AbstractBuilding Coastal Clean Water Constituency in California with GISTrack: Ocean, Coastal, and Marine Resources Author The California State Water Board is responsible for maintaining a list of severely polluted waterways. Although this data is collected biannually it has, until recently, been largely inaccessible to the public and decisionmakers influencing management of those waterways. The California Coastkeeper Alliance (CCKA) has stepped in to convey this and other otherwise-inaccessible state water quality data on the health of California's waterways in an easy-to-use, interactive, GIS map-based approach. This approach empowers public participation and stewardship in the decisions that affect California's precious waterways, protecting clean waters, and expediting the process by which the impaired waterways of California are restored to health. CCKA is the only 501(c)(3) organization in California that works at the state and community levels to enhance water quality and restore coastal ecosystems. CCKA and its member organizations use this unique position to broaden the constituency for clean water and marine conservation in California. Thomas Lyons California Coastkeeper Alliance 557 Page St San Francisco, California 94117 United States Phone: (415) 810-2960 E-mail: tlyons@cacoastkeeper.org |