Monitoring is an effective way to find out if a watershed management project is meeting its goals and objectives.
Monitoring can show how well, or how poorly, a management system is working.
It can help identify needed changes in management and can show others how to improve watersheds and riparian areas. Many kinds of monitoring systems are used to document the results of watershed enhancement projects. Some systems, such as taking measurements and recording scientific data, can be exacting and quite complicated. The data may take many years to develop and analyze. Other systems are quite simple.