ESRI Conservation Program Resources:

Rivers, Watersheds & Wetlands

(ECP and CTSP members, sites of interest for mapping/GIS, scholarly papers and ESRI Conference Proceedings, and sites with public conservation and GIS data for downloading) (Under Construction)

(Legend: CTSP sites are coded "c" plus the year of the grant, (cs=software, cm=mac), ECP grantees are coded "e". Many groups, especially newer grantees, do not yet have their own sites and are colored green. Other new groups may be described or supported by other sites)

Adopt a Stream Foundation Wa cs98 . ( Adopt A Stream Foundation, 600 128th Street SE, Everett, WA 98208, United States of America tel:425-316-8592 fax:425-338-1423 email:aasf@streamkeeper.org ) "The Adopt-A-Stream Foundation (AASF) was established in 1985 to ensure that Pacific Northwest streams continue to provide spawning and rearing habitat for wild salmon, steelhead and trout while also continuing to serve a recreational and commercial function for our growing population. . " ONLINE GIS DATA . "The Habitat Restoration Crew is currently surveying culverts for fish blockage/barrier problems on streams in Snohomish County and north King County. These data are being entered into a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) database and will be used by decision makers in local municipalities, counties and at the state level to plan restoration projects. The database is still under construction. Check Field Notes for more information on the culvert survey and how you can help."

American Rivers .(1025 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 720, Washington, D.C. 20005 Phone: (202) 347-7550 Fax: (202) 347-9240 mailto:amrivers@amrivers.org) "American Rivers is a national conservation organization dedicated to protecting and restoring America's river systems and to fostering a river stewardship ethic. The organization was founded in 1973 to expand the number of rivers protected by the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System."

The American River Conservancy CA, c97 (P.O. Box 562 Coloma, California 95613 (916) 621-1224 mailto:arc@coloma.com GIS Contact: Sue Britting britting@innercite.com) . "A local organization committed to the protection of the South Fork of the American River through education, stewardship, and conservation...Since its inception in 1989, the Conservancy has placed more than 2,000 acres of significant habitat into the public trust, working with such agencies as the Bureau of Land Management, the California Department of Fish and Game, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, and others...A.R.C. provides school programs to between 3,000 and 4,000 school children each year" GIS PROGRAM: "The American River Conservancy received a hardware and software package from CTSP in May 1997. Since that time we have assemble coverages for natural features, human created features, and social/political information relevant to El Dorado County. We have been working with an ecologist with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to develop a model of that displays the effects of residential and commercial development on the integrity of oak woodlands in the county. This model will assist us in identifying lands that are important to the conservation of woodland habitat values. An important element to our database is the county land use and parcel map.. The Conservancy wishes to use a GIS as a component of Partners for Habitat to assist in the development of : 1) a system of wildlife corridors and habitat reserves to provide the linkage of important habitat throughout El Dorado County; 2) a regional database which provides information on El Dorado County in one location accessible to other non-profit organizations and interested individuals; 3) an easily and readily accessible database of observations of the natural environment collected by the community; 4) map products that link the spatial dimensions of the habitat reserve system with observations from the community regarding habitat characteristics, wildlife movement, and wildlife abundance. Through the analysis of vegetation type, wildlife habitat relationships, streams and rivers, topography, and land ownership, all of which are available digitally for our region from various federal, state, and county agencies, we will be able to identify and prioritize biologically important lands in an efficient manner. Topographic coverages and digitized parcel maps from the county will allow us to delineate watershed groups or neighborhoods and create mailing lists for residents in these areas. These lists will be used to solicit interest in land conservation on a local level. A great deal of digital information is available from county, state and federal data bases for our region, but it is housed in many remote and not easily accessed sites. A central location or clearing house for digital information pertaining to El Dorado County will benefit the conservation efforts of the Conservancy and local non-profit organizations actively involved in the protection of natural resources. The Conservancy has initiated a community mapping project. The GIS will be used to store, organize, and manipulate the information on wildlife distributions and plant communities collected by participants. Map products will be used to display the progress of the mapping project and link observations made across the county."

Chattooga River Watershed Coalition GA c95 . (POB 2006, Clayton, GA 30525, tel: (706) 782-6097, E-mail: crwc@acme-brain.com ) (ecp feature story)

Clinton River Watershed Council MI e98 . (1970 Auburn Rd., Rochester Hills, MI, 48307-4803 tel:248.853.9580 email:CRWC1@aol.com Director: Jeanna M. Paluzzi, director@crwc.org . GIS contact: Matt Mistor %20mistorma@pilot.msu.edu ) GIS PLAN: "..to track, assess, display current conditions and model trends in the watershed. These conditions include the extent of urbanization, impervious surfaces (buildings, roads, parking lots etc.), land use (industrial, commercial, residential, agricultural, open space) and terrestrial and aquatic habitat. The data for this system will be obtained from USEPA, MDEQ, MDOT, South Eastern Michigan Council Of Governments, local units of government and some Council-collected data. Cartographic products will be produced to display conditions in the watershed and used in our outreach and education programs for local governments, citizen and project advisory committees, local residents and other concerned groups depending on their particular focus. GIS capability allows for more informed permit reviews, better documentation and display of survey results and management plans. "

Fox-Wolf Basin 2000 Wi e98 . (103 W. College Ave., Suite 709, Appleton, WI 54911 tel:920-738-7025 . email:foxwolf@athenet.net Gis contact: Bruce Johnson ) "a broadly based, independent, not- for-profit (501(c)(3)) organization dedicated to ensuring cost-effective public policy and private action to achieve and maintain high-quality surface waters in Wisconsin's Fox-Wolf River Basin (6,000 sq. miles). We have employed modelling techniques in the past to help guide public policy toward more efficient use of watershed-resource management funds. Results from our first modelling attempts have been used, in part, by the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resouces to determine which watersheds should be placed on Wisconsin's Priority Watershed list. "

Friends of the Garcia, Point Arena , CA e94 . (P.O. Box 916, Point Arena, CA 95468 Contact Peter Dobbins, pdobbins@mcn.org. ) "(FROG) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the restoration and preservation of the Garcia River and the intelligent civic planning within it's watershed. Activities: public awareness, litigation, aerial photo mapping, stream temperature and flow monitoring; Timber Harvest Plans and gravel mining concerns.

Grand Cal Task Force, Whiting , IN e93 .(2400 New York Ave. Whiting, IN 46394 (219) 473-4246 gctf@igc.org) "The Grand Calumet Task Force is a community environmental organization which works to improve the land, air and water quality of the Grand Calumet River and the urban ecosystem that surrounds it and to achieve environmental justice for the people of Northwest Indiana...The Grand Calumet River, located in the northwest corner of Indiana, has been a dump for industrial toxins and municipal sewage for almost a century. The Grand Calumet Task Force is working to clean up the river and surrounding areas." SEARCH .

Henry's Fork Foundation ID e97 . (PO Box 550 Ashton, ID 83420 Phone: (208) 652-3567 FAX: (208) 652-3568, Email hff@desktop.org ) "The Henry's Fork Foundation is a nonprofit, member-based organization founded in 1984 to preserve and protect the unique qualities of the Henry's Fork watershed located in eastern Idaho. The Henry's Fork Foundation is very active in regional decision-making and policy. Project areas: Creel and Angler Survey, Habitat Assessment on the Upper Henry's Fork, Hydrologic Analysis, Native Trout Inventory, Trout Population Dynamics, Watershed Mapping. . ...The Watershed Center (Jonathan Wheatley GIS Manager, Research Associate, Henry's Fork Watershed Center, email: henrys@srv.net) also houses a Geographic Information System (GIS), which allows us to analyze spatially distributed data, such as the locations of good trout habitat in the Henry's Fork watershed. " Projects: aquatic habitat, trout population and stream-reach inventories in our large watershed in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Sheridan Creek river restoration project (EPA grant), St. Anthony Riverside Trail project, and the Lower Henry's Fork Public River Access project. "Our use of ArcInfo products has enabled us to plan and communicate the results of our river-restoration projects and our scientific research in aquatic ecology and fish habitat. We have mapped our ongoing, watershed-wide aquatic habitat assessment covering a drainage area the size of Connecticut in the headwaters of the Snake River in eastern Idaho and western Wyoming. As part of our education and outreach mission, we have shown ArcInfo maps to local schoolchildren, residents of our rural communities, and to the many tourists and fly-fishing enthusiasts who visit Yellowstone National Park, in the eastern part of our watershed. "

Herring Run Watershed Association, Md e99 . (4337 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD 21214 tel:410-254-1577 fax:410-254-1066 email:watershed@herringrun.org GIS contact: Peter G. Conrad) "HRWA's mission is to improve the environmental quality of the Herring Run watershed for the mutual benefit of its communities and the Chesapeake Bay. ...The Herring Run Watershed Association (HRWA) began in 1993 with an extensive stream survey that mobilized over 200 volunteers and culminated in a report to the Baltimore City Council. Since that beginning, HRWA has coordinated the planting of thousands of trees in the Herring Run's riparian buffer, organized five "Spring Migration Festivals" attracting over 2000 people each spring. These festivals provide a great opportunity for networking and give government and non-profit environmental education groups exposure. HRWA has published newsletters, conducted a dozen environmental education workshops and organized 14 stream teams. We have utilized over 10,000 hours from volunteers in 1998. ...All together, more than one thousand trees were planted and maintained along the stream valley...HRWA's GIS goal is to organize an inter-jurisdictional watershed plan. As we develop our GIS capabilities, we have partnered with other local conservation organizations including the Jones Falls Watershed Association, the Gwynns Falls Watershed Association and Community Forestry. We have formed a GIS committee with these groups and will encourage their active use of our system. When possible, we have sought the necessary spatial data to cover their geographic areas as well as our own. "

Huron River Watershed Council, Ann Arbor , MI c95 .(1100 N. Main St., Suite 210, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 tel:(734) 769-5123 GIS contact: Kris Olsson: olssonk@umich.edu ) "Michigan’s oldest regional river protection organization. Formed by Huron Valley in 1965, the Council is a public, nonprofit coalition of citizens and Huron Valley communities. The mission of the Council is to inspire attitudes, behaviors, and economies that protect, rehabilitate, and sustain the Huron River System. GIS PROGRAM: "The Huron River Watershed Council has spent most of this first year building our GIS system, gathering data, and configuring the data to make it workable for our system. The second major component of GIS, data collection and formatting, has taken the bulk of our staff time. The Watershed Council has collected the following data layers: - Land Use/Cover (Anderson Level Classification) taken from aerial photography flown in 1978 and in 1990 - Soils digitized from Soil Conservation Books - Base maps of roads, waterways - Watershed boundaries, digitized from Watershed Council maps - Groundwater data, taken from well logs filled in by drillers for each well drilled in Michigan - Presettlement data - digitized from the original General Land Office surveys as they walked across the state and inventoried the landscape and plant communities - Michigan Natural Features Inventory ...Using GIS, staff at the Watershed Council have modelled phosphorus loadings to the River from middle Huron Creeksheds. From this information, policy makers can target which areas on which to focus in the pollution reduction strategy" NEW FULL COLOR WATERSHED MAP AVAILABLE

International Rivers Network , Berkeley CA c95 (1847 Berkeley Way Berkeley, CA 94703 USA phone (510) 848-1155 fax (510) 848-1008 email: mailto:irn@irn.org)" IRN is an organization that is on the forefront in the fight to stop the ongoing construction of hydroelectric, flood control, and irrigation projects. It links human rights with environmental protection...The IRN web site is a global resource for all people who share our concern for protecting and restoring the world's rivers and ensuring respect for the rights of riverine communities. The site provides activists throughout the world with important, in-depth background and current information on river campaigns. You'll also find an overview of our organization, our work and the many resources we have available. " See their online MAPS of: Bakun Dam Project, Malaysia: . Epupa Dam Project, Namibia . Okavango Delta Projects . Paraguay-Paraná Hidrovia Project .

Kootenai River Network, Noxon , MT e95 . (P.O. Box 491, Libby, MT, 59923. tel:(406)293-6934 mailto:matheny@libby.org. Data from the Montana State University Watershed Groups Database) "The mission of the KRN is to involve stakeholders in the protection and restoration of the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Kootenai Basin waters....An extensive Adopt-A-Stream Project was established in 1993 in the Kootenai Basin and has spawned similar programs in surrounding areas, including the Flathead and Bitteroot basins and inBritish Columbia. There are currently 24 active streamkeepers and 4 advisors monitoring 13 streams in the US portion of the Kootenai Basin. Many of the streamkeepers are also teachers using the curriculum in classrooms as well as in streams. A matching grant from EPA was secured to hire a professional facilitator in late 1994 to coordinate and expand KRN efforts. Organizational infrastructure is in place...GIS STATUS: Available data layers: Extensive coverage exists for a variety of features through the USFS including: soils, topography, trails, visuals, vegetation, water, precipitation, wildlife habitat and management units, lookout locations and coverages, management units, recreation, roads, quads, etc. Primary GIS data providers: U.S Forest Service" see also: GIS and Watershed Planning in Montana (By Cathy Maynard, NRCS ) "The past few years have seen the formation of numerous grass-roots organizations based on the concept of watersheds as planning units; and initiated to support and consolidate private, Federal, State and local land use planning efforts. Included among these locally based watershed planning groups are the BitterRoot Water Forum, the Blackfoot Challenge, the Kootenai River Network, the Elk Creek Watershed Council, and over fifty others...the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Region 1 of the US Forest Service, and the Natural Resource Information System program have recently established a cooperative agreement intended to provide GIS support to local watershed planning groups."

Little Miami Inc., Amberley Village , OH e96 . (6040 Price Road, Milford, Ohio 45150-1429 Voice + Fax (513) 965-9344 Email partee@littlemiami.com ) Little Miami, Inc. (LMI) is a non-profit 501c)3 river conservation organization dedicated to the conservation of the Little Miami National & State Scenic River, a Class 1 river flowing 105 miles through the rolling terrain of Southwest Ohio, USA... Little Miami Map : This interactive GIS mapping system can display selective census data (by the US Bureau of the Census Tiger Map site). LINKS section .

Merrimack River Watershed Council (MRWC), Ma e97 . (56 Island Street, P.O Box 1377, Lawrence, Massachusetts 01842-2577 USA tel:508-681-5777 fax:508-681-9637 email:aaronal@world.std.com ) "working for twenty years "to protect and preserve the Merrimack River watershed for the enjoyment of people, the benefit of its communities, and the health of the ecosystem". Our 1200 member non-profit organization is dedicated to protection and restoration of the 5010 square mile Merrimack River Watershed which spans the central part of New Hampshire and the northeast corner of Massachusetts and encompasses 17 subwatersheds....The Merrimack River Initiative (MRI) was a two-state, multi-agency, multi-stakeholder effort established to protect and manage the Merrimack River watershed in a comprehensive manner. The MRI sought to implement a holistic watershed management approach that integrates water quality and water quality issues, builds a constituency through multi-stakeholder involvement, and incorporates available resource information into the decisions that affect watershed management at all levels of government and in the private sector. " GIS PROGRESS: "We Developed a Water Quality Monitoring data layer and are in the process of developing a data layer that shows all the state designated hazardous waste sites in the Shawsheen River Watershed. Despite Federal, State, Regional and local interests in these data sets, it was MRWC that coordinated the effort to produce these data layers. We also worked with the Sudbury Valley Trustees to update the open space data layer and to teach one of their planners to use ArcView to update the States Open Space Data layer. In addition MRWC has developed a protocol with MassGIS that will easily allow the changes that SVT is making to be incorporated with the Commonwealths Open Space data layer. We are using our GIS to support production of a slide show called Non Point Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO). NEMO is a program developed by the University of Connecticut Extension School that uses GIS to educate municipal officials on what and how non-point source pollution affects water quality. Working with the Massachusetts Watershed Coalition, we are also working to provide GIS services to a consortium of Watersheds Associations including introduction to ArcView and watershed specific applications. "

Nashua River Watershed Association, Groton MA cs97 . (592 Main Street, Groton, MA 01450 tel: (978) 448-0299 Fax:(978) 448-0941 E-mail: nrwa@ma.ultranet.com ) "The Nashua River basin encompasses 31 communities in north-central Massachusetts. Within its 538 square miles, nearly 240,000 people live and work..More than 7,500 acres of greenway land along 85 miles of riverbanks throughout the watershed have been permanently conserved. This represents the protection of more than half of the watershed's riverbank miles.." . Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program. . Bluebird Recovery Program. LINKS .

Neponset River Watershed Association, Canton MA c97 . (2438 Washington Street, Canton, MA 02021 tel:617-575-0354 fax:617-575-9971 email:NepRWA@aol.com) The Neponset River Watershed Association (NepRWA) works to protect and restore the natural resources of the Neponset River Watershed for the use and enjoyment of both present and future generations. Programs: Education and Outreach, Stream Teams, Open Space . See: Locals Receive Environmental Awards from the Gulf of Maine Council : "December 15, 1995 Contact: Anne Donovan (617) 727-9530, x 411 On December 15, the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment announced that the Neponset River Watershed Association (NepRWA) and Stephen Greene of the Polaroid Corporation are Environmental Visionary Award winners. These two were recognized for their deep commitment to environmental protection and are among ten Visionary Award Winners selected by the Council. The NepRWA received the award because it serves as an excellent example of a successful urban "adopt a stream program," which focuses on the connection between the health of the river and the sources of contamination from the land uses around the river. The NepRWA established six "Stream Teams" to cover different sections of the river and schools, volunteers, boy scouts, and civic organizations are all actively involved with the Stream Teams. Each Stream Team surveys its section of the river and identifies problems, assets, and priorities for action. They then develop an Action Plan that outlines an approach to address these priority issues. The Stream Teams have accomplished a great deal, including: establishing a water quality monitoring program run by high school students, reducing bacteria counts by 50 percent in a section of the river by repairing a damaged sewer, and increasing community involvement. "

Octoraro watershed association, Pa e98 . (100 Ashville Rd., Nottingham, PA 19362 tel:717-529-3108 fax:717-529-2607 GIS Contact: Andrew Phillips, email:ANDREW.PHILLIPS@DOL.NET ) "Formed in 1967, our mission has been to promote the conservation, protection, preservation and restoration of the natural and historic resources of the Octoraro Watershed. We have a membership of 200, including Amish and non-Amish farmers, scientists, government officials, business people, homeowners and sports aficionados. The watershed, which covers 208 mi2 in Pennsylvania and Maryland, is predominantly agricultural, but has the dubious distinction of having the most rapid population growth in the region. The main environmental problem that we face is water quality degradation caused by agricultural runoff and development. "

Oregon Water Trust, Or c95 . (111 SW Naito Parkway, Suite 404, Portland, OR 97204 Phone: 503/226-9055 Fax: 503/226-3480 email: info@owt.org Gis contact: Leslie Bach ) "The Oregon Water Trust (OWT) is a non-profit organization working toward restoring salmon and steelhead in Oregon streams....OWT uses ecological, hydrologic and water rights data to identify priority streams and evaluate potential water right acquisitions...OWT is working on linking stream and fish data to upland watershed parameters such as elevation, slope, soil properties and management activities. The analysis will help us determine those locations that are of potential risk to salmon and steelhead and identify areas that could be improved through increased instream flows. We are interested in using Digital Elevation Model data along with hydrography to delineate longitudinal profiles and stream gradients. This will help us to identify different stream types and better understand the morphology of the stream system...In 1995 OWT received a grant from the Conservation Technology Support Program (CTSP) and received PC ARC/INFO and ArcView from ESRI. This grant enabled OWT to build a strong and successful GIS program. We have used our GIS capabilities to analyze water quality and quantity, map water rights information and display and present data and results. OWT is also committed to performing basic GIS operations and providing maps for a number of Watershed Councils and other environmental non-profits as part of our organization goals. "

Parker River Clean Water Association, Ma e97 . (P.O. Box 798, Byfield, MA 01922, tel:(978) 462-2551, info@Parker-River.org GIS contact: Dr. David Mountain ) "The Parker River Clean Water Association is a community non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the restoration and protection of the waters and environment of the Parker River and Plum Island Sound watersheds." GIS PROJECTS: Gulf of Maine Tidal Study and Users Handbook, Massachusetts Audubon Society Update of Plum Island Sound Monograph, Parker and Little River Water Quality Assessment. On-going Tidal Restriction Research: "An area in which we have been conducting research since the inception of the organization is in the field of identifying road and rail crossings where the physical structure (i.e., the bridge) is to small and in turn creates a tidal restriction. Where these restrictions occur, the up gradient tidal marshes are starved of enough salt water and in turn these marshes are dying. As part of the Gulf of Maine project, the PRCWA has received continuing financing to perform follow up tidal restriction measurements, while also receiving funds to develop a tidal monitoring handbook to be provided to other watershed groups. We have used the GIS to map these locations and to develop graphics for identifying the extent of the restrictions. We plan to continue the use of the GIS as we conduct more research in this area. Our ultimate goal is to develop a time series model of the tidal response throughout the basin using the GIS software. This model will be used as a planning and educational tool to help describe the problem to other groups and organizations. We hope that this model will provide significant value-added from a scientific viewpoint (i.e., allow people to accurately characterize and identify the problem) while also providing a powerful tool for helping to educate the public on the nature of the problem. " Don't Miss their Online Maps Page, including: Area of Critical Enironmental Concern, Land Use, MA House of Representatives Districts, Public Water Supplies, Wetlands, Openspace .

Patoka South Fork Watershed Steering Committee, In c99 . (3728 E. State Rd. 64, Winslow, IN 47598 Phone (812) 789-5059 Fax (812) 789-5059 psfwsc@comsource.net ) "The Patoka South Fork Watershed Steering Committee (PSFWSC) is a semiautonomous citizens group dedicated to enhancing the environment and water quality of the South Fork Patoka River Watershed in Southwestern Indiana. The South Fork of the Patoka River Watershed is considered the most heavily impacted watershed in the State of Indiana. Of the approximately 52,000 acre watershed, between 60 and 75 percent has been impacted or impaired. The environmental degredation from Acid Mine Drainage has been well documented by numerous scientific studies. These studies have documented the loss of fish, aquatic insects, and plants due to inflow of water with low pH, heavy metals, suspended sediments, and precipitates that coat the stream bottoms.A GIS was one of the very first things to be undertaken when the Patoka South Fork Watershed Steering Committee coalesced three years ago....We use the GIS to catalog problem areas in the watershed, so that we can develop remediation strategies. Being able to rapidly produce graphics to present to the various agencies responsible for oversight, allows us to furnish up-to-date data that is routinely used by local, state, and federal Agencies. For example: the Director of Land Acquisition - Indiana Department of Natural Resources recently requested water quality data for several sites in the watershed. They will use this data to help determine the feasibility of acquiring additional property for the Sugar Ridge Fish and Wildlife Area. Since we have this data in a "Hotlinked" coverage, we sent them the entire database via the internet."

Prescott Creeks Preservation Association, Prescott AZ cs97 . (gis contact: Michael Byrd Prescott Creeks Preservation Association 520-776-4490 voice 520-776-1439 fax email:mbyrd@primenet.com) GIS STATUS: "Our primary objective is to oversee the management of Watson Woods Riparian Preserve (WWRP) near Prescott, AZ. Our first goal (on receiving the GIS grant) is to build biological and non-biological inventories of what exists on the property. With the completion of those inventories, which are still on going, PCPA intends to create vector layers of the occurrence and distribution of the Preserve's vegetation, avifauna, small mammals, and herpetofauna, as well as geology, soils and archaeology. PCPA's second goal for WWRP will shift from a biotic and abiotic focus to a recreational focus. It is PCPA's intention to build a visitor's center and to develop a trail system once inventory work is complete. The use of ESRI GIS software will be critical to the spatial understanding of how people might impact WWRP's fragile habitats. IMPACT OF GIS ON OUR GROUP: "I believe the main impact GIS has had on PCPA is an overwhelming of our organization with technology with which do not yet have the knowledge and human resources to fully utilize. GIS tends to draw people in with its impressive, colorful finished products. I think people get fooled into thinking that creating images with GIS is a very simple and quick process, when in reality, it requires a great degree of dedication and development of skill. We got caught in this trap. PCPA has not fully utilized our CTSP granted software for several reasons. The first reason is that we have fallen behind schedule with tasks preceding GIS usage. Second, I intended to implement GIS into my position as Volunteer Preserve Manager, but found myself over committed and delegated the GIS work to a new volunteer interested in the technology. With this transition of personnel, I believe our organization lost a bit of our original focus and drive for the GIS usage. It has taken the new volunteer GIS coordinator longer than expected to get up to speed with the software. Unfortunately, I do not think the CTSP grant has had an overwhelming impact on Prescott Creeks Preservation Association. In all humbleness, I believe we got in over our heads and have not lived up to our obligations of the grant. We are still working towards the goals set forth above (and in our original application) and we will continue to do so until they are reached. "

River Network, Or e97 . (National Office: P.O. Box 8787, Portland, OR 97207. Phone #: 503-241-3506 or 1-800-423-6747. Fax #503-241-9256. E-mail: rivernet@igc.apc.org GIS contact: Cathy D Pearson ) "River Network was founded in 1988 with the conviction that the solutions to river degradation, like the problems, are primarily local. They must be created by citizen activists, valley by valley and stream by stream. We saw even then that the "top-down" approach could only go so far, that rivers needed a stronger constituency at the grassroots level. We dedicated ourselves to the mission of building citizen groups to speak out for rivers in every watershed across the country. " GIS PROJECT: Watershed 2000: "Three key initiatives of the Watershed 2000 program are currently underway: the River Source Center, to provide grassroots conservationists with state-of-the-art information on watershed protection and organizational development; the Leaders Program, to build strong state river councils, developing their capacity to work on statewide river issues and to support local groups in their area; and regional networks of state and local river and watershed groups, to tackle regional watershed issues and GIS capabilities are critical to the success of these program activities. A program that can integrate a wide variety of data is essential to providing better services as described in our mission. Maps will offer an intuitive graphic representation of current networks thereby allowing Leaders, donors, and local groups to quickly see where future efforts may be appropriate. Answering the "where" can lead to better understanding and quicker response to the "why" and the "how"."

River Watch Network, Vt, c98 . (153 State Street Montpelier, VT 05602 tel:(802) 223-3840) "River Watch Network (RWN) is a non-profit organization working to bring people together to monitor, restore, and protect rivers. RWN was formed in 1987, based on a successful 20-year program on Vermont's Ottauquechee River. Citizens and students living in the watershed successfully gathered and used monitoring information to galvanize community support for cleaning up the grossly-polluted river. RWN was created to establish a network of programs based on this citizen-participation model....We have roots in communities from the Rio Grande in New Mexico to the Presumpscot in Maine, inspiring local people to bring their rivers back to life. We're currently supporting 67 projects on over 107 rivers. Our services have reached over 15,000 volunteers ð and the numbers keep growing with the desire of citizens to address the river problems in their backyards....RWN helps groups collect data on physical, chemical, and biological characteristics and processes or rivers. For most of our groups, we either prepare reports as a service for them or we provide them advice and guidance on data management and interpretation. This advice is in the form of a manual and workshops on turning data into useful information. We suggest a five-step "data-to-information" process: . -1. Data Entry and Validation: We provide advice on computerizing and validating data into a computer spreadsheet for storage and retrieval. . .-2. Summarizing Data To Help with Interpretation: We advise groups on the use of simple statistical analyses, summary tables, maps, and graphs. . -3. Data Interpretation: This involves asking a series of questions about the data that relate to groups' study design question(s). The answers to these questions are organized as findings and conclusions. Based on these, a group may develop recommendations for action or further study. . -4. Summarizing Data To Tell a Story: We advise groups on how to present results in ways that illustrate findings, conclusions, and recommendations. This story can be told in text and selected tables and graphs that are organized into an oral presentation and/or a written report geared to the audience they are trying to reach. . -5. Written Reports: We suggest a written report format that summarizes the monitoring activity, reports findings and conclusions and makes recommendations for actions to address problems or for modifications to the sampling program if needed. This report can be the basis for other types of presentations. "

Sabine River Authority of Texas . (P.O. Box 579, 12777 N. Highway 87, Orange, Texas 77630 Phone: (409) 746-2192 FAX: (409) 746-3780 Manager: David Montagne, mailto:ssmith@sra.dst.tx.us) . "The Sabine River Authority of Texas is a governmental agency of the State of Texas created in 1949 as a conservation and reclamation district with responsibilities to control, store, preserve, and distribute the waters of the Sabine River and its tributary system for useful purposes." See their IMS MAPPER site .

Salmon River Restoration Council, Etna CA c97 . (PO Box 1089 Sawyers Bar, CA 96027 Voice: 530-462-4665 GIS contact: Jim Villeponteaux, email: jvptx@srrc.org) . "The Salmon River is part of the Klamath BioRegion located in Northern California where it is part of the federal Wild and Scenic River System....We have completed many small GIS projects and use GPS and GIS for all our mapping and monitoring needs. (I.E. Stream Temperature Monitoring Project, and Fire History Project ) Our cooperative relationship with the US Forest Service in subbasin planning requires us to be capable of understanding sophisticated GIS analysis and data quality issues. With ESRI's help, we have the needed capabilities and have earned the respect (and ear) of the government planners. Most of the agency planning processes rely heavily on GIS analysis of existing data. The Pacific Northwest Natural Resource management agencies are in many ways on the cutting edge of GIS analysis and use. We see data validity as a key element which agency personnel often do not recognize - or they do recognize their data gaps and use it anyway. We are a small but important component of conscientious use of data. We are trying to find ways to influence the agencies and other GIS data users to take the time to understand the limitations of existing data, and to find ways to improve (and collect more) data. " . . IMPACT OF GIS GRANT: "The CTSP Grant has been a great success with our organization. As we predicted in our request, this technology gives us the ability to understand and analyze information used by managing agencies. This ability places us in a higher technological level than we could otherwise achieve. Our organization is now viewed as a technical leader in natural resource management for the Salmon River subbasin. This position is recognized by the federal and state agencies, the local tribes and other community based groups. We provide technical assistance to many of these groups, as well as the local schools. Our CTSP Grants have established the credibility of our organization in the scientific community. Many of our upcoming projects are highly technical, including watershed education, subbasin planning and data collection/analysis. We are well integrated into subbasin planning in cooperation with the primary land manager, the USFS. Our mission in this activity is to help plan future management activities in order to ensure forest health using conservation biology management techniques and quality data. The SRRC believes that accurate information is an essential component of ecosystem management. All of our future funding requests will contain GIS components and will concentrate on data collection, integration and analysis to meet our conservation, protection and restoration goals. We use several methods to make our results available to agencies, other community groups and the general public. Besides paper maps and reports, we have produced (and are producing) digital presentations, web pages, newsletters and public ArcView demonstrations. GIS-produced maps and information are integrated into many of our products.

South Santiam Watershed Council, Wa . (33630 Mc Farland Road, Tangent, OR 97389 USA tel:541-967-5927 fax:541-928-9345 GIS contact: Susan Gries, Watershed Coordinator, email:gries@darkwing.uoregon.edu ) "In a world of declining salmon runs, reliance on natural resources for a sound economy, and gridlock over natural resource management, the South Santiam Watershed Council (SSWC) seeks local, alternative, cooperative solutions. Since the first public meeting in November 1995, the South Santiam Watershed Council has grown to over 50 members from a broad range of interests, including private landowners, industry, businesses, private organizations, and local, state and federal agencies. We plan to use GIS for: Conducting a watershed assessment; Tracking and illustrating water quality monitoring program results; and Conveying information on watershed conditions to watershed residents and stakeholders. "

Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association, Pennington NJ c96 . (31 Titus Mill Road Pennington, NJ 08534 tel:(609) 737-3735 Nature Center:(609) 737-7592 Farm:(609) 737-8899 Fax:(609) 737-3075 mailto:sbmwa@thewatershed.org . alternate url) "Drained by Stony Brook and the Millstone River, this 285-square mile watershed encompasses all or part of twenty-six municipalities in five New Jersey counties. For more than four decades, the Watershed Association has helped see that this resource is used wisely, and that the community's environmental awareness is enhanced through a wide variety of educational programs at its Nature Center and Demonstration Organic Farm." GIS PAGE: So what is GIS anyway? Where does the data come from? What can you do with GIS? . Don't Miss the Online GIS Map Gallery . "The Watershed Association is determined to understand the environmental consequences of development as part of a comprehensive Watershed Management Program. Under this Program, we have embarked on a long-term strategy in part by dividing the watershed into 40 sub-watersheds. For each, we are implementing volunteer programs to monitor and manage the resources. (We have built a network of 350 volunteers to monitor chemical, biological and ecological characteristics throughout the Watershed. We also target projects of stream-bank restoration and reforestation at areas of greatest stress.) Adding to our information network, we import data from available state sources, and incorporate existing and planned resource needs, including the location and extent of roads, housing, and other infrastructure needs. Using GIS, we are becoming the center of efforts to diagram, quantify and understand the consequences of development, both specific projects and in aggregate. At the same time, we are developing information on the economic consequences of a project and what kind of community the citizens should expect after proposed developments takes place....Once the sub-watersheds have been ranked, we will need to identify, mobilize and keep contact with key stakeholders and groups in each area to prioritize and initiate the necessary educational and physical restoration and stabilization work that will need to be done in each area. In each sub-watershed a management group will be convened including representatives from the municipalities, local community groups and educational institutions. This group will work to develop an action plan for the region and to identify planning alternatives, restoration and reforestation needs and educational programs for the sub-watershed. In this second stage GIS will be used to define the areas that need concentrated educational programming and to most efficiently coordinate volunteers, groups and municipalities, as well as to create existing build-out of the areas under present local zoning and reasonable alternative plans for conservation-minded development. ". .SEARCH .

Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Fund, Inc., Atlanta GA c97 . (Upper Chattahoochee RiverKeeper, Inc., P.O. Box 1720, Gainesville, GA 30501 tel:770-538-2619 Email: kriverkeeper@mindspring.com) "The Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper is an environmental organization dedicated to the protection of the Chattahoochee River, its tributaries and watershed. "The education initiative combines monthly activities inside the classroom with field trips to monitor the stream on a watershed basis. Students learn about watershed issues and incorporate science with language arts, social studies, math, and community involvement through mapping activities, and writing to local officials. " see: River Basin Map .GIS STATUS: "Riverkeeper currently has all of the permitted point source discharge (NPDES) data in ArcView (this data was provided by the state of Georgia). The state's database shares a common numeric identifier with our database, which is on Microsoft Access. We plan to link these two together data sources so that information on permit violations will be available to citizens who are interested in finding out the types and volumes of permitted discharges in a certain location and their violation record of those discharges. ...Riparian Restoration and Education Project - We have successfully assembled a set of coverages for the headwaters portion of the basin. These layers include (but are not limited to) streams, trout streams, CERCLA sites, mines, landfills, land use, roads, federal lands and local government boundaries. As part of the Riparian Restoration and Education Project (RIP-REP) we have just completed the implementation of a restoration project on one of our headwater tributaries. The second component of the RIP-REP project is the "road map" for future restoration and protection efforts in the Headwaters area. This road map will both identify future restoration sites and help support watershed planning projects. ...Watershed Planning Demonstration Project - Riverkeeper works with and helps facilitate the formation of subwatershed groups within our larger river basin. We believe that these smaller grassroots, community-based groups are essential to the protection of the river. These groups vary from truly watershed-based groups (i.e. Soque River Watershed Association, Friends of the Dog River) to more activist groups, often stemming from their participation in Riverkeeper's stream monitoring program (i.e. Nancy Creek Network, Troup County Schools). Riverkeeper provides resources and technical assistance to these groups, whenever possible. We have begun to produce maps for watershed groups to help them better view the resources in their watershed and/or to understand the spatial relationship between a series of sampling stations. We've learned mostly that developing a powerful and comprehensive GIS capability takes more time than we had anticipated. Throughout the process of working towards out goals, our biggest challenge has really been one of time or lack thereof. Between responding to hotline calls, patrolling the river, lobbying and speaking at meetings, there doesn't seem to be the big blocks of time required to sit down and "play" with and learn the system intimately. The nature of our job requires that we respond to many issues immediately - when certain policy issues or river spills are pressing, working at the computer sometimes gets placed on the back burner. We understand now that we must allocate and dedicate more time during our planning process to allow us to complete this work in the context of our other duties. We also realize, that there are many more applications for GIS that Riverkeeper wants to use. For instance, we would like to model changes in land cover to predict changes in water temperature as it relates to Georgia's more protective trout stream classification. ... LINKS .

Yuba Watershed Institute, Nevada City CA cm97 . (17790 Tyler Foote Rd. Nevada City CA 95959 (530) 292-9640 (was 478-0817) ywi at oro.net )

British Wetlands: Effective Management with GIS (1996 Abstract, Deborah Solomon and P. Dampney)..ADAS together with the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (ITE) have been commissioned to formulate wetland management policies targeted at restoring and enhancing wetlands within ESAs .This paper describes a Wetlands GIS which has been developed as a decision support tool to assist in the formulation of these policies.

California Rivers Assessment On-Line Query System (1995 Paper, Karen Beardsley, Harvey Chinn, and James F. Quinn)...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.

GIS Techniques for Evaluating Wetland Maps Derived from Remotely Sensed Data (1996 Paper, Joseph Spruce, Risa Wu, Russell Berry)...NASA's Commercial Remote Sensing Program Office performed a study to evaluate the utility of commercially available remote sensing technology for deriving wetland classification and mapping products for the NWI. This paper discusses GIS techniques used to assist this investigation. This project involved processing each remotely sensed data set into wetness maps for comparisons against NWI maps and GPS-based field survey data.

Kissimmee River Restoration: Overview of Inventory and Analysis Process and the Conceptual Land Use and Natural Resources Management Report (1996 Paper, Paul D. Kissinger, ASLA)...A primary goal for both the Save Our Rivers and Preservation 2000 programs is to have the Kissimmee River and associated land be used for public recreation without causing the degradation of the natural resources of the river corridor. As landscape architects and lead consultants for the project, E D S A worked with various professionals to develop a methodology for the inventory and analysis of what the post-restoration conditions is projected to be for the Kissimmee River Ecosystem.

Methods of Inventory and Targeting Wetlands Restoration Areas Using Multidate Satellite Imagery and GIS (1996 Paper, Richard G. Kempka, Ruth E. Spell, Andrew T. Lewis, Frederic A. Reid, Scott Flint and Kari Lewis)...Satellite images collected from two seasons in 1993 were processed to inventory wetlands and other landcovers in the Central Valley of California. The results of this inventory were incorporated into a GIS model used to evaluate waterfowl carrying capacity, to target potential areas for wetland restoration, and will ultimately be used to help ensure that reliable water sources are available for managed wetlands as mandated by the Central Valley Improvement Act (CVPIA) of 1991.

NC Crews: A Landscape Approach to Evaluating Wetland Ecological Function (1996 Abstract, Lori Sutter)...The need for improved wetland management required North Carolina coastal wetland managers to develop new technologies to identify and assess the resource. An overlay analysis of existing data allowed the Division of Coastal Management (DCM) to locate coastal area wetlands. These data become the basis of a wetland functional assessment procedure (NC CREWS - Coastal Region Evaluation of Wetland Significance). Using ArcInfo AML and menu interfaces, NC CREWS considers such characteristics as landscape position, stream order, proximity to pollutant source and the juxtaposition of other habitats to determine the relative significance of each wetland on the landscape.

Using ArcScan, PhotoGIS, AMLs and Digital Orthophotos for Converting Wetland Delineation into Digital Form (1995 Abstract, William J. Guazzo, Feng Yang)...A series of techniques for developing a digital wetland data layer has been developed by Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (Mass.DEP). This includes wetland interpretation from color infrared aerial (CIR) photos, field checking, and conversion to digital form. Traditionally, the conversion involves zoom-transferring and manual digitizing. The technique developed by Mass.DEP is on-screen.

All text by the respective organizations/authors, January 2, 1997

Web layout & design: Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. January 2, 1996