The Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network (NGPN) and the Northern Great Plains Fire Ecology Program surveyed 60 forested plots in Jewel Cave National Monument (JECA) in 2011. This effort will be repeated in 2016 and every 5 years thereafter to better understand status and trends in forest vegetation. We measured tree stem density, tree diameter, live and dead tree condition, fire fuel loads, cover of exotic species, and disturbance in all plots. By using a randomized survey approach, we are able to use these data to estimate the status of the forest, not just of the plots, from the park as a whole.