Coastal Services Center

One of the primary goals of the NOAA Coastal Services Center is to help state coastal resource managers make technology work for their particular programs.

This is accomplished in a variety of ways, including a fellowship

program, beginning and intermediate geographic information system (GIS) training programs, and projects conducted with state partners. Another effort is the Coastal GeoTools '99 conference.

"In my four years at the Center, I've seen many exciting uses of geospatial tools by the states," said Anne Hale Miglarese, branch chief for Coastal Information Services at the Center and chairman of Coastal GeoTools '99. "I've also seen state programs struggle to get optimal results. There is a lot states can learn from each other; helping to facilitate this exchange is one of the reasons behind the Coastal GeoTools '99 conference."

Coastal GeoTools '99 will be held April 5 to 7 in Charleston, South Carolina. The conference will help participants learn to make better use within coastal environments of GIS, the Internet, remote sensing, and the Global Positioning System (GPS).

To ensure that the goal of "states talking to states" is met, the Center is providing invitational travel for one person from each coastal state to attend this conference. A special effort was made to include state GIS coordination offices as well, because the primary GIS provider often resides outside of the coastal management program. Geospatial technology leaders from industry, the federal government, and academia will be there to learn about the needs and concerns of state coastal programs and to talk about new and future efforts in the field of spatial data management.

Ron Rozsa of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection was the first person to register for the conference. Coincidentally, Rozsa is quoted several times in this issue of Coastal Services in the story about Connecticut's user-friendly GIS.

"GIS is making a difference in the way we do business in Connecticut," said Rozsa. "I want to see how other states are using GIS to advance coastal management."

Rozsa said he was also interested in a particuar "special interest meeting." These meetings, before and after the conference, are opportunities for participants to get together in a less structured environment and explore issues of mutual interest. At press time for this magazine, two were scheduled: anoil spill GIS discussion and a meeting on mapping benthic habitats in turbid estuaries.

"Most of the technology to be discussed at this conference was not specifically developed for coastal resource managers," said Miglarese, "but with a little flexibility, creativity, and perseverance, these resources can quickly prove to be invaluable. All coastal resource managers who are current and future users of geospatial technologies should consider sending a representative to this conference."