Contact: Contact:
Catherine Breault Fay Lim
Communications Specialist II Communications Supervisor
Catherine.breault@snoco.org Fay.lim@snoco.org
425-388-3053 425-388-6413
Snohomish County and the Marine Resources Committee Launch MyCoast – A Phone App to Monitor Coastal Changes
Snohomish County is seeking volunteers to take pictures to track and monitor shoreline changes
EVERETT, Wash., June 8, 2017– Many beachgoers bring along their smartphone to capture the beauty of the local sand and surf. In addition to sharing with friends and family, these photos can lend valuable information to researchers. In partnership with the Marine Resources Advisory Committee (MRC), Snohomish County has joined MyCoast, a smartphone app, to make it easy for the community to help monitor shoreline changes. Shartphone app creator, Blue Urchin brought the app to life, allowing beachgoers to submit photos of local beaches. Researchers can then use time-lapse photography to understand the changes occurring along our shorelines.
“Snohomish County is excited to engage with local citizens to gather information on shoreline changes, king tides, abandoned boats, creosote pilings and storm surges,” said Kathleen Pozarycki, Marine Resource Committee’s Lead Staff. “This information is vital to local resource managers and researchers to collect real time information.”
Members of the community who download the app can take pictures at any of 12 selected beaches along the Snohomish County shoreline. These photographs will be consolidated into a large online collection to tell the story of our shorelines. The goal is to gather photos taken from the same spot and perspective at each site to capture beach changes. The app provides an example photo and directions for each monitoring station. Photos will be posted online.
Interested beachgoers can download the free smartphone app, MyCoast, and go to “Add a Report” and then click on “Capturing Beach Change” to start participating.
Selected sites include Edmonds Bracket’s Landing North, Edmonds Olympic Beach Park, Edmonds Marina Beach Park, Mukilteo Edgewater Beach, Mukilteo Lighthouse Beach, Everett Pidgeon Creek Park, Everett Port Gardner Bay, Kayak Point Beach, Meadowdale Beach, Picnic Point, and Howarth Park Beach Stairs.
The MyCoast app is currently available in 16 states and has collected nearly 5,000 reports through state and national partnerships.
Relevant URLs:
About the Snohomish County Marine Resources Committee
The Marine Resource Committee’s (MRC) goal is to understand, protect, and restore the marine and estuarine ecosystems of the county. Local citizens appointed by County Council use science-based information to develop projects and help shape local and regional marine conservation policy. MRC members work to complement ongoing efforts by both government and non-profit agencies. There are seven MRCs in the Northwest Straits region of the Puget Sound. For more information, visit www.snocomrc.org.
About Snohomish County Public Works
The Snohomish County Public Works Department constructs and maintains county roads; controls and manages surface water quantity, quality, and fish habitats; and oversees the recycling and disposal of solid waste. The department’s main office is located at 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett, WA 98201. For more information about Snohomish County Public Works, visit www.snohomishcountywa.gov/PublicWorks.