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  • Community Spotlight
  • Environmental Resource Assessment & Management

Assisting with a Risk and Vulnerability Assessment

L​os Angeles County in California is a densely populated area vulnerable to natural hazards such as flooding and wildfires. Our staff ​modified and applied the Integrated Vulnerability Assessment Framework developed by NOAA’s ​National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science to assess the county’s climate vulnerability. Through partner and stakeholder engagement, the team used a series of maps to ​identify areas at risk of wildfires, projected ​coastal flooding, ​and other selected risks. The team then explored how those risks align with social​, structural, and environmental vulnerability. These maps and information are already supporting development of local climate action ​and sustainability plans. This work was supported by several staff on contract with two NOAA offices: the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, and the Office for Coastal Management.

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Map of Los Angeles Metro Area with purple, blue, and green coloring. A square shows low to high risk and vulnerability associated with those colors.
This map depicts areas where high vulnerability intersects with high risk in the Los Angeles Metro Area.

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  • Community Spotlight, Uncategorized
  • Environmental Resource Assessment & Management

Training Citizen Scientists on Identifying Harmful Phytoplankton Within their Communities

Since 2018, CSS employee owners have provided support to NOAA’s Phytoplankton Monitoring Network (PMN) program, which is managed out of NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS). NOAA’s Phytoplankton Monitoring Network provides a highly valued bridge between the public and aquatic ecosystem researchers. Through this program, citizen scientists collect water samples from their designated…

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  • Community Spotlight, Success Stories, Uncategorized
  • Emergency Preparedness & Response

Supporting Response Efforts Following California Fires 

Following the fires that devastated Los Angeles, California and surrounding areas in January 2025, CSS employee owners were deployed to the area as a subcontractor to Weston Solutions, Inc. to assist with the response. This effort supports U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 Superfund Technical Assessment & Response Team (START) program.   Initially, a CSS…

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  • Community Spotlight, Uncategorized
  • Environmental Resource Assessment & Management

CSS Employee Owners Receive NOS Team Member of the Year Awards  

Congratulations to two CSS Employee Owner who received a National Ocean Service (NOS) Team Member of the Year Award for their dedication and hard work over the past year.   One employee owner received an NOS Team Member of the Year Group Award as part of Team Lynker, the prime contract company with NOAA’s Office for…