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The
Riparian Area Management Plan - Step
1: Set Goals
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Figure
4-3
The health and productivity of this riparian area
are direct results of specific management choices. |
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Having
clear goals and objectives is the very heart of the planning
process. Goals provide purpose and focus. They are the benchmarks
with which to determine the value of specific activities.
They provide the basis for asking a fundamental question of
planning: "How will this action, expenditure, or effort
contribute to reaching our goal?"
Goals
can be general. For example, one goal might be "healthy
riparian areas." Often, however, more specific goals
are necessary to provide a measure of accomplishment. Since
woody species often contribute to healthy riparian areas,
a more specific goal might be "to increase the number
of young willows." The more specific the goal, the more
easily it can be measured. Thus, a more complete statement
of the previous goal would be "to increase young willows
along Cottonwood Creek in the Goose Pasture by 10 percent
over the next five years." |
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Figure
4-4
Managing with an eye to riparian conditions maintains
this woody community along a stream in northern
Montana. |
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When setting
goals, you should consider both long-term and short-term objectives.
Long-term goals will provide a sense of directiona road map,
if you will. Short-term goals will provide information on
how well you are moving in the direction you want to gowhether
you are on the right road and how far along it you are. "Healthy
riparian areas" is a long-term goal, while "10 percent
over five years" is a short-term goal.
The WIRE
(Western Integrated Resource Education) program has adopted
a handy acronym that provides useful guidance for goal-setting.
To be effective, goals must be SMART: |
- Specific:
Goals must be definite and precise as well as descriptive
of actions necessary to attain them.
- Measurable:
Defined goals must be easily measured so they can provide
a benchmark against which to assess performance and to determine
when a goal has been reached.
- Attainable:
Selected goals must be realistic and within the capabilities
of the operation and the conditions present at the site.
- Related:
Goals must not be determined or defined without
considering their relationship to other goals as well as
existing limitations. For example, riparian goals must not
conflict with other ranch management goals.
- Tractable:
Finally, goals must be manageable; that is, they must be
based on resources and conditions over which the operator
has at least some control.
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