Final technical report - Baseline characterization of sandy beach ecosystems in California's North-Central Coast Region

Sandy beaches are among the most intensely used coastal ecosystems for human recreation and are important to coastal economies, foraging shorebirds and surf zone fishes. Sandy beach habitat composes 51% of the 592 km of shoreline in the North‐Central Coast (NCC) region but little more than 10% of the available sandy beach habitat in the region was protected in three Marina Protected Areas (MPAs). The goal of this ecological characterization was to provide a quantitative, baseline description of sandy beach ecosystems in the region from which future ecological changes may be assessed, and to document any differences that may already exist between sandy beaches within and outside of MPAs. We also recommend ecological indicators for targeted, cost‐effective assessments and developed two citizen‐scientist protocols.