Part 8: Getting Started: Designating Study Locations, Photography, and Precipitation

Introduction

You are now ready to start range monitoring. Once you have chosen your study areas, you will need to carefully mark them and assign descriptors for identification and location. This is critically important so in the future, monitoring can be completed on the same sites year after year by anyone. It is frustrating for monitoring personnel to have difficulty finding study sites. In addition, a major feature of trend monitoring is to evaluate the same sites year after year. Having well marked and clearly defined study sites makes this possible.

Next, you will learn about a feature that should be part of every monitoring program – photography. Regardless of the level of monitoring you have chosen to conduct on your ranch (minimal, recommended, or comprehensive), you should always establish a good photographic record of key areas, critical areas, and comparison areas. For some, photography may be the extent of their monitoring program. In assessing management decisions, and for future generations, photos of your ranch will be invaluable.

Every monitoring program also needs to include some measure and record of precipitation. This information is critical when interpreting monitoring data since the amount and prevalence of vegetation is quite dependent on the amount and timing of rain and snow.