The Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association’s “Beach Watch” is a long-term shoreline monitoring project conducted by highly trained volunteers who regularly survey an assigned beach within the Gulf of the Farallones and Monterey Bay National Marine sanctuaries. Volunteers gather data on live and dead birds and marine mammals, collect oil samples, and document human use patterns and violations. The goal of this project is to compile Beach Watch data to produce a picture of bird and marine mammal life, both within and outside MPAs, before and around the time of their implementation. Researchers are also analyzing the “historical” data reaching back to 1993 to identify meaningful trends and to better understand regional variations in commonly seen bird and marine mammal species.