PROJECT PERIOD: 2 6 25-2 5 26PROJECT TITLE: FLOODPLAIN VEGETATION STATUS AND TRENDS MONITORINGAWARD PURPOSE: CURRENTLY, VEGETATION ECOLOGISTS AND MANAGERS UTILIZE A NUMBER OF DATA SETS TO TRACK THE STATUS AND TRENDS OF FOREST AND PLANT COMMUNITIES IN THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER SYSTEM (UMRS). THE GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO SEEK A MORE COMPREHENSIVE AND EFFICIENT WAY TO MONITOR THE STATUS AND TRENDS IN FLOODPLAIN VEGETATION COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE UMRS OVER THE LONG-TERM. AN UNDERLYING ASSUMPTION IS THAT EXISTING DATA SETS THAT CAN BE USED FOR QUANTIFYING STATUS AND TRENDS IN FLOODPLAIN VEGETATION SYSTEM-WIDE WILL CONTINUE TO BE UPDATED, SO THIS WORK WILL PRIMARILY FOCUS ON USING EXISTING DATA TO QUANTIFY THE CHANGING STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF FLOODPLAIN VEGETATION. THE OVER-ARCHING OBJECTIVE IS TO DEVELOP A LONG-TERM FLOODPLAIN VEGETATION MONITORING PLAN, INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING COMPONENTS: ESTABLISH A FLOODPLAIN VEGETATION MONITORING WORKING GROUP TO INCORPORATE A DIVERSITY OF EXPERTISE AND PERSPECTIVES FROM THE US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER RESTORATION PROGRAM (UMRR) PARTNERSHIP IDENTIFY, ASSEMBLE, AND EVALUATE EXISTING FLOODPLAIN VEGETATION DATA SETS TO DETERMINE THE EXTENT TO WHICH THESE DATA CAN QUANTIFY FLOODPLAIN VEGETATION STATUS AND TRENDS, INCLUDING THEIR SUCCESSIONAL PATTERNS AND DYNAMICS DEVELOP PUBLIC ONLINE TOOLS TO FACILITATE DATA SHARING AND VISUALIZATION OF EXISTING FLOODPLAIN VEGETATION DATA DEVELOP A STRATEGY AND FRAMEWORK FOR LONG-TERM FLOODPLAIN VEGETATION MONITORING, EITHER WITH EXISTING DATA, OR WITH A NEW SAMPLING STRATEGY IDENTIFY AVENUES FOR DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSES AT RESTORATION SITES OR OTHER MANAGEMENT LOCATIONS AND ANSWER FOCUSED RESEARCH QUESTIONS WITH EXISTING DATA. ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: PLAN TO HOLD A WORKSHOP INCLUDING REPRESENTATIVES FROM UMRR FIELD STATIONS, THE US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, THE US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, AND THE US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. FOLLOWING THE WORKSHOP, A PROCEEDINGS AND REPORT WILL BE WRITTEN, WITH SUPPORTING ANALYSES EVALUATING EXISTING SYSTEMIC DATASETS ON UMRS FLOODPLAIN VEGETATION. WILL DEVELOP A PUBLIC ONLINE DATA VIEWER TO FACILITATE INTERPRETATION OF EXISTING FLOODPLAIN VEGETATION DATASETS. ULTIMATELY, WILL DEVELOP A STRATEGY TO MONITOR FLOODPLAIN VEGETATION LONG-TERM, WHICH ALONG THE WAY WILL RESULT IN PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS FOCUSED ON IDENTIFIED HIGH PRIORITY RESEARCH QUESTIONS RELATING TO CURRENT AND FUTURE TRENDS IN UMRS FLOODPLAIN FORESTS. DELIVERABLES AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES: RESULTS WILL PROVIDE RESEARCHERS AND MANAGERS ACROSS THE UMRS WITH INFORMATION ON THE CURRENT STATUS AND TRENDS OF FLOODPLAIN VEGETATION IN THE UMRS AND PROVIDE DIRECTION FOR FUTURE MONITORING PRIORITIES AND EFFORTS. DELIVERABLES INCLUDE POST-WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS AND REPORT DATA DERIVATIVES WITH A FINAL REPOSITORY IN SCIENCE BASE A PEER-REVIEWED SCIENTIFIC MANUSCRIPT, PRESENTATIONS AT REGIONAL AND NATIONAL CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS. INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: KNOWLEDGE GAINED FROM THIS STUDY WILL BENEFIT NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGERS IN THE UMRS ACROSS A SPECTRUM OF FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS. FOR EXAMPLE, RESULTS WILL DIRECTLY INFORM PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION EFFORTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE UMRR. RESTORING HEALTHY RIVERS IN TURN BENEFITS RIVER COMMUNITIES, OTHER STAKEHOLDERS, AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO USE THESE AREAS FOR HUNTING, FISHING, AND OTHER FORMS OF OUTDOOR RECREATION. SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES: N A