Type: report

Article abstract: The MSCP identifies two primary biological goals: conserving diversity and function of the ecosystem, and conserving populations of specific species. The MSCP Plan and the BMP also identify specific objectives for the monitoring program, including the documentation of ecological trends and evaluation of the effectiveness of management activities. The goals and objectives of the MSCP and its monitoring plan provide a good foundation, but their effectiveness would improve if conservation targets and triggers for management were created, based on the best available data. The implementation of the MSCP biological monitoring plan has been partially successful, as baseline surveys have been conducted for many MSCP parcels and for a variety of covered species. Studies have been commissioned on a diverse array of topics. However, the protocols described in the original BMP have not been adopted by most jurisdictions or agencies. An important exception is the City of San Diego?s rare plant monitoring program and their additional surveys and studies on other monitoring issues. The County has surveyed many of their lands and contracted out studies on several important issues. The primary wildlife agencies USGS, USFWS, and CDFG have also surveyed MSCP lands and studied relevant questions. Some important aspects of the monitoring program must be improved for the plan to be successful. Important areas to improve include the lack of: (1) a central repository of spatial and non-spatial data and MSCP-related documents; (2) updated and scientifically-defensible monitoring priorities; (3) management-oriented conceptual models; (4) data analysis and synthesis capacity; and (5) feedback between decision-makers and land managers.