Coastal Management Fellowship

2005-2007 Fellowship Project Summaries

California: Sara Polgar, from the University of California, Santa Barbara, worked with the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) to develop a comprehensive plan for the San Francisco Bay Water Trail. Sara led a collaborative planning process with other agencies and organizations to develop policy and implementation recommendations for the Water Trail. Key topics addressed in planning a water trail included trailhead connectivity and design; management structure and funding strategies for development and long-term maintenance of the trail; and education and outreach methods to promote the trail and ensure safe and proper usage by boaters. More information about this project can be found at sfbaywatertrail.org//a>.

Maryland: Lindsay Leiterman, from Duke University, worked with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Coastal Zone Management Division to develop and distribute a watershed planning toolbox for local governments, watershed organizations, and others to assist them with their watershed planning efforts. Maryland's TOOLS (Targeted Outreach and On-Line Support) strives to increase active management by building capacity among local-level decision makers to independently assess and manage natural resources. Lindsay also oversaw the grants for several Coastal Communities Initiatives (CCI) and provided technical assistance for a CCI by co-writing the text for the environmental chapter. In addition, Lindsay compiled the photos and native plant list for the Denton Pattern Book.

North Carolina: The fellow from the University of California, Santa Cruz, worked with the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management to assess the North Carolina shoreline datum. Patrick conducted a comparison study of the two most commonly used shoreline datums in North Carolina—the wet/dry line and the mean high water (MHW) line—to determine if results of the two methods are interchangeable. He also used a time series of historical data to calculate a long-term rate of shoreline change.