Structure from motion on Salish shores: remote mapping for restoration

This talk will showcase several projects by Coastal Geologic Services (CGS) in which structure from motion (SfM) modeling played a critical role, while also briefly discussing the advantages and possible applications of this relatively new technology. Over the last few years, SfM has transformed from an emerging technology to a reliable, efficient, and cost-effective method for constructing aerial orthophoto mosaics and 3D models of coastal landscapes. Low-altitude aerial imagery, such as from inexpensive drones (UAS or UAV), can be used to create point clouds that exceed LiDAR resolution and accuracy, at a much lower cost. This enables 3D scanning of small sites and repeat flights to document restoration progress or geomorphic change. In 2017, CGS employed SfM technology at many sites around the Salish Sea, including several on Shaw Island and an ambitious project to map 5.5 miles of coast on the Lummi Peninsula. These projects represent a range of applications, from estuary and beach restoration to coastal infrastructure assessment. This talk will showcase these projects to demonstrate the range of capabilities of SfM for restoration

The beach strategies geodatabase

This oral presentation will highlight methods, results, and utility of the Beach Strategies geospatial database, recently completed by Coastal Geologic Services as part of the ESRP Learning Program. Making nearshore geospatial data accessible and reliable for use by professionals presents unique challenges. Many coastal datasets in the Puget Sound region of the Salish Sea were mapped by many different scientists over many years, some using inconsistent or outdated methods. Improved remote and field-based mapping methods used in the project have greatly expanded the resolution and reliability of data from previous records. This geodatabase has immense value and implications for nearshore prioritization and restoration. Geospatial products of the Beach Strategies project consist of three major data elements: a shoreline feature class, comprehensive shoreline parcels polygons, and linear referencing routes that convey locations and context for littoral drift mapping (referred heretofore as net shore-drift cells). The shoreline feature class includes best-available mapping of shore armor, geomorphic shoretype (current and historical), fetch, divergence zones, and net shore-drift cells in Puget Sound. The parcel polygons include a compilation of Sound-wide residential and non-residential real estate parcels, which each contain a summary of adjacent, intersecting shoreline data. The linear referencing component treats net shore-drift cells as routes, which allows for examination of up-drift and down-drift relationships between areas of interest, such as identifying the feeder bluffs that supply a down-drift beach with sediment. Together these data can enable improve planning and prioritization of restoration and preservation of coastal processes from a Sound-wide scale to individual real estate parcels. All data included in the Beach Strategies geodatabase conforms to the WDNR ShoreZone Shoreline (2001), making it compatible with many existing coastal datasets. This presentation will focus on geodatabase components, structure, and applications for use by nearshore professionals around the region

Economic effects of large fires : application to the Cold Springs fire

3 pagesThis briefing paper contains a series of infographics that examine the effects that the Cold Springs Fire (2008) had on the employment and wages in nearby Klickitat County, WA, and where the $14 million spent to suppress the wildfire went geographically.This briefing paper was made possible with funding from the Joint Fire Sciences Program and the University of Oregon

Forest and watershed restoration in Linn County, Oregon : economic impacts, trends, and recommendations

28 pagesAcross Oregon, there is increasing interest in the economic activity that forest and watershed restoration can generate. The extent to which communities realize benefits from restoration depends on availability of work opportunities, capacity of local businesses to capture these opportunities, and how and where the work takes place. Assessments of these factors have helped build stronger understanding of restoration industries in many communities across the Northwest. We performed an “ecosystem workforce assessment” for the Sweet Home All-Lands Collaborative (SHALC). SHALC is a diverse group of local leaders in western Oregon that formed in summer 2012. Its purpose is to collaboratively coordinate land and watershed management in the Sweet Home area, and support economic activity from restoration. We examined selected trends in restoration and its economic impacts in Linn County, Oregon from 2004 to 2012, and developed a series of recommendations to increase impacts.The National Forest Foundation provided support for this project through a Community Capacity and Land Stewardship grant

Shore Armor Removal Portfolio 2015

Shore armor, such as bulkheads, rock revetments, and seawalls can negatively impact ecological function and impair nearshore processes in coastal systems. Natural Salish Sea shores provide vital foraging, refuge, and rearing habitat for juvenile salmonids. Negative impacts of shore armor include reduced sediment input from bluffs needed to sustain down-drift beaches and spits, increased wave reflection, direct burial of the backshore, and sometimes intertidal beach. Together these impacts result in a simplification of the shoreline, reduced beach width, and loss of habitats. The Puget Sound Partnership has made reduction of armor part of its Action Agenda. Shore armor is sometimes unnecessary and alternatives exist; under these circumstances shore armor and coastal structures can be removed and the beaches and bluffs of the coastal system can be restored/enhanced to a natural, functioning state. This showcase of successfully implemented shore armor removal projects, partnerships between agencies and organizations, and an informed and engaged public will encourage progress toward recovering coastal systems and nearshore ecosystems in the Salish Sea. Coastal Geologic Services has been involved in every stage (identification, prioritization, assessment, feasibility, design, construction oversight, and monitoring) for over 42 shore armor removal projects. The selected seven recent projects removed over 1,500 feet of shore armor in five Puget Sound counties. Projects highlighted include those at Deception Pass State Park, Ala Spit—Island County park, a City of Port Angeles park, and private residences. CGS is currently designing 16 bulkhead removal projects under a variety of funding sources—these projects are happening at an increasing rate

Parcel-Scale GIS Analysis to Support Nearshore Restoration and Outreach

Nearshore restoration opportunities can be identified with spatial data at many different scales. Linking assessment data with individual parcels provides a foundation to address one of the most common constraints to restoration implementation – the landowner. Spatial analysis of site conditions at the parcel unit scale can be used to filter out parcels in which restoration is infeasible or would provide little benefit to the nearshore ecosystem. The outputs of these types of analysis can be used to develop highly relevant outreach materials to targeted landowners and neighborhoods, incentives for property owners, and inform restoration design. This poster demonstrates the details of how parcel-unit GIS analysis was used in two different projects in the Salish Sea to identify and prioritize nearshore restoration opportunities, especially the removal of shore armor in low-risk sites. New opportunities and site synergies were discovered, resulting in targeted outreach and showcase pilot restoration projects. Protection priorities and parcels in which soft shore protection were viable alternatives to shore armor were mapped in one of the studies. This poster explains the analysis process and elaborates on the successes of two projects: The Feeder Bluff Restoration Assessment for Island and East Jefferson Counties project, and the Port Susan Marine Stewardship Area Armor Removal Assessment. Integrating science and social data can help to prevent scientists and managers from working in a bubble and provide the interaction necessary to initiate projects by scientifically identifying appropriate sites and building partnerships with willing landowners for nearshore restoration

Nearshore spatial data architectures to enable restoration, preservation, and coastal hazard mapping

Leveraging and updating several coastal datasets for the Puget Sound region, the Beach Strategies project (completed for ESRP) enables the planning and prioritization of restoration and preservation from a Sound-wide scale to individual real estate parcels. This effort corrects and updates mapping of net shore-drift, shoretypes, shore armor, and erosion potential, and connects spatial data with net shore-drift directional linear referencing. The Nearshore Geospatial Framework (completed for Puget Sound Partnership) is a companion project to replicate some functionality of Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project spatial data products (PSNERP; Simenstad et al. 2011) with updated data, including integration of forage fish and eelgrass mapping, and hydrology from small streams to the largest watersheds

The Economic Effects of Large Wildfires

Large wildfires disrupt the lives of workers, families, and employers. However, fire suppression and recovery efforts may provide economic opportunities. Unlike with other natural hazards, there has been little research about how wildfires affect local economies. The purpose of this project was to analyze the effects of large wildfires on labor markets and examine how fire suppression spending may mediate these effects. Main findings from this research suggest that (1) in the short term, labor market impacts from large wildfires are positive during the course of a fire, (2) in the long-­‐term, large wildfires lead to greater economic instability by amplifying seasonal variation in employment, (3) local capture of suppression spending helps mediate negative labor market impacts, and (4) local business capacity to capture suppression contracts varies and can be measured by the number of suppression-­‐related vendors active in the county