(a) Watershed condition assessments must be completed at least once every 10 years and used to inform land use planning, protect intact landscapes (§ 6102.2), manage for ecosystem resilience (§ 6102.5), inform restoration actions (§ 6102.3), and inform land health evaluations and determinations (§ 6103.1.1). Watershed condition assessments assess and synthesize information on the condition of soil, water, habitats, and ecological processes within watersheds relative to the BLM's land health fundamentals and the national land health standards. When conducting watershed condition assessments, the BLM must:

(1) Compile and analyze multiple sources of high-quality information to understand conditions and trends relevant to each land health standard, including remote sensing products, field-based data, and other data gathered through inventory, assessment, and monitoring activities; and

(2) Incorporate consistent analytical approaches, quantitative indicators, and benchmarks where practicable.

(b) The BLM will maintain a publicly available inventory of infrastructure and natural resources on public lands. This inventory must include both critical landscape components (e.g., roads, land types, streams, habitats) and core indicators that address land health fundamentals.

(c) Authorized officers will use high-quality inventory, assessment, and monitoring information, including standardized quantitative monitoring data, remote sensing maps, and geospatial analyses, to inform decision-making across program areas, including, but not limited to:

(1) Authorization of permitted uses;

(2) Land use planning;

(3) Watershed condition assessments and land health evaluations;

(4) Restoration planning, including prioritization;

(5) Assessments of restoration effectiveness;

(6) Consideration of areas of critical environmental concern;

(7) Evaluation and protection of intact landscapes;

(8) Restoration and mitigation leasing; and

(9) Other decision-making processes.

(d) Authorized officers must inventory, assess, and monitor activities as necessary to inform the decision-making processes identified in paragraph (b) of this section and, in so doing, must employ the following:

(1) Interdisciplinary monitoring plans for providing data relevant to decision makers;

(2) Standardized field protocols and indicators to allow data comparisons through space and time in support of multiple management decisions;

(3) Appropriate sample designs to minimize bias and maximize applicability of collected data;

(4) Integration with remote sensing products to optimize sampling and calibrate continuous map products; and

(5) Data management and stewardship to ensure data quality, accessibility, and use.