, information needs, and management actions.	Strategic Science Plan The GCMRC Strategic Science Plan (SSP) identifies general strategies for the next 5 years to provide science information responsive to the goals, management objectives, and priority questions as described in the AMPSP and other planning direction approved by the AMWG.	Core Monitoring Plan The GCMRC Core Monitoring Plan (CMP) describes the consistent, long-term, repeated measurements using scientifically accepted protocols to measure status and trends of key resources to answer specific questions. Core monitoring is implemented on a fixed schedule regardless of budget or other circumstances (for example, water year, experimental flows, temperature control, stocking strategy, nonnative control, etc.) affecting target resources.	Monitoring and Research Plan The GCMRC Monitoring and Research Plan (MRP) specifies (1) core monitoring activities, (2) research and development activities, and (3) long-term experimental activities consistent with the strategies and priorities established in this SSP to be conducted over the next 5 years to address some of the strategic science questions associated with AMWG priority questions.	Triennial Work Plan (TWP) The GCMRC Triennial Work Plan (TWP) identifies the scope, objectives, and budget for monitoring and research activities planned for a 3-year period. When completed, the triennial work plan will be consistent with the MRP.

Monitoring and Research Plan The Monitoring and Research Plan (MRP) describes a four-step process for defining and refining core monitoring projects associated with various GCDAMP goals and key resources based on the best currently available information. As described in the MRP, the four steps are: develop a general core monitoring plan (this document), conduct information needs workshops with the Technical Work Group (TWG) in advance of convening independent protocol evaluation panel (PEP) reviews, conduct PEP reviews for each resource goal, and prepare final core monitoring program reports for each resource goal. This is then followed by review and approval by TWG and AMWG. Projects approved by the TWG for core-monitoring status will receive first consideration for funding each year and will not undergo the same annual competitive review as other projects. However, the projects will be reviewed during the development of the biennial work plan to incorporate new findings and monitoring techniques to improve their effectiveness. A more comprehensive review will be conducted at 5-year intervals. The focus of the evaluation process described above will be to evaluate for core monitoring status green projects that have undergone a PEP evaluation, have been piloted and the results peer reviewed, and have been implemented for one or more years using methods that are deemed to be adequate for long-term monitoring. Projects in this category and their anticipated review schedule include: Downstream surface-water parameters (discharge, stage measurements) and water-quality parameters related to sediment (e.g., suspended-sediment transport measurements and modeling) (FY2007) Status of Lees Ferry rainbow trout (RBT) (FY2007) Status of HBC in the Little Colorado River (LCR) (to be reviewed by a PEP using data on the Colorado River population) (FY2008) In addition, several monitoring projects that have undergone a PEP review have subsequently undergone a period of research and development or pilot testing and are now ready for a second PEP review before being implemented as part of the long-term core-monitoring plan. Other projects, such as food base and cultural resource studies, have only recently started their multiyear research and development phase. These projects will be brought forward for review over the course of the next 5 years with the goal of having a fully developed core monitoring program in place by FY2011. The proposed schedule of projects for review is as follows: Sand storage monitoring (FY2007) Terrestrial ecosystem monitoring (TEM) (FY2007) Status of HBC in the mainstem of the Colorado River (to be reviewed through PEP with LCR population) (FY2008) Integrated quality-of-water (IQW) monitoring (Lake Powell and downstream parameters, including specific conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and temperature) (FY2009) Kanab ambersnail (KAS) habitat and population monitoring (FY2009) Camping beach monitoring (FY2009) Cultural site monitoring (archaeological, traditional cultural properties [TCPs]) (FY2010) Aquatic food base monitoring (FY2010–11)

Documents and Links 2011 Core Monitoring Plan 2012 Desired Future Conditions PEP reviews Science Questions and Information Needs 2012 Core Research Questions 2005 Core Monitoring Information Needs Research Information Needs Strategic Science Questions Science Advisors Information Needs 2004 GCDAMP Goals & Priority Questions Papers and Presentations ADHOC Groups SCAHG ---- Steering Committee Ad-Hoc Group CMAHG ---- Core Monitoring Ad-Hoc Group AHCIO ---- Ad-Hoc Committee on What's In and Out of the Strategic Plan