State of the Beach/Methodology
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To assess the availability of beach health indicator information Surfrider Foundation has taken the perspective of the concerned citizen and has spent considerable time surfing the Web for more than a decade. We continue to search for new available information on coastal policies, data and reports and update this report on a continuous basis. We have also examined information availability from the perspective of the coastal zone manager. A survey was developed in consultation with Coastal Zone Management staff in several states. This survey was then sent to the coastal zone management agencies in the coastal states and territories covered by our report.
We examined the responses we received, reviewed existing literature, phoned or emailed coastal zone management agencies and, together with the results of our Web-based search for information, compiled the state reports. We then evaluate the information in the reports to determine the availability of information on and the status of our beach health indicators: beach access, water quality, beach erosion, beach fill, shoreline structures, erosion response, beach ecology, surfing areas and coastal zone management website.
State Coastal Zone Management staff has been and continues to be a major contributor to this report. We encourage CZM staff to send us updates as new information becomes available.