This indicator assesses the availability and reliability of information needed to measure or describe the indicators associated with Forestry Program for Oregon Strategies A through G. Public discussion and decisions related to natural resource sustainability issues should be based on comprehensive, current, and sound data. Forests are more likely to be managed on a sustainable basis if relevant forest information is up-to-date and easily available to decision-makers, forest managers, and the general public.

This indicator will produce tabular and graphical information on historical and current trends in the extent of nonfederal forest land base, particularly large contiguous tracts of forestland with few developments, and projections of future development of forestland to other uses. Maintaining and enhancing the productive capacity of forests to produce the ecological, social, and economic values people expect from their forests requires limiting the development of forestland to other uses.

This indicator will provide information in tabular, graphical, and map formats that integrates complex biological data into a single number that, together with reference condition information, indicates the degree of biological alteration or quality of a given water body. Maintaining high quality aquatic biological assemblages is very important to the public, and protecting those biota forms the basis for water quality standards. Although indirect or surrogate indicators are important, only biological indicators can directly assess biological condition.

For a given time period, this indicator will spatially map changes in carbon stocks on forestlands where forests, forestland losses. forestland gains, and forest products are acting as: a) net sources of carbon dioxide through releases of carbon to the atmosphere, b) net sinks for carbon storage through the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, or c) neither sources or sinks. Through the use of this indicator, forest managers, policy makers and the public will be able to see the changes in the carbon sink capacity on the state’s forestlands from the interaction over a given period of time of disturbance, land use change, forest management, and forest product manufacture efficiency and utilization. By comparing indicator results over successive time periods,

This indicator will produce a report on project implementation compliance on federal forestlands with approved management plan standards and guidelines. It will also produce reports on voluntary compliance with the state Forest Practices Act by private forest landowners and operators, and the effects of Forest Practices Act compliance on private landowners’ ability to manage their forest resources.

This indicator will provide tabular and graphical information about forest vegetation. A forest vegetation map is also desirable, but such a map will be a product of future assessment work and not a product of this indicator. The composition, diversity, and structure of vascular plants are important factors in assessing biological diversity of forested ecosystems. Vegetation is the source of primary production and a primary determinant of habitat for many species.

This indicator will produce a tabular report on trends in public and professional education and research related to sustainable forest resource management. The management practices that determine forest sustainability depend largely upon an informed citizenry and human skill and ingenuity. It is important to improve public understanding of forest ecosystems and the complex issues regarding our forest resource management.

This indicator describes forestland in different forest cover types and protected area categories. This indicator can provide the basis for documenting landscape-level changes in the area of forest cover types allocated to each protection-level category as a basis for discussing whether allocations are appropriate in the context of providing other environmental, economic, and social benefits.

This indicator will produce tabular information on trends in monetary measures of contributions to society and the state’s quality-of-life from three different ecosystem services: recreation, passive use values, and carbon sequestration values. Maintaining and enhancing forest’s non-commodity contributions to state and local economies, communities, and to the state's quality-of-life are very important. These values, such as clean water, habitat for fisheries, and scenery are often taken for granted because they are not generally traded in markets. As such, they have no ‘price’ and are therefore seemingly provided for “free”.

This indicator will provide information in both tabular and map form on forest fuel conditions and progress in managing forest fuel conditions. Both the public and policy makers want to know where and the how much of the state's forests are in a condition that is resilient to catastrophic wildfires and, over time, is the condition improving or worsening.

This indicator will provide tabular and map information on the status of plant and animal species that are recognized by federal and state resource management agencies as at risk because of rarity or because other factors demonstrably make them very vulnerable to extinction. This indicator will provide the public with information by which to measure the state’s progress at both preventing and reversing an increase in the number of forest species at risk through time.

This indicator will produce tabular and graphical information on historical and current trends in sales and competitiveness of the state’s forest products sector.

This indicator will provide the results in tabular form of assessments of three forest road condition factors. The primary purpose of the assessment information will be to assist landowners in identifying the road elements that pose the greatest risk to soil and water resources. This indicator will be a byproduct of that survey work. Roads are a landscape altering feature, and can have negative effects on both water and soil resources.

This indicator will produce tabular, map, and graphical information on historical and current trends of some selected sectors in forest-related employment and wages in rural, urban, and forest-based areas. Maintaining and enhancing rural economies is very important to Oregonians. Many communities in rural Oregon have fallen behind the state’s more populated areas in economic-well being.

This indicator will produce tabular and graphical information on historical and current trends in selected forest-related revenues to state and local governments in Oregon. These revenues support public services such as education, public safety, environmental protection, and forestry research.

This indicator will produce tabular and graphical information on the spread of selected invasive species and on the success in controlling new invasive species introductions. Invasive species constitute a major threat to the integrity of native forest ecosystems. Mild climate coupled with increases in commerce and influxes of new people have facilitated the introduction and spread of invasive pests. Invasive species reduce the diversity found in native forests and adversely affect populations of native species through predation, competition, altered fire regimes, or destruction of habitat.

This indicator will produce tabular and graphical reports on trends in timber growth, planned and projected timber harvests, and actual timber harvests.

This indicator will provide tabular and map information on tree mortality in the state's forests. The first metric tracks tree mortality from all causes and data can be summarized by tree species. The second metric provides an overview of tree mortality from insects and diseases across the landscape on an annual basis.

This indicator will help assess the quality of water in forest streams. This indicator will provide tabular, graphical, and map information that integrates complex analytical water quality data and generates a single number expressing the degree of impairment of a given water body. Data for this indicator will be used to report the status of specific forest stream reaches and miles of forest streams or the percent of forest stream miles with a poor, fair, or good water quality index.