Measuring Progress:
Ecological Evaluation Resources

Topics Covered:

Sources for choosing ecological and sustainability indicators

General ecological resources

Ecosystem-specific sources for evaluation

Sources for choosing ecological and sustainability indicators

Ecological Indicators - website and journal

Ecological Principles for Managing Land Use - Ecological Society of America's Committee on Land Use. Provides guidelines for land use and management decisions that incorporate key ecological principles, including issues of time, species, place, disturbance, and the landscape.

Status and Trends of the Nation’s Biological Resources - US Geological Survey

Compendium of sustainability indicator initiatives - the International Institute for Sustainable Development

framework of indicators of ecological condition- EPA Scientific Advisory Board

Evaluation Guidelines for Ecological Indicators - EPA

Handbook for Monitoring Vital Signs in National Parks- National Park Service

Environmental Indicators Initiative- Minnisota Department of Natural Resources

The California Biodiversity Project: Selection and Use of Biodiversity Indicators - Christopher B. Cogan, University California, Santa Cruz

The State Of Natural And Cultural Resources In The Colorado River Ecosystem -US Geological Survey

Core National Indicators- The Heinz Center.

Environmental Indicators- Environment Canada

Indicator Resources - Fraser Basin Council. Economic, social and environmental indicators.

Measuring What Matters - Northwest Environmental Watch 7 scorecard indicators.

Soil Health - Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.

Willapa Indicators for a Sustainable Community - Natural, Economic and Social indicators.

General ecological resources

Conserveonline - The Nature Conservancy. An online library of documents pertaining to conservation science and practice. This site also has discussion groups, maps and spatial data, and provides access to large repositories of conservation information housed at other organizations.

NatureServe - A network of natural heritage programs that are the leading source for information about rare and endangered species and threatened ecosystems.

Science and Management of Protected Areas Association - Information on domestic and international conferences.

Ecosystem-specific sources for evaluation

Grasslands and rangelands

Ecological goals- Northern Great Plains Living Grasslands Initiative

Interpreting indicators of rangeland health - BLM Technical reference

Forests

Applying Ecological Principles to Management of the U.S. National Forests - Ecological Society of America

North American Test of Criteria and Indicators of Sustainable Forestry- Stephen Woodley, et al. The Center for International Forestry Research.

Sustainable Forest Management Community Handbook- The Great Lakes Forest Alliance

Freshwater / Watersheds

Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program - Moreton Bay Waterways and Catchments Partnership and
CRC for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management 2003.

Biological Indicators of Watershed Health - EPA

A Framework for Analyzing the Hydrologic Condition of Watersheds - USFS and BLM

The Partnership for Ecosystem Research and Management - Michigan State University

Farmland

A Guide to the Art & Science of On-farm Monitoring