The Washington Coastal Atlas and the International Coastal Atlas Network: Connecting to the ICAN Prototype

The Washington Coastal Atlas, first established in 1995, has proven to be a valuable resource to coastal and environmental managers. The Washington Department of Ecology developed the online atlas to assist local governments with their Shoreline Management Planning efforts. Interest and use of the atlas now extends to a broad audience, ranging from policy makers to the general public. Data layers available on the site include biological features such as wetlands and eelgrass beds, and physical features including drift cells and slope stability data. The atlas also includes 60 years of oblique aerial photos to view other shoreline features such as the level of development and presence of any shoreline modification. Coastal management issues do not stop at borders. The Washington Coastal Atlas is joining its neighbor, the Oregon Coastal Atlas, in the International Coastal Atlas Network (ICAN) prototype to illustrate the practical benefits of collaboration and metadata/data sharing for coastal management on a regional and international level. The Washington Coastal Atlas will be the first to join the prototype using ESRI technology, providing a robust demonstration of how Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Catalog Services for the Web (CSW) and Web Map Services (WMS) are able to connect atlases built on either open source or proprietary software. This talk will present the Washington Coastal Atlas, the steps that will be taken to connect it with the ICAN prototype, and the expected benefits for coastal management in the Pacific Northwest region.