Cooperative Charting is the name of the program of civic service performed by the United States Power Squadrons (USPS)/Vero Beach Power Squadron(VBPS) in cooperation with the National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The Program is conducted and administered cooperatively by the National USPS Cooperative Charting Committee and the Marine Chart Division of the National Ocean Service (NOS).

The Program is a major public service of USPS/VBPS. Under it, USPS members supply information to the NOS Marine Chart Division leading to the production "of accurate, up-to-date nautical and aeronautical charts" and related publications; and the preservation of geodetic control stations in the National Geodetic Reference System. Cooperative Charting is recognized as the most effective user-participation program in all of the Federal services.

What types of civil service are performed?

The Program provides a variety of services in support of our nation's charting authority! USPS/VBPS members supply information and corrections to nautical charts, small craft charts, Coast Pilot publications, depth surveys, tidal currents and related documents. We also supply information on tidal currents and depth surveys. As a service to other federal agencies, NOS acts as a clearing house on USPS boating related reports such as non-functioning aids to navigation (maintained by the USCG), cable crossings (monitored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), and corrections to other agencies' charts and maps (such as the Defense Mapping Agency, Corps of Engineers, and others).

In addition, because of our success in those efforts, other parts of NOS/NOAA have for many years requested our services, such as the National Geodetic Service (which maintains a database of land-based coordinates [marks] for chart and mapmaking, etc), the Office of Earth Science ( which produces the tide and current books we all use), and Aeronautical Charting (which is related to civil and commercial aviation) now under another agency.

How big is our civic effort?

It has been estimated that each year USPS contributes an estimated value of service to the U.S. Government of $15 to $20 million of effort through our reporting program. In a time of continually decreasing NOAA budgets, this figure could increase as requests for our services grow and NOAA resources shrink.

How does USPS/VBPS efforts in this program benefit the public?

USPS members act as field observers for NOAA. They are uniquely suited to this role because of the outstanding education and training they receive through the USPS?VBPS educational program. As the number of official NOAA observers decrease through budget stringencies, USPS members report on many items that would otherwise go undetected and unreported. Many of these reports are of a critical nature requiring immediate distribution through the Coast Guard's broadcasted and published 'Local Notice To Mariners'.

Without these USPS/VBPS observations, many hazards would go undetected until tragedy strikes through a nautical mishap. Thus, USPS/VBPS members save lives and property, as well as furthering boating safety through these efforts to improve the quality of our nations charts. The Cooperative Charting Program is a highly successful, public service effort dedicated to the advancement of safety on the water for both the boating public and USPS members.