Kelp is a valuable component of the marine habitat, which provides important benefits to communities, species, and ecosystems. It is also very important culturally for First Nations. MaPP is implementing a Regional Kelp Monitoring Project to monitor the extent and condition of kelp forests across all four sub-regions.
Please visit Regional Kelp Monitoring on the North Pacific Coast: A Community-Based Monitoring Initiative to Inform Ecosystem-Based Management, a StoryMap to learn more about our work on this key Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) indicator. Components of the StoryMap include the importance of kelp, kelp facts, the kelp monitoring framework including how kelp is monitored, sub-regional highlights, collaborators supporting data collection, lessons learned, and the vision for the future.
In 2023, MaPP Partners co-developed a Kelp Monitoring Conceptual Model and Roadmap with ESSA Technologies. This work was conceived to help synthesize the current state of knowledge on pathways of impacts on kelp and to develop a systematic framework or ‘roadmap’ for approaching the design of additional monitoring activities aimed at informing kelp management decisions. Click here to view/download the main MaPP Kelp Monitoring Conceptual Model and Roadmap.
Click here to view/download the MaPP Monitoring Methods (2021) document.
A series of training videos about kelp monitoring has been created. The videos cover the following topics:
- 01 Canopy Kelp Introduction
- 02 Canopy Kelp Monitoring Tiers
- 03 Survey Data Guidelines
- 04 Tier 1 Step 1
- 05 Tier 1 Step 2
- 06 Tier 1 Step 3
- 08 Tier 2 Step 2 Bull Kelp
- 09 Tier 2 Step 2 Giant Kelp
- 10 Tier 2 Step 3
- Drone Survey Methods
- Estimating Bryozoan Coverage
A series of kelp monitoring training videos has been produced.