We hope you can join this webinar — part of the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s online webinar series, Salvaging Solutions to Abandoned and Derelict Vessels!

Each month’s webinar features experts on a topic related to abandoned and derelict vessels (ADVs). The goal of the series is to share perspectives from across the country on common issues arising from abandoned and derelict vessels, in hopes to help communities better deal with them.

This month's webinar, "Taking Inventory of the Issue," will focus on efforts to inventory and track ADVs. It will be presented by the following specialists:

• Liz Hartje, Project Manager – South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (DHEC OCRM)
• Mark White, GIS Manager/Senior Analyst – Research Planning, Inc. (RPI)
• Robb Wright, GIS Data Manager – NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R)

Liz has overseen the Marine Debris Program in the Coastal Services section at DHEC OCRM and managed the MyCoast South Carolina application since early 2015. MyCoast is a web and mobile-based application that allows users to report high-tide flooding, storm damage, and marine debris along the South Carolina coast. The Abandoned Boat reporting tool is being used to engage the public, document the presence of ADV along the coast, and promote coordination. Liz will share how DHEC OCRM uses information from the tool, its limitations, and plans for enhancing the tool over the next five years.

Mark is a Geographic Information Systems Professional (GISP) and serves as the GIS Department Manager and Senior GIS Analyst with nearly 30 years of experience with RPI. Mark has provided on-scene and remote support to NOAA’s Scientific Support Coordinators and the United States Coast Guard (USCG) since 1992, in addition to hurricane response since 2017. He and his team of highly trained GIS analysts and programmers have developed processes and tools to identify and track ADVs resulting from significant storm events. Mark will provide an overview of RPI’s efforts to support NOAA and the USCG.

Robb has been with NOAA for 17 years, where he has focused on making data available to the public through web-mapping and data portals. Robb has been with OR&R's Assessment and Restoration Division for the past eight years, where he assists with mapping oil spills, hurricane planning efforts, and other response-related work. Data from these activities often come from a variety of sources, so Robb works to make them more accessible to responders and the public by pulling them together into one common operational picture using the Environmental Response Management Application.

Please join us, and mark your calendar for the fourth Wednesday of the month at 3 pm ET/2pm CT/12 pm PT/10 am HT — and feel free to share the series with anyone with an interest in abandoned and derelict vessels!