Project Update: Human Activities Monitoring in Natural Spaces

In March of this year, Ryan and Jadda traveled to Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties to meet with community partners whose work focuses on monitoring human activities in natural spaces but in different geographical contexts.

The first meeting took place with Ojai Valley Land Conservancy (OVLC). OVLC’s work is broadly focused on preserving land along the Ventura River for public recreation, enjoyment, conservation, and flood control. OVLC is also the largest single landowner in the Ventura River watershed, and playing an ongoing role in envisioning future land use and stewardship opportunities related to removing the Matilija Dam. The project that Ryan and Jadda are supporting OVLC with is related to understanding who is currently using one of their preserves, how the public is using it, how often, and what could be done to improve access and reduce barriers for folks from neighboring communities.

To answer these questions and improve public access, we are collaboratively designing an intercept survey that will be used to generate data on who is using the preserve. An intercept survey is a method for collecting data through a survey in a specific location. Intercept means to stop someone en route. OVLC will be implementing their survey at a popular hiking location to engage with visitors. Data from these surveys will be used to inform OVLC on how they can better serve neighboring communities in being able to enjoy the preserve.

An intercept survey method, deployed in the Ventura River watershed, is an example of citizen science capacity-building that can yield baseline data, and inform choices about watershed restoration as we move closer to the removal of the Matilija Dam.  

The second meeting was with the statewide network Marine Protected Area (MPA) Watch. With the support of Resources Legacy Fund and in partnership with California state agencies, MPA Watch volunteers have been conducting observations in MPAs along the coast of California for more than 12 years; the wealth of data that has been generated is aimed at supporting adaptive management of MPAs under the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA). 

MPA Watch was originally developed to learn how people use marine protected areas. On the “walk out” at specific coastal transects, volunteers collect data on the occurrence of consumptive and non-consumptive human activities, both offshore and onshore. This data is available to state agencies and a broad range of organizations to inform management decisions in MPAs. 

Now, state agencies and MPA Watch are interested in identifying who the users of the MPAs are, their purpose for visiting these sites, the frequency of these visits, and their knowledge/awareness of MPA rules and regulations. To deepen understanding of these topics, MPA Watch has recently begun to develop a new intercept survey protocol that could be implemented on the “walk back” after volunteers conduct the observational protocol on the “walk out.” The information collected through this process is intended to be relevant to other marine and coastal natural resource policy issues in California and beyond.

At the meeting in March, network members discussed a draft survey questions, and engaged in role-playing exercises, imagining diverse coastal visitors and contexts in which a volunteer might be implementing this new method. Drawing out practitioners’ knowledge in these moments helps us arrive at a design that is rigorous, practical, and relevant to state agencies and other partners.

The development of this intercept survey is a unique collaboration between the Center for Community and Citizen Science, government agencies, volunteers, and Resources Legacy Fund, with the common goal of protecting marine and coastal environments. That said, this study is intended as a pilot project to test and evaluate the sampling and survey design. Results and feedback from this study will improve the accuracy and efficacy of MPA Watch visitor intercept surveys that occur in subsequent years. 

We look forward to sharing more information about both these projects as our collaborative work progresses!