Restoration practitioners specify targets for what the ecosystem will look like to reach recovery goals. Targets may be influenced by the level of degradation, surrounding landscape conditions, societal choice, and a changing and uncertain climate regime. The Society for Ecological Restoration’s International Principles and Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration recommends that targets be informed by reference models of site conditions that include biotic composition, environmental setting, and dynamic processes—had anthropogenic degradation not occurred—while accounting for anticipated change. Models optimally reflect a variety of information sources and are based where possible on multiple reference sites of similar native ecological conditions. Using a project site from Colorado National Monument, we illustrate a stepwise process for compiling and synthesizing map, text, and tabular information from reference materials and sites. Reference materials include multiple ecosystem classifications and site inventories to describe composition, structure, and dynamics of the target ecosystems. An ecological integrity framework aids in identifying key ecological attributes and indicators for site measurement. Climate change vulnerability assessment specifies risks to anticipate, while adaptation frameworks point to appropriate strategies. By systematically utilizing existing frameworks and available data, practitioners can streamline the establishment of reference models for ecological restoration.