Inventory and Monitoring Plan Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge

The Big Branch Marsh IMP was developed according to the Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) policy and guidance therein (701 FW 2) for the National Wildlife Refuge System (USFWS 2013a) which requires that refuges develop and follow an I&M Plan that; 1) is an operational plan for one or more refuges that clearly states I&M priorities and clarifies operational commitments, depending on available capacity; 2) relates to and follows from a refuge’s CCP; 3) provides the management rationale, timing and costs for conducting refuge surveys; 4) lists the prioritized surveys, identifies the surveys selected for implementation, and documents the protocols that describe the survey objectives and methods.