Coastal Management Fellowship

1999-2001 Fellowship Project Summaries

Connecticut: Kevin O'Brien, nominated by the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium, was placed with the Connecticut Office of Long Island Sound Program to develop a decision tool for dredge material management in Long Island Sound. This geographic information system (GIS)-based tool enhanced management decisions with regard to sediment testing plans, selection of priority pollutants for testing, and evaluation of the suitability of sediments for open water disposal. Kevin designed the database by including information from permit files from the past 11 years. He then concentrated on the spatial data design and created customized analysis tools for the program. The final product, a CD-ROM entitled CT DEP Sediment Quality Information Database (SQUID), made the sediment quality and distribution information available to the public, including the academic community, in a usable format.

North Carolina: David Fuss, nominated by Oregon Sea Grant, was placed with the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management. He developed a restoration and management plan for forested wetlands in northeastern North Carolina entitled " Restoration and Management Plan for the Emily and Richardson Preyer Buckridge Coastal Reserve." At more than 18,000 acres, this forested wetland is the largest single property in the coastal reserve. David also contributed to the formulation and adoption of wetland mitigation policies to improve the protection of wetland resources in North Carolina. In addition, he designed the North Carolina Wetlands Partnership Web site and was involved in the geographic information system (GIS) wetland mapping program.

South Carolina: Teresa Fleener, nominated by Washington Sea Grant, was placed with the South Carolina Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) to establish an on-line information clearinghouse. Teresa began the project by conducting a needs assessment among local governments within the South Carolina coastal zone to determine technical capabilities and information needs. Once the needs assessment was complete, Teresa compiled Web sites and other sources of data to include on the Web site. The information clearinghouse established an information distribution mechanism for OCRM to provide recommendations and findings from their research about natural resource management to local governments. On the OCRM Information Clearinghouse Web site, users can search for reports and research papers based on three major topics: biological resources, growth management, and water resources. Teresa also helped OCRM integrate the information from the clearinghouse into its policy development and permit review processes.

Washington: Cinde Donoghue, Ph.D., from the University of Virginia, was placed with the Washington Department of Ecology. Cinde developed , an interactive mapping Web site that allows the user to access and analyze geospatial data from Washington's coastal region. Cinde evaluated potential models for the coastal information system, assessed the data needs of the coastal community, and assisted in designing Washington's Coastal Atlas. This on-line tool allows the user to query actual databases, rather than view static pictures of maps. This gives users some ability to analyze data from their desktop without having geographic information system (GIS) software. Washington's Coastal Atlas can easily accommodate new or updated shoreline data.