MonitoringResources.org—Supporting Coordinated and 

Cost-Effective Natural Resource Monitoring Across Organizations

Natural resource managers who oversee the 

Nation’s resources require data to support 

informed decision-making at a variety of spatial 

and temporal scales that often cross typical 

jurisdictional boundaries such as states, 

agency regions, and watersheds. These data 

come from multiple agencies, programs, and 

sources, often with their own methods and 

standards for data collection and organization. 

Coordinating standards and methods is often 

prohibitively time-intensive and expensive. 

MonitoringResources.org offers a suite of tools 

and resources that support coordination of 

monitoring efforts, cost-effective planning, and 

sharing of knowledge among organizations. 

The website was developed by the Pacific 

Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership — 

a collaboration of Federal, state, tribal, local, 

and private monitoring programs—and the 

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), with funding 

from the Bonneville Power Administration and 

USGS. It is a key component of a coordinated 

monitoring and information network.

What is MonitoringResources.org?

MonitoringResources.org provides an online, publicly accessible suite of information and tools for natural resource monitoring 

programs and professionals. Tools and information include maps 

and metadata describing existing monitoring projects; a library of 

standard monitoring methods and protocols; and guidelines and 

tools to help managers develop new monitoring programs and share 

existing ones. Resource managers, funding agencies, and policy 

makers can quickly look up existing and proposed monitoring 

projects so that they can better understand how well priorities are 

being met and assess where monitoring efforts might have gaps 

or redundancies. Users can see maps of sampling sites, compare 

protocols of different monitoring projects, and identify locations 

and sampling strategies for additional monitoring or to optimize 

existing monitoring. The tools guide and support study design and 

methods documentation from the earliest planning stages through 

implementation. Users can easily add information about their 

projects and programs and can share the information with partners. 

Tools for Managing a Project Through the Data Lifecycle

MonitoringResources.org supports the need to describe and 

document projects throughout the data management lifecycle by 

providing a structured, publicly accessible resource for recording 

project metadata. The site’s integrated modules work together and 

also connect to external systems, such as curated data repositories, 

GIS databases, and program websites. Monitoring data from 

programs and projects that use MonitoringResources.org are more 

valuable because they are accompanied by consistent, persistent, and 

accessible documentation of users’ protocols, methods, and designs. 

Screen shot of the 

Monitoring Explorer tool 

showing program sampling 

sites from six monitoring 

and assessment programs 

operating within the 

Pacific Northwest.

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2018–3015

May 2018
Modules Available at MonitoringResources.org

• Study Design Tool helps define project objectives and an

overall monitoring plan.

• Method Builder and Library supports documentation of the

step-by-step processes for collecting and analyzing data.

• Protocol Builder and Library allows users to combine

multiple methods into a protocol to define the suite of information collected and analyzed, including use of previously

published methods from the method library.

• Master Sample Library stores, displays, and documents

master samples—a master sample consists of a set of potential

sample locations from which monitoring sites can be selected.

Use of master samples allows data from multiple monitoring

programs to be more easily shared, integrated, and used for

other applications.

• User Sample File leads users through the process of uploading

planned sampling sites to MonitoringResources.org.

• Sample Designer Tool helps users

• Create and document multiple types of sample designs;

• Use a master sample to select and document spatially

balanced, random sample sites and define the temporal plan

for sampling; the selection process uses the Generalized

Random Tessellation Stratified (GRTS) algorithm commonly

used by agencies, monitoring organizations, and scientists;

• Track site evaluation status before and during sampling; and

• Share sampling dates, times, and implementation details

with others.

• Monitoring Explorer provides an interactive map viewer

that displays where, when, and how various projects have

collected data. Users can search for and display sample sites

and their associated metadata.

• Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) enable

automated sharing of a user’s MonitoringResources.org

content with other programs, projects, or databases.

Tools for Communication and Collaboration

MonitoringResources.org helps users connect and 

collaborate with other natural resource managers and scientists. 

The website provides educational materials, a community forum, 

a glossary, and links to environmental information repositories 

where monitoring data are stored and shared. These tools help 

users discover the “who, what, when, where, and how” of monitoring activities. Within a single project, users can share protocols and standardize site selection methodologies, data collection 

efforts, and data analyses. Managers and scientists working on 

different projects can learn about previous monitoring efforts 

and can coordinate data collection for cross-site comparisons.

Organizations Already Using MonitoringResources.org

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) invested in 

MonitoringResources.org to help coordinate and standardize 

protocols for the monitoring projects it had funded in the 

Pacific Northwest. Starting in 2017, interest from users outside 

of the Northwest has resulted in new work to expand the 

geographic scope of the tool. Organizations and projects that 

rely on the recently expanded toolset include

• BPA Fish and Wildlife Program, for documentation of

protocols, designs, and sites for BPA-funded research,

monitoring, and evaluation of projects throughout the

Columbia River Basin;

• Columbia Habitat Monitoring Program, for design

and protocol documentation to support multiple entities

participating in a Columbia River Basin-wide program;

• Bureau of Land Management Assessment, Inventory, and

Monitoring Program, to determine and document aquatic

sampling sites across 13 western states; and

• North American Bat Monitoring Program, to design,

document, and display sites for multi-partner coordination of

continental-scale bat population monitoring.

Benefits of Using MonitoringResources.org

MonitoringResources.org adds significant value to 

monitoring programs by enhancing monitoring quality, planning, 

coordination, efficiency, and cost-savings. The site

• Supports efficient use of funding by supporting collaboration

and coordination of monitoring efforts;

• Provides information about current and pending multi-jurisdictional monitoring activities so that gaps, redundancies, and

opportunities for collaboration can be considered;

• Provides clear, consistent documentation of data collection

and analysis methods;

• Helps managers find data and information to support synthesis

of existing data;

• Informs future use of data by providing persistent documentation of how data were collected; and

• Promotes transfer of knowledge among monitoring

practitioners and program managers.

For more information contact:

Jennifer M. Bayer 

U.S. Geological Survey,

5501A Cook-Underwood Road 

Cook, WA 98605 

jbayer@usgs.gov; (503) 201-4179

To learn more, visit www.MonitoringResources.org.

Written by Jennifer M. Bayer, Rebecca A. Scully, and Jake F. Weltzin.

Edited by Katherine Jacques. Layout design by Marta Anderson.

Background photographs by Jennifer M. Bayer.

ISSN 2327-6916 (print)

ISSN 2327-6932 (online)

https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20183015