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The
Riparian Area Management Plan - Limitations
of photo-monitoring
While many people
begin with photo-monitoring, it is best to have other monitoring
techniques in place, since photographs alone may not provide sufficient
information to tell if you are moving toward or have met your objectives.
Because it shows general vegetative cover, photo-monitoring reflects
growing conditions at the time photos were taken.
Moreover, if
your goals include specific quantifiable objectives--for example,
a 10 percent reduction in bare ground--such distinctions may not
be possible with the photo-monitoring method described above. For
information about more detailed monitoring procedures, contact your
Extension agent or NRCS office.
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Figure
4-16
Healthy stock reservoirs can provide critical resources
for livestock and wildlife alike. |
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Observation
does not have to be formal to be useful. All of us, in fact, observe
what is happening around us every day. Every time we're out and
about, we notice things about the land or the livestock. Many times
we rely on memory to retain these observations.
More effective
than elusive memory is some method for recording these observations.
Some ranchers carry a small notebook to jot down observations as
well as to record thoughts that come to them throughout the day,
(i.e., Observed four of the neighbor's bulls in the riparian pasture
after my cattle were removed).
A particularly
handy device is a small micro-cassette, PDA, or Palm Pilot that
can be carried in a pocket or in the pickup.
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