News

The Pacific Marine and Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership’s Estuaries Explorer data tool was recently added to the NOAA Digital Coast website. The Estuaries Explorer application enables you to explore the estuaries of Washington, Oregon, and California and compare them to each other. You can combine dynamic filters and an interactive map to find specific estuary types you are interested in, or estuaries that contain focal species of interest. You can explore estuaries in more detail and find a specific estuary by name or location. You can also zoom to a specific area on the map to compare estuaries and the filters automatically update to show you the number of estuaries in that area that meet different conditions. The Estuaries Explorer tool integrates a wide variety of datasets from along the West Coast, providing restoration practitioners, researchers, and resource managers with comprehensive estuary data for improved decision-making. Find it on the NOAA Digital Coast website here or access it from the PMEP website here.

PMEP has issued a Request for Proposals for Nearshore Science support for our nearshore project. PMEP seeks to identify a contractor to conduct literature reviews, compile available information, and collaborate with regional experts including the PMEP nearshore regional working group to develop a “State of the Knowledge” report on West Coast nearshore habitats. The full RFP can be found at the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission website here.

PMEP is thrilled to welcome Katie Nichols as the newest member of our Steering Committee. Katie is the Marine Restoration Director for Orange County Coastkeeper, a nonprofit based in Costa Mesa. At Coastkeeper she designs and implements restoration projects on nearshore habitats in collaboration with volunteers, scientists and agencies in Southern California. Her research interests include resource management and the development of practical and innovative solutions to the challenges facing marine ecosystems. She received her B.A. in Environmental Studies and Marine Biology from UC Santa Cruz and her M.S. in Marine Ecology from San Diego State University. Prior to joining Coastkeeper, Katie worked as a Knauss Sea Grant fellow for NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service in Washington D.C., as a project manager with the Sustainable Fisheries Group at UC Santa Barbara, and in fisheries policy and resource management with NOAA in Hawaii and Long Beach. As a member of our Steering Committee, Katie will help guide PMEP’s work as we strive to improve the science and managment behind fish habitat restoration along the West Coast.