Knowledge of trends over time provides important context for understanding potential effects of human-caused change on wildlife and habitats, and informs additional work on species of interest that is required to understand critical functional uncertainties - including mechanisms by which energy and mineral development affect other resource values (e.g., species, habitats, and water resources)
Targeted Monitoring and Research for the WLCI is composed of three major tasks: Long-Term Monitoring, Effectiveness Monitoring, and Mechanistic Wildlife Research. Long-term monitoring efforts are focused on vegetation, soils, and water with the goal of developing an interagency long-term monitoring program by connecting USGS data on these themes to WLCI partner monitoring programs in southwest Wyoming. Effectiveness monitoring is designed to assess habitat treatment projects at individual sites and to evaluate their effectiveness in meeting landscape-level conservation goals, such as connecting fragmented habitats, restoring native vegetation, and controlling the spread of nonnative species. Mechanistic wildlife research consists of studies designed to improve understanding of wildlife responses to energy development and ecosystem change.
