To make your case for why an area deserves to be a Hope Spot, you’ll need data to back it up. It’s time to do some research to evaluate the suitability of the area you’ve chosen against the four main Hope Spot criteria:
RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION POTENTIAL
BIODIVERSITY
COMMUNITY IMPORTANCE
THREATS
ACTIVITY: SUMMARIZE AND PRESENT YOUR FINDINGS
Do some research on your area. You may want to use some of these tools to collect data for your nomination:
- Marine Cadastre National Viewer: US mapping tool that allows you to visualize data on marine life, offshore infrastructure, and more
- Global Fishing Watch Map: Open-access platform for visualizing human-based activity at sea
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): Provides environmental data on U.S. waters, such as temperature, habitat health, and species reports
- Local government and community websites: Data on community use, fishing licenses, environmental reports, and conservation projects