What did the client need?
The MLPA Initiative involves scientists, resource managers, other experts, stakeholders and members of the public. To identify the best locations for marine protected areas, the participants needed capabilities to map and analyze the biological, geological, oceanographic, and human features of California’s coast. IM Systems Group developed a decision-support tool using ArcGIS Server technology.

The MarineMap solution
MarineMap hosts the MLPA Initiative’s decision-support mapping tool and a geodatabase that contains all of the publicly available data used in the MLPA process. MLPA Initiative participants access the MarineMap servers over the Internet with user names and passwords. They can view maps, add and remove map layers, draw potential marine protected areas (MPAs), and publish proposed MPAs for review by users within the Initiative. They can generate analytical reports to compare the natural and human characteristics of proposed MPAs to other areas in California waters.

The MLPA Initiative data may be accessed over the Internet via ArcGIS software, and people familiar with that software will find connecting to the MarineMap server to be straightforward and familiar. Scientists and resource managers typically use the data this way.

However, all data in the MLPA Initiative geodatabase may also be accessed easily with a standard Web browser such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla, or Safari. Many stakeholders and members of the public choose to use the MLPA Initiative’s interactive maps this way because it requires no prior experience with GIS or mapping tools.

Links
MLPA Initiative Web Map hosted on MarineMap server http://marinemap.org/mlpa/

MLPA Initiative Web Site http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/mlpa/