From this page you may access a number of MLPA Initiative web sites, including the MarineMap MPA decision support tool and pages describing how to access the MLPA Initiative's geodatabase. To access the official MLPA web site hosted at the California Department of Fish and game, click here.

MarineMap MPA Decision Support Tool
MarineMap is a web-based map and deicion support tool. For the general public, MarineMap may be used for displaying many of the key layers within the MLPA Initiati've database. Using any standard web browser, such as Internet Explorer, Netscape (Mozilla), or Safari, you may view and query data pertaining to the distribution of resources within the California marine environment. Data were compiled by scientists and GIS analysts at a variety of organizations, including the California Department of Fish and Game, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, The Nature Conservancy and the University of California Santa Barbara. Click here to view the map. (Note: Internet Explorer will not be supported until November, 2008. Please use Firefox, Chrome or Safari until that time.)

Additionally MarineMap may be used to draw prospective MPAs, share these MPAs with other users (or keep them private), and assemble MPAs into packages. Users may generate reports on the resources captured within individual MPAs and determine the extent to which MPA proposals meet Science Advisory Team guidelines. Drawing and analytical functions of MarineMap are available only to users with login credentials. Generally, we provide logins only to members of the MLPA Initiative, such as stakeholders, members of the Science Advisory Team and Blue Ribbon Task Force. If you are interested in obtaining an account, please contact Will McClintock.

Geodatabase
All of the data within the MLPAI geodatabase are publicly available. You may view all of the data using the IMS site or, if you prefer, you may download these data to your local machine. Please follow this link to a page that describes how you may use ArcGIS to access the MLPAI geodatabase and export files to your desktop.

Metadata Service
Most of the data within our database has metadata, or information that describes those data. All of these metadata are available through our metadata service which may be accessed via Internet Explorer or through an ArcIMS connection in ArcCatalog. To search and view metadata via Internet Explorer, click here. If you have ArcGIS, click here for directions to connecting to our metadata server via ArcCatalog.