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All Condition InventoriesAll Condition Inventories

Renate BushNFS – R1Inventory and Analysis Specialist

Should FIA Measure Vegetation on All Lands?

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All Condition InventoryAll Condition Inventory

• Current Status:– There is no coordinated effort specifically

designed to inventory, monitor, or assess all conditions at the national level

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National Forest Systems National Forest Systems current conditioncurrent condition

• Region 1: All R1 lands in Montana, N. Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota

• Region 4: 2 National Forests

• Region 5: All R5 lands in California

• Region 6: All R6 lands in Oregon and Washington

• R8, R9, and R10 are considering

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National Forest Systems National Forest Systems current conditioncurrent condition

• No national core optional protocols available

• Each NFS Region has worked with their FIA Region to develop protocols (R1 and R4 with IW-FIA, R5 and R6 with PNW-FIA)

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How is NFS using information How is NFS using information on all lands?on all lands?

• Develop a set of desired conditions for land management planning (LMP)– Develop associated monitoring plans

• Use broad-level current and desired conditions to set the context for management actions

• Assess the current condition of an ecosystem and trends over time– Support adaptive management strategies

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Sustainable Rangeland Roundtable (SRR) • Collaborative partnership established to assess rangeland

sustainability• Comprised of over 50 organizations including conservation

associations; land trusts; tribal, federal and state agencies; universities; and corporate and private landowners

• Developed a set of social, economic and ecological indicators for assessing rangeland sustainability

What is FIA doing?What is FIA doing?

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What is FIA doing?What is FIA doing?

• In May 2005, SRR asked the federal agencies participating in the Roundtable – to develop a proposal for incorporating the

SRR indicators into their ongoing assessment activities and

– to develop a strategic level inventory of the nations rangelands

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Multi-agency Rangeland PilotMulti-agency Rangeland Pilot• Federal agencies

BLM, NRCS, USFS• Utilize existing inventory programs

The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) USFS

The National Resources Inventory (NRI) NRCS• 5 indicators

Bare ground

Species composition

Invasive plants

Amount of “Rangeland”; Changes in Use (over time)

Fragmentation

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Expected OutcomesExpected Outcomesfor Pilotfor Pilot

• Proof of concept that the FIA and NRI inventories can be combined for range indicators.

• Estimates of four indicators– for entire pilot area, across all ownerships– for BLM lands within the pilot area

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• Planning: October 2006 - April 2007• Data collection: May – October 2007• Analyze data and report results – May 2008• Internal review of report – May 2008• External review of report – December 2008 • Showed that given proper planning and extensive

coordination FIA and NRI inventories can be combined.• Next steps are currently under consideration

Oregon Multi-agency Rangeland Pilot

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In closingIn closing

• There is a need to have information on all lands

• In some areas, may be efficient to extend FIA collection