The Data Source is organized into 18 chapters divided into two parts. The Communities section (seven chapters) characterizes socioeconomic status and trends in the project area, evaluates our community’s social and economic attributes for comparison with other communities, and provides the Data Source with critical historical perspectives. The Lands and Waterways section (eleven chapters) characterizes and evaluates the status and trends of the project area’s environmental attributes, and describes the likely effects of climate change on those attributes. In this section we include chapter summaries which evaluate the chapter’s information sources, identifying important data gaps and limitations.

Drafts of each chapter have been reviewed and edited by: 1) technical reviewers (those responsible for generating the data summarized in each chapter); 2) subject area reviewers (e.g., fish biologists reviewing the Fish chapter, school district administrators reviewing the Schools and Education chapter); and 3) the Partnership for Coastal Watersheds committee guiding the development of the Data Source (see below). While most of the Data Source chapters have been reviewed, it’s important to note that this process is still taking place. Those chapters still subject to additional review will be labeled as such on the chapter’s front page.

The Data Source was developed by the Partnership for Coastal Watersheds (PCW), a group of civic-minded local community members representing county and city planners, natural resource managers, and development and conservation interests. For more information about the PCW, go to https://partnershipforcoastalwatersheds.org or contact Jenni Schmitt at the South Slough Reserve.