Issue

Restoration decision makers—whether science professionals, elected officials, or community members—need spatial information to support choices and decisions for managing and restoring natural resources. These decisions are crucial in the coastal zone where degradation and changes, including climate impacts, are already underway. With the right data and tools, resource managers, restoration professionals, and communities can target strategic areas for restoration that are at greatest risk and of highest value. But lack of knowledge and access to information often slows or hinders restoration planning efforts.

Process

Enter the Digital Coast partner organizations. Partner representatives from the National Association of Counties, the Association of State Floodplain Managers, The Nature Conservancy, and academia came together at the 2010 Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE) conference to share Digital Coast resources with conference participants. From their diverse perspectives, partners highlighted how they have benefitted from Digital Coast’s readily accessible resources and shared stories of how partnerships—among government officials, non-profits, academics, and grassroots and professional organizations—can “rev up” the critical work of the restoration community.

Impact

The Digital Coast brought these partners together and gave them access to shared resources and opportunities for exchange that they might not have achieved alone. And the partners, in turn, are sharing their ideas and applications with RAE’s broader audiences—representatives from all levels of government, corporations and businesses, non-profits, grassroots organizations, and educators. Increased visits to the Digital Coast website indicate that these groups are accessing the resources available and are better positioned to support climate-sensitive restoration activities that benefit estuarine habitats and the human communities that depend upon these habitats.