Rapid Shoreline Inventory A Citizen-based Approach to Identifying and Prioritizing Marine Shoreline Conservation and Restoration Projects

Development along marine and estuarine shorelines, coupled with the uncertain status of many species that use nearshore habitats, has generated a strong interest in both describing nearshore resources and understanding how to restore them. Advances in GIS technology and the wide availability of GIS software and inexpensive and powerful computers are improving our ability to manage complex natural and disturbed systems by helping us to understand the relationship between natural resources, habitat quality, and human uses. In this chapter, we discuss an innovative approach towards collecting, organizing, and analyzing shoreline data using volunteers known as the Rapid Shoreline Inventory. The Rapid Shoreline Inventory (RSI) is a project created with the assistance of regional experts from the Seattle, Washington based non-profit organization, People For Puget Sound,and links the information needs of resource managers and restoration practitioners to well-trained volunteer stewards who collect detailed data about marine and estuarine shorelines. The RSI consists of six key components: (1) the Philip L. Bloch, Jessemine Fung, Tom Dean, Lisa Younger, and Jacques White People For Puget Sound, 911 Western Avenue, Suite 580; Seattle, WA 98104 Philip L. Bloch Washington Department of Natural Resources, 1111 Washington St. SE, PO Box 47027; Olympia, WA 98504 Corresponding author: [email protected] Tom Dean Vashon Island Land Trust, PO Box 2031,Vashon, WA 98070 Lisa Younger and Jacques White The Nature Conservancy, 217 Pine St., Suite 1100, Seattle, WA 98101 Rapid Shoreline Inventory: A Citizen-based Approach 227 identification of resource information needs; (2) permission to access shorelines from property owners; (3) careful classroom and field training of volunteers; (4) a rapid inventory of contiguous 45-m (150-ft.) sections of Puget Sound shoreline; (5) creation and maintenance of the associated GIS database and Web site; and (6) analysis and recommendations for specific conservation and restoration actions. RSI data are valuable both for describing the resources found on the shoreline and for developing predictive models of shoreline health. People For Puget Sound has developed a series of models that use RSI data to describe shoreline health and uses these models to identify restoration and conservation opportunities. Combining RSI data with aerial photos and broader scale nearshore characterizations can provide a comprehensive view of shorelines conditions, and provide data that can be used for a number of purposes. In addition to targeting restoration and conservation actions, RSI data can also be used to support several coastal and estuarine management activities, including identification of marine protected areas, regional and site land-use planning, research, monitoring, and oil-spill response.