Inventory field sheets were used in conjunction with aerial photos of the shoreline. The entire shoreline was divided into segments containing similar characteristics during the inventory. Features such as nearshore substrate (clay, sand, stones, rock, macrophytes, etc.), endangered and exotic plant species, streams, seeps, public access, human impact (shore hardening, beach alterations), and beach characteristics (sand/stone/rock, bluffs, dunes, wetland, beach width) were noted as either specific points or as general segment characteristics. A specific point was noted if it was only seen a few times along a segment, otherwise, if a feature was common it was noted as a segment characteristic.

The information gathered during the survey is available online as a database you can query, or you may view the data on a map of inventory segments. The full report of the survey is also available for download.

Results from this report are also a part of the Grand Traverse Bay Watershed Protection Plan. The field notes, including aerial photographs and field inventory sheets, are available for review at The Watershed Center library.