The coastline of northern California is home to a diverse array of nearshore habitats that contain a wide variety of species. Geographic location, habitat diversity, and complex oceanographic patterns contribute to the rich diversity of marine life in this area. The northern coastline of Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP) is primarily composed of rocky intertidal areas dominated by boulders and rocky bench areas. In recognition of intertidal communities being a potential vital sign for monitoring, the Klamath Network and RNSP began working with researchers from the MultiAgency Rocky Intertidal Network (MARINe) program to undertake field testing of a monitoring program based on a well established protocol. In 2004, we initiated the intertidal pilot monitoring study in this region.

This report presents the results of the monitoring surveys done in 2010 of the rocky intertidal community at three sites within the Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP) in Del Norte County, California. These sites are part of MARINe (Multi-Agency Rocky Intertidal Network), a regional intertidal monitoring network sponsored by the Minerals Management Service (MMS), with additional funding and support from local and state governments, universities, and private organizations (see www.marine.gov). Funding for RNSP sampling is provided by the NPS through a collaborative agreement with the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Several coastal parks, including Cabrillo National Monument (CNM) and Channel Islands National Park (CINP), have begun intertidal monitoring programs to establish baseline datasets of their marine resources and to report changes in these resources (Davis and Halvorson 1996, Davis 2005). Monitoring intertidal assemblages allows changes to be tracked within and between communities over seasonal and yearly time scales. Such monitoring is critical for making informed management decisions.

This document describes the rationale and methods used by the National Park Service (NPS) Northeast Temperate Network (NETN) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuges (MCI) for long-term monitoring of rocky intertidal habitats. The monitoring effort will collect data for key metrics representing the ecological health of the intertidal zone, and over time it will provide an indication of the trend of these metrics.