About the Shoreline and Coastal Planners Group
Who We Are
The Washington Shoreline and Coastal Planners Group (SCPG) is an educational group of coastal planners working for the federal, state, local and tribal governments, non-profits, conservation districts and private consultants. We represent a multi-disciplinary group of individuals.
What We Do
The SCPG meets two to four times a year, providing an opportunity for shoreline planning professionals to meet, create new partnerships and coordinate a network for technical assistance. The SCPG also maintains a listserv and website.
Meetings are designed to be informative and represent different facets of each issue.
Purpose
The purpose of the SCPG is to foster communication between local governments and other relevant parties to:
- provide an informal professional development forum or symposium for discussion of policy concerns, new technologies, emerging issues and new or amended legislation or regulations; and
- better enable implementation of the state's Shoreline Management Act, Growth Management Act and other similar programs through field trips and discussion of case studies, best practices and lessons learned.
History
Beginning in 1973, two years after passage of the Shoreline Management Act, Washington State Department of Ecology Shorelands staff initiated bi-monthly meetings with local shoreline and coastal planners to assist them in developing Shoreline Master Programs. In the early 1990s, Washington Sea Grant‘s Coastal Resources Specialist assumed co-chair responsibility in partnership with Ecology’s Shorelands & Environmental Assistance staff. Since then, SCPG programs have been held quarterly on average. They have become more structured, guided by formal needs assessment surveys.
From 1999 to 2005, funding support was provided by the Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve through its Coastal Decision Maker grants program. Meetings now depend on support from host organizations.
Sponsors
Washington Sea Grant and the Washington Department of Ecology’s Shorelands & Environmental Assistance Program jointly coordinate SCPG.