Type: workshop summary

Article abstract: The goal of this report is to summarize the results from a structured workshop (modeled after a Dahlem conference) focused on identifying ways to improve monitoring and management of regional conservation plans in San Diego County. This report summarizes the collaborative efforts of a diverse group of stakeholders who participated in this workshop. The structure of the workshop was designed to identify areas of consensus, discuss areas of disagreement, and to prioritize next steps that will ultimately lead to improved monitoring and management of Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP) lands. This report is intended to be a working document that will inform and improve monitoring and management efforts. It is our hope that the report will be of use to a wide range of readers. The foreword written by Susan Wynn (Biologist, USFWS) describes the history of implementation of the monitoring and management efforts following the adoption of the MSCP in 1998. During the initial years of implementation, it became apparent that the data collected using the Biological Monitoring Plan (BMP, Ogden 1996) protocols would not answer many of the key questions associated with the performance of the preserve system. As a result, the MSCP stakeholders (Wildlife Agencies, permittees and other interested parties) began to develop and refine new approaches to monitoring and adaptive management. A series of reports were written by a variety of experts with each document building on the previous documents. The key points of these documents included: (1) the need to connect monitoring data to management at the preserve level and the region; (2) the benefit of using conceptual models that related stressors and threats to key species and communities for focusing monitoring and management efforts; (3) the need to improve the utility of monitoring protocols so that they can inform management actions; (4) the need to prioritize funding for monitoring and management; and (5) the need to develop, test, and refine monitoring protocols as an ongoing process. Wynn concludes that the stakeholders generally agree with the conclusions found in these reports; however there is no consensus on how to implement these recommendations. The Dahlem conference provided a forum to discuss these topics and strategize on next steps for the management and monitoring of the regional plans in San Diego County. Implementation of a cost-effective and rigorous monitoring and managem