3 NPS GIS Case Studies

Present experiences on planning a GIS program in apark, program or regional office and how data has been integrated

acrossprogram areas and park divisions.

The Journey is much more Important that the DestinationWe are more similar than different.

Overview

• Yellowstone- Big Park/Corporate Data with GIS culture in place

• Pinnacles National Monument- Little Data Organization, Started Documenting Layers with metadata, established GIS plan

• Appalachian Highlands Network- Preaching Best practices for Parks and Documenting select natural resource layers, Interacting with Park Staff and GIS people.

Overview to how I saw things, types of projects I worked on. Data Requests, metadata strategy, establishing connections with park people.

Memories• Tried to see things as they were/are

• Not as I wish they were or Romanticizing the experience

• What happened good and bad from a GIS perspective?

• “The more connections we establish, the better off we are”-Bill Clinton

My First NPS Job

• GRYN stationed at Mammoth, WY

• Cartographic Tech, GS-7 Term

Yellowstone Center for Resources• Lots of specialists, well-funded

• Well–organized GIS data System in place for metadata

• Corporate structure

• Available to all YELL employees, fast-connection within the YCR

With Big Staffs, Order and More Order

• GPS check in Check Out

• SOPS and Documentation

• Strict Metadata Requirements for Corporate Data

• Metadata Guide

• Time for field personnel to create metadata at end of field season

• Intuitive directory structure for finding data

Staff and Resources

• 3 full-time Employees(One full-time IT)

• At least 5 seasonal employees

• GIS lab available to support the entire park

• 2 or 3 Big HP Plotters

Who used this data

• Fire• Ungulates(Elk, Bison, Antelope, Bighorn Sheep)• Wolf- Pack Home Range• Lynx- Habitat Selection• Fisheries(Lake and Cutthroat Trout)• Thermophile Inventory• I&M Cooperators, USGS, USFS, Universities• Interpretation

Connections

• Fisheries-Whirling Disease(NRDT-Geodatabase)

• 303D Stream Maps

• BigHorn Sheep Telemetry

• Antelope Telemetry

• Abandoned Mine Lands NRDT Database for BICA

• Data Mining, SMSS metadata for GRTE

Lessons Learned

• Success did not come overnight• Determination• Relevance and Cooperation• I&M was learning from an already good situation• Carrots with other divisions/YCR programs• Sticks with directly supervised staff• Programs not working with GIS did not have as

good data management/practices

Leaving Yellowstone June 2002• I’ll be back

Pinnacles National Monument

California!

GIS Team of One Specialist

• Decent base layers, decent structure

• No Metadata, Boundary from where?

• Little GIS culture

• Small Park with Big things happening

• Condor Re-Introduction

• Feral Pig Eradication

• Exotic Plant team, Vegetation Monitoring

Metadata 1st Priority

• 15 layers documented with XML

• Posting to Data Store

• Rousing clapping at Resources Meeting

• What then?

Seasonal Training

• GPS/GIS Overview

• GPS Units

• Field Exercises in Data Collection and Field Navigation

• Created shapefiles

• GIS training hands-on

• Analysis

Projects and Achievements

• Developed GIS plan, Metadata Mandate • Updated Park Map for Super and LE Rangers• Condor Release Site Viewshed Analysis• Park Fire Model-ESRI Conference• Wilderness Updating• RMAP, 1st Park Completed• AMBAG participation• Aerial photography for Park • GIS Day at Local School

Lessons Learned

• Planning and scoping is best recipe for getting quality results

• Make yourself available, helpful, personable and approachable

• Listening and Working with other divisions proved invaluable to the perception of GIS and of Resource Management

• E-mail can be dangerous and can affect your park perception, opinions need to be expressed through proper channels

• “Treat people the way you would like to be treated”-Tom Leatherman

Leaving Pinnacles October 2003

• Adios, Amigos!

Appalachian Highlands Inventory and Monitoring Network

• Not always looking at a computer

What is our Network Role for GIS Data?

• If we create it, or assemble it from cooperators, we metadate it

• We assist the parks in GIS and make recommendations for quality data stewardship

• We do not do their work for them, though I have led documentation efforts

GIS Drive for Network Server

• Copies of park layers

• Some duplication of layers that do not have frequent updates

• Interim and draft information and works in progress are stored on this server

• Final layers/ Geodatabases are given to parks with metadata

Outreach to Parks

• Assisted to get GIS data documented with XML files for BISO and BLRI

• Provided training and guidance on NPS metadata editor

• Provided demonstrations of NPspecies, Datastore and NatureBib to GIS users and resource managers

Like it or Not

• Little Park Data has metadata(always a last priority)

• Can connect remotely, not fast or ideal• Parks do not have a Corporate strategy• Some park communication with the

Network about new data they aquire• Varied stream of products to parks(not

everything at once) • Data flows from APHN to the Parks

Some APHN Products

• Revised APHN Network Map• Data Request of buffered Species Data• SE NPS Units Map for CESU• OBRI mapping of Cobble Bars from Aerial

Photos • BLRI Mapping of Poaching Arrests • BISO Reptile and Amphibian Maps• VegMap use for BISO Fire Planning

Similarities(In Closing)

• Connections, especially IT• Valuable Tool that Generated ideas and new

ways of looking at old problems• Some Base Layer Structure• Help with divisions other than Resource

Management helped buy-in and justification for Resource Activities and Projects

• GIS for me Evolved into Data Management, everywhere I went progressed more in this direction

Differences

• Documentation of Datasets

• Varied ways to make data discoverable

• Lots of Staff Use, Little Staff Use

• Requests and Documentation much more with network, more creativity and opportunity to explore with a park

Food for Thought

• It’s about the journey more than the destination, the journey will prove to be the most important part of your job

• And not making the same mistake 3 times• Good to write down procedures for a complex

GIS operation• “Every contact with another person is an

opportunity to exceed their expectations. Let’s make sure we do!” -Paul Anderson, SERO Regional Director

Attitude is Everything

What don’t you understand?