OBJECTIVES

Responsible for interagency leadership and program oversight, the National Ocean Service (NOS) National Centers for National Ocean Science (NCCOS) Biogeography Program coordinates A National Program to Assess, Inventory, and Monitor Coral Reef Ecosystems and assures that the following Key Conservation Objectives from the US Coral Reef Task Force National Action Plan to Conserve Coral Reefs are met:

1. Working closely with partners and stakeholders, develop and implement a nationally coordinated, long-term program to assess, inventory, and monitor US coral reef ecosystems.
2. Develop a web-enabled data management and information system for US reef monitoring and mapping data, with user-friendly GIS-based mapping and querying capability to present complex information in usable formats to all potential users, while ensuring the security of sensitive place-based biological or cultural resource data.
3. Prepare biennial reports on the State of US Coral Reef Ecosystems.

DESCRIPTION

Working closely with hundreds of partners and stakeholders, this program was designed in 1999 and implemented in 2000. It is endorsed by the US Coral Reef Task Force and a priority in the National Action Plan to Conserve Coral Reefs. NOS is the primary funding agency through Congressional FY2000-01 appropriations for coral reef conservation, and other NOAA appropriations relevant to coral reef monitoring. The current scope of work is comprised of six interagency tasks that must be integrated to meet the above national objectives:

• Task 1. Administer cooperative grants to States, territories, and commonwealths that build local capacity for long-term monitoring while filling gaps in the National Coral Reef Monitoring Network.
• Task 2. Maintain an easy-to-query GIS that displays up-do-date information on US coral reef ecosystem assessments and monitoring as a gap-analysis tool for resource managers.
• Task 3. Build an NCCOS coral reef mapping and monitoring database with a web-enabled, GIS capability to download and map the latest coral reef resource information.
• Task 4. Create a website for the National Coral Reef Monitoring Network, Database, and Information Management SystemÑa single-access NOAA portal that links information on coral reef ecosystem maps, assessments, inventories, and monitoring nationwide.
• Task 5. Design a "report card" based on indicators of coral reef condition that will be a reliable tool for tracking and predicting changes in coral reef ecosystems and reporting to the public.
• Task 6. Convene a national workshop for agency partners and managers of monitoring programs to prioritize their needs relevant to the 1) National Coral Reef Monitoring Network and Database and Information Management System, 2) report card indicators and the draft biennial report on The State of US Coral Reef Ecosystems, and 4) initial accomplishments, products, and future activities of A National Program to Assess, Inventory, and Monitor Coral Reef Ecosystems.

CONTACT INFORMATION