Observational records are a rich source of data about our changing world. For example, observed changes in plant phenology can tell us how plant communities might have changed over time, how they are currently functioning and give us insight into what the future might hold. The theme of this session is the use of plant phenology information to facilitate natural resources management. In natural resource management, success often depends on access to both ‘real-time’ and ‘change-through-time’ information on the condition and status of the landscape. For example, species invasions require ‘real-time’ information for land managers to be able to deal with burgeoning crises, whereas responses to climate change might appear on longer time-scales and thus require access to ‘change-through-time’ data. Development of new technology and increased access to remotely sensed data can facilitate the use of phenological observations for natural resources management. This is an exciting time in phenology research as more data are being collected, organized and made widely available. We will present examples of new methods for plant phenology data acquisition, management and analyses that may be useful to natural resource managers. We will also present examples of how managers are using phenology data already or hope to use phenological information in the future, such as in the face of uncertainty resulting from climate change. Cross-cutting questions include impacts of plant phenology on animals; scaling from points to landscapes, regions and beyond; and developing robust methods for data management and analyses and communication of results. The session will open with a presentation by the National Phenology Network on using phenology as a tool for resource management and climate change adaptation. Case studies will present on-going work developing inexpensive, easy to use near-surface sensing systems and observations to measure and monitor plant community life histories and their response to environmental change. A related presentation will demonstrate the use of data management and analysis tools being developed in conjunction with the near-surface sensing technology. Additional presentations will provide example applications of plant phenology data such as in habitat modeling for invasive species, and dealing with issues of scaling. The session will close with examples of management applications of phenology information.