Coastal Services Center

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Quick Links Identifying the Audience Media and Venues Use of the Internet Summary

Dissemination of Results

Figure 1. Examples of documents used to disseminate information including monitoring reports, scientific journal articles, newsletters, bulletins, and project summaries on a website It is important for complete information about the project to be disseminated as widely as possible. The dissemination of results facilitates information sharing by practitioners, which enables restoration practices to advance, makes restoration science more robust, and improves the chances of success in future projects. An additional benefit of wide distribution of information about a project is increased public awareness of not only a specific project, but also the potential benefits of habitat restoration in general.

Restoration is a relatively young science; however, the knowledge base is growing as we are learning from our experiences and developing new technologies. The critical step in the learning process is to spread the word about both successes and failures so that others may benefit from the information. Good reporting is also critical to informed long-term adaptive management of projects. In addition, various stakeholders are interested in and need to understand the outcomes of coastal restoration projects. Providing information to the public is also a means of garnering support for restoration activities. The question is, how should information be disseminated and to whom?

Identifying the Audience

To answer this question, the target audience must first be identified. Those interested in the results of a restoration project may include beach-goers, birders and amateur naturalists, fishermen, sportsmen and recreationists, industry representatives, engineers, government environmental managers, politicians, scientists, and others. Hence, information from the restoration program can meet many needs. Some examples of the audience and the reasons for its interest are as follows:

Developers and managers

• Is the project succeeding?
• In what ways do we need to adjust the project?
• How can we minimize cost and maximize performance?

Scientists and Planners

• What can we learn that will help us to do things better?
• How does performance fit predictions?

Resource Users

• Is the resource benefiting?
• Is the public benefiting?
• Are adjacent areas positively or negatively affected?

In addition, state and federal agencies with permitting responsibility are, by definition, interested parties. Volunteers and others in the region may want to hear about the progress of the system. The general public is often interested in coastal restoration projects, as well.

Understanding the audience and its needs is critical. Compiling a list of known and potentially interested parties may be helpful, along with a statement about the potential use of the information. This list is often easy to make, based on meetings held during restoration project planning, and it can later serve as a mailing list for documents produced about the project.
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Figure 1. Examples of documents used to disseminate information including monitoring reports, scientific journal articles, newsletters, bulletins, and project summaries on a website

Choosing Information Media and Venues

The next step in getting information out is to determine the appropriate venue. In addition to written reports, several other options are available (Figure 1). If appropriate, a meeting with interested parties can be held to present the results of the monitoring effort and to discuss the future of the project. The project manager can also develop special summary reports of one to two pages that present the fundamental findings from the monitoring program in nontechnical terms. These reports can be published as articles in the periodicals of involved agencies or organizations, posted on Web sites, or formatted as press releases for the local news media. Relevant information can also be added to restoration project databases maintained by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA; http://yosemite.epa.gov/water/restorat.nsf/rpd-2a.htm) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA; under development).

The sharing of fundamental information is integral to developing the technology of coastal ecosystem restoration. To this end, the results of the monitoring program should be published in a peer-reviewed journal, and the restoration project should be presented at technical meetings and workshops where the project manager can discuss problematic aspects with colleagues. Although large, complex, and controversial projects are always of interest, small, well-conceived and well-implemented projects can also be worthy of publication. Publication is often reserved for completed projects, but for projects with longer monitoring programs, a report summarizing early results may be appropriate. Preliminary results and project descriptions are often welcome at conferences and workshops. The results of the monitoring program can be of great use to others in the field. Once a project has been presented to a professional audience, the members look forward to periodic updates on its progress. Professional societies that feature aquatic habitat restoration in meetings include the following:

• American Fisheries Society
• Estuarine Research Federation
• Ecological Society of America
• Society for Ecological Restoration
• Society of Wetland Scientists
• American Society of Civil Engineers

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Use of the Internet

Figure 2. An example of an interactive mapping page from the Rhode Island Habitat Restoration Portal. Courtesy of Coastal Resources Management Council, Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, and Save The Bay.

Figure 3. Florida Wetland Restoration Information Center. Courtesy of Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Figure 4. The Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project Information Station coverage area.

Figure 5. Photo from the Mowitch Restoration Project. Courtesy Jennifer Steger, NOAA.

Several programs are using the Internet to disseminate information about restoration projects. On some Web sites, interactive mapping is being used to provide data and information to users without requiring purchase of expensive GIS software. In addition, Internet mapping makes data available to the public in a more user-friendly format than a technical report. Searchable Internet databases are another easy-to-use means of providing the public with access to project data.

One Web site that will be online in 2003 is the NOAA Restoration Portal. This site will provide information on NOAA's restoration programs, projects, and activities. The Web site will also provide links to the Estuary Restoration Act (ERA) database homepage. The ERA database is also under development and will provide information on restoration projects from across the country with links to project Web sites that provide further information.

In Rhode Island, numerous groups acted in partnership to develop the Rhode Island Habitat Restoration Portal (Figure 2). The portal is a user friendly site that uses interactive mapping to "provide data and information about habitat restoration in Rhode Island to the public, federal and state agencies, and nonprofit groups. The focus is on seagrass, riverine (fish runs), and salt marsh habitats. The objective is to create an information system that can be used to apply for grants, select potential projects, educate the public, and assist the state in restoration planning."

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has a Web portal called the Florida Wetland Restoration Information Center, which has information on restoration projects, funding sources, guidebooks, and a library (Figure 3).

In southern California, the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project Information Station provides a searchable database and interactive mapping of biological, hydrological, and land use information for Southern California's coastal wetlands and watersheds (Figure 4). Project summaries are available with contact information, a brief description, and costs.

Information on the Internet can also focus on a particular project. For example, in Washington, the Mowitch Restoration Project has a Web site providing a project summary, a list of restoration activities, and documents available for downloading.
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Summary

In summary, information from a restoration project or program needs to be disseminated widely and in as many venues as possible. Recent advances in technology allow information dissemination to be done much more easily and broadly through the use of the Internet. Only through this broad dissemination can uncertainties begin to diminish, the science of restoration continue to mature, and public support for restoration flourish.

Additional information and citations are available in:

Borde, A.B., and others. 2003. National Review of Successful and Innovative Restoration Projects. Prepared for: NOAA Coastal Services Center, by Battelle Marine Sciences Laboratory. Sequim, WA.

Diefenderfer, H.L., R.M. Thom and J.E. Adkins. 2003. Systematic Approach to Coastal Ecosystem Restoration. Prepared for: NOAA Coastal Services Center, by Battelle Marine Sciences Laboratory. Sequim, WA.
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