PRINCIPLE #8: MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT
Monitoring shall be conducted -- appropriate to the scale and intensity of forest management -- to assess the condition of the forest, yields of forest products, chain of custody, management activities and their social and environmental impacts.

Applicability: On small forests, an informal, qualitative assessment could be appropriate. On large forests, and intensively managed forests, formal, quantitative monitoring is probably required.

8.1 The frequency and intensity of monitoring should be determined by the scale and intensity of forest management operations as well as the relative complexity and fragility of the affected environment. Monitoring procedures should be consistent and replicable over time to allow comparison of results and assessment of change.

8.1.a. The management plan and its implementation are periodically monitored to assess:

• The degree to which management vision, goals, and objectives have been achieved
• Deviations from the management plan
• Unexpected effects of management activities
• Social effects of forest management activities

8.1.b. Items to be monitored may include:

• Quality and quantity of water
• Terrestrial and aquatic habitat
• Occurrence of sensitive, rare, threatened, or endangered species
• Ecosystem composition, structures, and functions
• Soil characteristics
• Vulnerability to fire and pests

8.2. Forest management should include the research and data collection needed to monitor, at a minimum, the following indicators:

a) yield of all forest products harvested.
b) growth rates, regeneration, and condition of the forest.
c) composition and observed changes in the flora and fauna.
d) environmental and social impacts of harvesting and other operations.
e) cost, productivity, and efficiency of forest management.

8.2.a. Yield of all forest products harvested

8.2.a.1. The forest owner or manager maintains records of standing timber and timber harvest volumes by species, volume, and grade.

8.2.a.2. The forest owner or manager maintains records of the yield of harvested non-timber forest products by species, volume, and grade.

8.2.a.3. Unanticipated removal (e.g., theft and poaching) of forest products is monitored and recorded.

8.2.b. Growth rates, regeneration, and condition of the forest

8.2.b.1. A suitable inventory system is maintained to monitor timber growth, mortality, stocking, and regeneration; stand composition and structure; and the effects of disturbances to the resources (e.g., disease, wind, fire, and damage by insects and/or mammals).

8.2.b.2. A suitable inventory system is maintained for commercially harvested non-timber forest products to monitor abundance, regeneration, and habitat conditions.

8.2.c. Composition and observed changes in the flora and fauna

8.2.c.1. Forest owners or managers periodically monitor the forest for changes in major habitat elements and for changes in composition and structures.

8.2.d. Environmental and social impacts of harvesting and other operations

8.2.d.1. The environmental impacts of extractive and/or site-disturbing activities are assessed after their completion.

8.2.d.2. A monitoring program is in place to assess the condition and effectiveness of the transportation system.

8.2.d.3. Employment generation, creation or maintenance of local jobs, and public responses to management activities are monitored

8.2.e. Cost, productivity, and efficiency of forest management

The Standards Committee recommends no indicators for this sub-criterion.

8.3. Documentation shall be provided by the forest manager to enable monitoring and certifying organizations to trace each forest product from its origin, a process known as the "chain-of-custody."

Note: For management requirements for chain-of-custody see Section 3.6 of Chain of Custody Standards, FSC Accreditation Manual.

8.4. The results of monitoring shall be incorporated into the implementation and revision of the management plan.

8.4.a. Discrepancies between outcomes (i.e., yields, growth, ecological changes) and expectations (i.e., plans, projections, anticipated impacts) are integrated into the subsequent management plan.

8.5. While respecting the confidentiality of information, forest managers shall make publicly available a summary of the results of monitoring indicators, including those listed in Criterion 8.2.

Applicability: Forest owners or managers of private forests may withhold proprietary information (e.g., the nature and extent of their forest resource base, marketing strategies, and other financial information).

8.5.a. A summary of monitoring information is maintained up-to-date and is available upon request either at no cost or at a reasonable price.