This is a two-year project to create an EcoAtlas user community for the Lahontan region of the Sierra Nevada to: (1) develop capacities within the region to apply EcoAtlas through existing local, regional, state, and federal programs to track projects and summarize map-based and rapid assessment information at the watershed scale; (2) transfer EcoAtlas to capable users in the region through handson training; (3) evaluate the efficacy of EcoAtlas for planning, restoring, and protecting wetlands and other aquatic resources in the region; (4) identify constraints and opportunities for ongoing regional use of EcoAtlas; (5) recommend institutional arrangements within the region to serve as a regional EcoAtlas clearinghouse; and (6) summarize lessons learned from this project that can be applied to other regional efforts to implement EcoAtlas.
This project will evaluate EcoAtlas applications currently being created through other state and federal grants to remotely map wetland projects and upload wetland information, plan riparian buffers, and generate automated profiles of wetland condition in a watershed context. The outputs from this project will have stand-alone benefits, but will also support separate but related proposals to develop a business plan for EcoAtlas and to determine the feasibility of Phase 2 of the California Wetland and Riparian Area Protection Policy.
Other Individual Contributors
Lahontan Water Board adopts Regional EcoAtlas Tools
The Lahontan Water Board (Regional Water Board 6) has formally adopted EcoAtlas and the California Rapid Assessment Method (CRAM). This will enable the Water Board to visually track and assess the extent of project impacts on a watershed basis throughout the region.
SFEI representatives Cristina Grosso and Josh Collins helped to foster the use of EcoAtlas and related tools in the Lahontan region during a recent workshop, which is part of a broader project. The objective of the workshop was to train interested parties inside and outside of the Tahoe Basin on EcoAtlas’ watershed-based decision support tools. The workshop began with a presentation on the applications of watershed-based decision support tools in the regulatory context. A Technical Demo Session and Open Lab provided hands-on training for EcoAtlas’ planning (CARI/TARI, CARI Editor), tracking (Project Tracker), and visualization tools (Landscape Profile Tool).