While it is not necessary to become a computer analyst in order to participate in this process, it is important to know enough about spatial analysis ideas to begin to ask challenging questions of the data and the technology. The opportunities presented by GIS for local participation in ecosystem management lie in the potential of the technology as both an analysis and a communication tool. The compelling visual aspect of GIS provides a unique communication link between the scientific and technical components of research, planning and management on the one hand, and public understanding and participation on the other. Increased accessibility of GIS technology presents a real opportunity to strike a balance between scientific management of natural resources and democratic involvement in decision-making. To increase the ability of communities, organizations and individuals to participate fully in natural resource assessment and management processes at the local level, it is necessary to actively build local GIS capacity.
Building capacity goes beyond the acquisition of hardware and software.
It also includes enhancing the ability of individuals to understand and make use of spatial data by actively promoting awareness of the technology, increasing understanding of spatial data concepts and appropriate uses, developing a common vision for using GIS to understand resource management problems and construct cooperative solutions, and providing access to the data and technology itself. The area of interest of this atlas is the entire land area draining into the Coquille River along the South Coast of Oregon, referred to here as the Coquille River subbasin. The Coquille River subbasin is part of the South Coast River Basin. This designation is based on the USGS four level hierarchical system for delineating hydrologic units. A hydrologic unit boundary, as defined by the USGS, is a water management boundary which may not always follow the same line as a watershed boundary determined from basin ridge lines.