Table 2. Type of ecological monitoring or assessment, ecological learning, and application of monitoring results for 18 collaborative or community-based monitoring projects conducted by five community-based forestry organizations in the western USA.

Monitoring/ Assessment Project Type of Monitoring or Assessment What was learned? How was the information used?
Alliance of Forest Harvesters and Workers
(AFHW)		 Mushroom monitoring Compliance monitoring Inventory Resource location, values, and best-management practices Improved mushroom harvest practices. Altered timber sale design in response to mushroom and picking locations.
Weed monitoring Effectiveness monitoring AFHW felt that hand-pulling was a viable option, not able to convince U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Report to USFS regarding alternatives to spraying
Jobs and Biodiversity Coalition
(JBC)		 Mill Site #1 and #2 Effectiveness monitoring
Impact monitoring		 Desired basal area achieved using JBC methods; little change in understory or soils Reports to USFS and Collaborative Forest Restoration Program (CFRP); Used to design other thinning and monitoring projects.
Public Lands Partnership
(PLP)		 Uncompahgre Plateau Project Watershed Assessment and Monitoring Ecological assessment Effectiveness monitoring Roller-chopping treatments associated with increased non-native invasive cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) instead of restored native community Assessment used to design habitat restoration treatments; monitoring used to modify design of future treatments
Burn Canyon Monitoring Effectiveness monitoring Little difference between logged and unlogged plots. Non-native invasive cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) more abundant in logged areas. May inform design of future monitoring projects and influence treatment of invasive plants.
Wallowa Resources
(WR)		 Upper Joseph Creek Watershed Assessment Ecological assessment Lessons learned both about ecosystem conditions and function, and about the process of collaboration Used to prioritize projects for funding and implementation
Aspen and Landbird Habitat Monitoring Effectiveness monitoring Fencing to exclude herbivores works, wildlife exclusion most effective, some fences harm birds Demonstration led to increased landowner participation in fencing for aspen regeneration and bird habitat improvement.
Haypen Project Effectiveness monitoring Stand could have been subjected to more harvest. Ground vegetation did not benefit as much as it could have. Learning influenced subsequent work on Upper Joseph Creek Assessment
Buck Stewardship Project Compliance and effectiveness monitoring Soil compaction was lower on logged sites (no negative impacts of logging). Results reassured environmentalists that thinning did not harm soils.
Wallowa Lake WUI Project Compliance monitoring
Impact monitoring 		Fuel reduction techniques; visual acceptability of thinning project. Built contracting capacity; public education regarding aesthetics of fuel reduction; need to widen buffer to avoid effects from fires higher on mountain
Weed Monitoring Weed inventory effectiveness monitoring
Research		 Effectiveness of different herbicide types, application timing and rates; Effectiveness of bug releases Recommendations to citizens and agencies on herbicide use and biocontrol. Determine when new bug release needed.
Lynx Survey Inventory No lynx found Information used by the USFS in project planning and analysis.
Eagle Survey Inventory Population status and habitat use Oregon Dept. of Fish and Game reports
Grouse Survey Inventory Population status and habitat use Oregon Dept. of Fish and Game reports
Watershed Research and Training Center
(WRTC)		 Stewardship Training Team Inventories Inventory and assessment of species and habitats Status and location of target species and habitats Pre-NEPA planning and project design by agencies and WRTC
Chopsticks Monitoring Effectiveness monitoring Piling and burning slash causes more damage to soils than other treatments or yarder Used in design of subsequent thinning projects
Non-Timber Forest Products Assessment and Harvest Research Inventory and research Broader location and abundance, and fewer harvest impacts on medicinal plants than expected Used to develop best practices guidelines for harvesting
Post Mountain Stewardship Collaborative Monitoring Effectiveness monitoring Monitoring system informed planning and challenged assumptions Too soon to tell (project still in progress)