ABSTRACT
Design of a monitoring plan is a process (Figure 5.1) that will ideally lead you through problem identification to development of key questions, a rigorous sampling design, and analyses that can assign probabilities to observed trends. Finalizing a plan designed as an outcome of this process is a precursor to initiation of data collection. This is probably the single most important step in the monitoring plan. Once you have decided on the design for the monitoring plan, and begun collecting data, there is strong resistance to changing the plan because many changes will render the data collected thus far of less value. So design it correctly from the outset to minimize the need for changes later.
