SYSTEMATIC, INEXPENSIVE COASTAL MONITORING IN OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK: MEETING RESOURCE MANAGEMENT GOALS

While it would be nice to apply state-of-the-art techniques to all coastal monitoring situations, there are many stumbling blocks. These methods are often cost prohibitive (e.g. LIDAR surveys) or the costs prevent regular data collection. Some shorelines do not lend themselves to regular engineering surveys or ATV/waverunner surveys. The outer coast of Olympic National Park is a perfect example. This shoreline is rocky and difficult to access (even on foot). Aerial surveys using photography or LIDAR might seem like the perfect solution, but the data collection and analysis is too costly for the Park's budget and these techniques do not provide critical information about substrate composition, biota, and other concerns of resource managers. To fill these needs in an affordable manner, we have developed a coastal monitoring program for Olympic National Park that combines a checklist driven coastal assessment with some shoreline measurement, grain size analysis, and photo monitoring. The goal was to produce a methodology that was scientifically rigorous, repeatable by various personnel, and could answer important resource management questions. Description of Method: Site selection was systematic, but not random. Four sites where chosen in each of four circulation. The four sites were divided into two fine grained and two coarse grained shorelines and were chosen to be representative and geographically diverse. Ten additional sites were chosen along the shoreline in areas of resource management concern. This methodology produced an initial 26 sites in which a monitoring station will be established. At each station, various shoreline characteristics (e.g. erosion/accretion, sediment composition, geomorphology) were characterized using a guided data sheet, supra-tidal width was measured, systematic digital photographs were taken with photo scales, and sediment samples were collected for laboratory analysis. Preliminary analysis indicates that the shoreline at 65% of the stations is stable with 20% eroding and 15% severely eroding. Future data will be collected twice annually.