California's widely diverse rivers are among the state's most valuable resources. Rivers are also among California's most damaged ecosystems because of the many demands placed upon them over time. In 1992, the California Resources Agency determined there was a need to develop a good foundation of river-related information to assist planning and decision-making. The California River's Assessment (CARA) was thus begun and now comprises more than twenty federal, state and local agencies, and private organizations.

The purpose of CARA is to develop an information system that can provide a comprehensive inventory and evaluation of California's river resources and to make this information easily accessible to decision-makers and the general public. The World-Wide Web serves as a vehicle for disseminating this data in a user-friendly fashion. Our intention is to move beyond the simple display of static snapshots of river data by allowing non-specialist users to query public information on river resources. The strategy is to make the GIS and databases accessible through the World-Wide Web using readily-available access software, which is also being incorporated by the commercial on-line services. Equally important is the ability to remotely submit updates and corrections using the same software systems.