CEMW advances clearinghouse and estuarine‑health matrices; portal relaunch planned

Co‑chairs of the California Estuary Monitoring Work Group updated members on two core work items and next steps. Jan reported that the clearinghouse pilot is a shared Google Doc table that needs broader input; she and Rosemary recommended targeted outreach (direct emails and reactivating a subcommittee) instead of relying solely on listservs to increase submissions and to support development of an embedded Shiny map or app.

Kat Peshti, who is leading the matrices effort, said the work is divided into three subtasks: finalize a slide deck that codifies a shared conceptual model of estuarine health and services; develop programmatic and guiding questions for statewide monitoring; and build indices and indicator matrices that leverage EMPA work. Kat said the slide deck is close to finalization and encouraged participation from under‑represented regions such as the North Coast.

Jan said the CEMW portal (hosted via the Water Board) has been overhauled and is scheduled for a bare‑bones launch pending review with Water Board staff; the portal will host meeting notes, slide decks, monitoring links, and embedded apps. Members discussed timing and agreed to re‑engage the subcommittee and pursue targeted outreach over the summer, with a reassessment at the fall meeting.

Co‑chairs requested volunteers and contact information for monitoring program leads and asked members to expect a follow‑up email to coordinate submissions to the clearinghouse and next steps for the matrices. The co‑chairs will circulate the final slide deck and the updated portal link once available.