International Groups, Global Organizations, World Regions

(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)

Sites of interest for mapping/GIS

(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)

REGIONS: Canada/North America

Ecotrust Canada, ct98. (Ecotrust Canada Mapping Office, Second Floor, 1216 Broad Street, Victoria, B.C. V8W 2A5 Tel:(250) 480-1854 Fax:(250) 480-1375 Email: info@ecotrustcan.com GIS Contact: David Carruthers, Email:davidc@ecotrustcan.org) Ecotrust Canada is a private, non-profit organization developing creative and innovative approaches to conservation-based development in the coastal temperate rain forests of British Columbia. We are sharing our knowledge and data through Geographic Information Systems training programs with First Nations and other community groups. In order to reduce duplication, to avoid the inherent problems of working in isolation, and to create synergy among First Nations GIS departments, Ecotrust Canada is partnering with various First Nations communities to lay the foundation for a First Nations GIS network." GIS STATUS: "Last year, we joined together with the Gitxsan and Ahousaht First Nations and launched the "Aboriginal Mapping Network (AMN)" (see http://www.nativemaps.org). The idea here was to help create some synergies and cross-fertilization between groups involved in aboriginal mapping. There are currently 52 First Nations involved in treaty negotiations in the province, all of which are legally required to undertake mapping of their traditional territories, with little support for them to do so - until now. The AMN is emerging as a central forum where groups can share ideas and exchange information to avoid duplication and to help each other build local capacity in aboriginal mapping. The AMN is B.C. focused, but is not limited to this geographic area (we have a member in Australia)."

Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre, Canada c99. (P.O. Box 6416 (17 Waterfowl Lane) Sackville, New Brunswick, E4L 1G6 CANADA Tel:(506) 364-5092 Fax:(506) 364-5062 Email: rob.rainer@ec.gc.ca Rob Rainer, Executive Director. GIS Contact: Stefen H. Gerriets, Email:stefen.Gerriets@ec.gc.ca) "The AC CDC exists to efficiently provide information and expertise on species at risk and natural communities in Atlantic Canada, in support of decision-making, research and education. In support of this mission are three principal goals: 1) to build a dynamic, accurate, and comprehensive database on the distribution, character, and conservation status of species at risk and natural communities in Atlantic Canada; 2) to build relationships with organizations, agencies, and individuals who will significantly use the AC CDC's information and services; and 3) to make the data and other information managed by the AC CDC readily available to clients, at no or low cost. " GIS ACHIEVEMENTS: "To date, we have created a number of demonstration products to demonstrate the materials we can offer to data users. One concerned the 1996 census of the Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus), a species threatened by human activities on sandy beaches. This data was presented (1) on a local scale with numerous sites; (2) on an Atlantic Canada scale, showing a large portion of sites no longer occupied; (3) and on a continental scale, which demonstrated that the majority of sites of this 'shorebird' lie in the heart of North America, and that many sites have been lost to disturbance. Another product portrayed the distribution of the Wood Turtle (Clemmys insculpta), which is at-risk to collection by pet brokers. The turtle data was 'blurred' to densities of sightings per tertiary watershed, to demonstrate how sensitive data may nonetheless be communicated, and also how this species spans two provincial jurisdictions (Nova Scotia and New Brunswick). Over the last six months, we have been closely involved with the New Brunswick Museum and New Brunswick's leading botanist, who is located at the University of New Brunswick. Initially, we consulted with university staff regarding GIS and database software purchases, and about numerous details of data formulation. Then, large quantities of museum data (some 70,000 lines) were processed by us into a form that could be used by the botanist in a new edition of his authoritative book, Flora of New Brunswick. (Reference: H.R. Hinds, UNB, Fredericton NB. 506-453-4583; hal@unb.ca) We have also collaborated with two herpetological experts, one in Nova Scotia, the other at the New Brunswick Museum. The aim was to create a comprehensive and up-to-date database of Wood Turtle (Clemmys insculpta) sightings in the two adjoining provinces. The New Brunswick data is now complete. Two publications have resulted from the work: an academic poster, and a journal article (in progress), with the AC CDC contributing databasing, georeference checks, and presentation maps. " See their GIS projects "The tracking list represents those taxa for which the AC CDC will be compiling element occurrence information-precisely georeferenced information about where populations of each rare species occur in the province and the viability of the population at each site."

British Colombia Conservation Mapping Consortium, Canada e97. (GIS Contact, Tim Wilson. in 1999 BCCMC's work and grants were devolved into 4 partner organizations: Earthlife Canada Foundation, The Gowgaii Institute, Silva Forest Foundation, Sierra Club of BC)

BC Wild e95. (Box 2241, Main PO Vancouver, BC V6B 1H2. Tel:(604) 669-4802 Fax:(604) 669-6833 Email: bcwild@helix.net Tim Wilson Mapping Director, Email:twilson@bcwild.org) "BC Wild is dedicated to healthy environments, economies and communities that can be sustained in the long term, with primary focus on wilderness protection and sustainable forest practices. Our method for achieving these goals includes providing resources to grassroots organizations and individuals in the conservation sector in the form of relevant, credible research and skills development opportunities....Through its mapping program, BC Wild provided conservation groups with satellite images of areas under negotiation in Commission on Resources and Environment processes. Other mapping projects have identified the gaps between what is already protected and what is needed to conserve representative samples of the province's diverse ecosystems. Assessing the boundaries of proposed protected areas is also an important function of BC Wild's mapping program." Don't Miss: A Conservation Vision Map of Southwestern British Columbia.

Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society, Yukon Chapter. c98 ( P.O. Box 31095, Whitehorse, Yukon, Y1A 5P7 Tel:(867) 393-8080 Fax:(867) 393-8081 Email:cpaws@yknet.yk.ca. GIS Contact: Juri Peepre, Chair) "The Yukon Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society is part of a national organization dedicated to protecting wilderness and conserving wild ecosystems. The national organization was established in the 1960s and is the main grass-roots voice in Canada dedicated to the creation of parks and protected areas as well as the maintenance of ecological integrity in these protected areas. The Yukon Chapter was started in 1991 to advocate the completion of a network of Yukon protected areas. In 1993, we formed the Yukon Wildlands Project, a co-operating partner of the Wildlands Project, based in Tucson Arizona." GIS PLANS: "1. Complete an ecosystem analysis of the Peel River Watershed to produce a science-informed protected areas plan. Use the existing data to produce GIS-based maps that will help assess and present the information to a wide audience. 2. Prepare a GIS-based landscape analysis and protected areas plan for the southeast Yukon, informed by the previous work we have done in the region. 3. Prepare a GIS-based map of all known candidate protected areas in the Yukon to help inform the Protected Areas Strategy now underway in the territory. Convert our text-based inventory of ecological reserve candidates to a GIS-based map. Overlay the map with mineral occurences, forest cover and other values. Carry out an analysis at a territory-wide scale. 4. Develop the capacity to carry out future analysis and mapping of protected areas in the Yukon using a GIS system. Once the Protected Areas Strategy is completed in the spring of 1998, much of the implementation work will be done at a regional scale. For this reason, a GIS system will greatly enhance our capacity to work with local communities and First Nations. 5. Develop the capacity to prepare resource analysis and conservation proposals for the northern part of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative." GIS STATUS: "We had no problems getting the grant set up and so far it is working wonderfully. I'm having a lot of fun with it, learning lots, and we are starting get results to include in reports, put up at poster sessions, etc. Our focus to date has been on producing a map of potential and existing protected areas in the Yukon, as well as analyzing forestry data for specific potential protected areas. I would say that the biggest obstacle has been a lack of data. A lot of data does not exist as of yet for the Yukon. Other data is hard to obtain- government agencies are reluctant to provide it to us or simply don't have the time. I'm finding that searching for data on the internet is very time consuming and often data for our neck of the woods is not available. Figuring out how to convert data to a usable form in ArcView has also been a challenge. In fact, one of my suggestions for future beginner's training sessions would be to cover this aspect (i.e. data conversion and formats) a bit more. All in all, however, we are very pleased with the amount of work we've been able to do since October and the resulting products. "

Environment Committee of Ottawa South, Canada e99. (136 Glen Avenue, Ottawa K1S 3A2, Ontario, Canada. Tel: (613) 730-1754 Fax: (613) 730-0970 Email:sgarland@achilles.net GIS Contact: Peter Hall, Mike Lascelles Email:lascellm@cyberus.ca) "ECOS has designed and is spearheading a Millennium Project aimed at developing a long-term rehabilitation and restoration of the Rideau River system. The title of the project is Muskies, Frogs and Mayflies -- Restoring the Rideau River for the Coming Millennium. Our partners in this Millennium project include the Canadian Federal Government, the Ontario Provincial Government, our local Municipalities and numerous other Community and Environmental groups. The project is an inclusive, grass-roots undertaking which aims to involve thousands of local citizens in hands-on projects to improve the biodiversity, habitats and water-quality of the river." GIS STATUS: "We are presently working with Professor Dan Patterson on data including City of Ottawa, Regional Municipality, and the Canadian Museum of Nature (biodiversity) inventories which these organizations have given to ECOS at no charge and Dan and his students have given us 100s of hours of professional help as volunteers." Don't miss their Locality Maps.

Galiano Conservancy Association, Canada e98 c99. (RR#1, 1122 Porlier Pass Road, Galiano Island, V0N 1P0 British Columbia Tel: (250) 539-2424 Fax: (250) 539-2424 Email: galiano_conservancy@gulfislands.com GIS Contact: Ken Millard) " The Galiano Conservancy Association was founded in 1989 as one of British Columbia's first community-based conservation land trusts. The Conservancy embodies the long-standing conservation concerns of this rural forested island community. With a focus on education and building a sustainable relationship between the island's human and natural environment, the Conservancy pursues its goals through a volunteer Board of Directors and a diverse community-based membership of approximately 300 people." GIS PROGRESS: "Recognizing its effectiveness as a tool to store, analyze and portray geographical information for conservation-based planning, the Galiano Conservancy has established a GIS facility on Galiano Island. In 1997 the Conservancy undertook the Ecosystem Mapping Project, with goals to: - establish a comprehensive geographic database by drawing together information from diverse sources within government, and adding to it new data based on local knowledge, field work and aerial photo interpretation; - create island expertise in geographic analysis to produce resource maps, engage public participation in resource planning, and facilitate more productive cooperation with government; and - provide to the community the necessary support for innovation in conservation-based development. By the design and creation of a Galiano GIS database, Meg Holden (212-777-9129), then a geography graduate student at Rutgers University (presently a Ph.D. student at the New School), has helped bring the project from an idea into a functioning reality. Through partnerships with federal, provincial, regional and local governments, a remarkable range of geographic data is now the subject of critical analysis and assessment. In particular, there has been a cooperative sharing of information with the Islands Trust, our local government responsible for land use. The Conservancy's most effective display of geographic information has been using a aerial photo mosaic as a base map for overlays. At a scale of 1:10,000 it produces a map 2'x 9' for Galiano Island. "

Long Point Bird Observatory, Canada e97. (Long Point Bird Observatory, P.O. Box 160, Port Rowan, Ontario N0E 1M0 Tel: 519-586-3531 x 216 Fax: 519-586-3532 Email:BSC@nornet.on.ca GIS Contact: Andrew Couturier Email:acouturier@bsc-eoc.org, Louise Heyming ) "Founded in 1960, Long Point Bird Observatory was the first organization of its type in North America. LPBO staff and volunteers undertake and publish research directed at the conservation of wild birds and their habitats...The Long Point Bird Observatory is currently studying the complex relationship between forest birds and landscape patterns and forest composition. The goal is to develop a predictive model to demonstrate how individual bird species will respond to various forest management practices....We plan on using multivariate analysis to define the relationships among environmental variables (moisture regime, soils, elevation, distance to edge, patch size, basal area, canopy cover etc.) and between environmental variables and nest locations for each bird species. These environmental variables are available in several different layers in a mix of raster and vector formats that will need to be processed simultaneously to carry out analyses such as principal component analysis or canonical correlation analysis."

Nova Scotia Nature Trust, Canada, ct99. (Suite 217, The Roy Building, 1657 Barrington Street, PO Box 2202, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3J 3C4 N/A Canada Tel: (902) 425-5263 Fax: (902) 429-5263 Email: nature@edm.ca GIS contact: Bonnie Sutherland) "The Nova Scotia Nature Trust is a community-based conservation charity committed to preserving ecologically significant natural areas throughout the province. The Trust was created in 1994 and since that time has been active in formally protecting land for conservation through property acquisition and management, and through the use of conservation easements....With over 75% of the land in private ownership, and many of the most ecologically significant and highly threatened sites located on these private lands, the role of private land conservation is evident. To date, however, government conservation efforts, including GIS efforts, have focused on Crown lands. The provincial government does recognize the critical need for effective private land conservation, and the critical role of non-government efforts." GIS PLAN: "Over the coming year, the Nature Trust's main GIS focus will be consolidating and integrating several provincial databases into layers which can be superimposed to produce maps showing the location and ownership of significant conservation properties using specific pre-determined criteria. Our second focus will be to add our own data on our protected sites through digitization and to create map layers of this information. We will cooperate with our mentors and supporters (the Nature Conservancy, Atlantic Conservation Data Centre and Department of Environment) to create these layers for our system. Finally, as we build our knowledge and experience base over the longer term, we will move towards developing the capacity to use GIS to create our own custom baseline documentation and monitoring maps for protected properties."

Ocean Voice International, Canada e99 . (Box 37026, Ottawa, ON K1V 0W0, Canada Tel:(613) 264-8986 Fax:(613) 264-9204 Email:mcall@superaje.com. GIS Contact: Don McAllister) "Ocean Voice International is a modest-sized Canadian marine environmental organization which started in 1987. Our goal is to conserve marine biodiversity, foster sustainable use of marine biological resources and help small-scale fishers and communities in developing countries, as well as in Canada. We work through education, training, research, field projects and through partnerships with like-minded organizations. " ACHIEVEMENTS: "Educated fisherfolks in the Philippines about coral reefs, taught them sustainable alternatives to the use of cyanide to collect marine aquarium fishes. For the IUCN developed a database of over 1000 coral reef fish species, using simple GIS methods and an equal-area grid we developed, carried out analyses to locate the global areas richest in species - species hotspots. Shared the information with other organizations and countries to help in selecting the best marine parks. Advised the Climate Convention of effects of climate change on these species-rich areas. " GIS PLAN: "Three biologists will gather data on the geographic areas exposed to trawling gear. As the data is gathered it will be input into ArcView, the areas trawled computed, and the significance evaluated. That data will be provided to World Resources Institute for a special report for the year 2000 on status of the world's ecosystems. Additional data will be added after June, analyzed and shared by the three partners, WRI, the Marine Biological Conservation Institute and ourselves. This will be used to inform several audiences about the extent and environmental significance of trawling. " Dont Miss the new: Status of the World Ocean and its Biodiversity.

Raincoast Conservation Society, Canada e95. (Victoria Office: PO Box 8663, Victoria, BC V8W 3S2 Canada. phone: 250-655-1229 Fax: 250-655-1339 mailto:greatbear@raincoast.org. GIS Contact: Baden Cross, #400 2341 Harbour Rd. Sidney, B.C. Canada V8L 3X8. Tel:1-250-812-4761) see their MAPS page. "Founded in 1990, the Raincoast Conservation Society is a non-profit research and public education organization dedicated to the protection of the Great Bear Rainforest. The intact primary watersheds of this coastal region of British Columbia constitute one of the planet's rarest forest types and represent the largest portion of ancient temperate rainforest remaining on earth. ". GIS STATUS: "Since 1995 our GIS grant has been used extensively in the conservation work of the RCS in the coastal temperate rainforests along the central mainland coast of British Columbia. These ancient old growth forests are being subjected to widespread industrial logging (clearcutting)and are rapidly disappearing. Along with public advocacy, local and international slide shows, films, press conferences and media publications, the GIS software has been instrumental in bringing the issue to the general public, concerned governmental bodies as well as the scientific community. When we began our conservation work in 1992, the status of the temperate rainforests on the central coast of BC was basically unknown outside of resource extraction interests. Government and industry are intent in converting all remaining ancient old growth forests in this region to managed, even-aged, single species tree farms within a time frame of 20 to 30 years. Despite some small areas that have been set aside, the loss of these climax forests is accompanied by a tremendous loss of biodiversity including many red and blue listed, endangered species such as the Grizzly Bear, Marbled Murrelet and Pacific Giant Salamander to name but a few. Core reserve areas, buffer zones and connecting corridors of large enough size must be set aside to ensure the continued survival of these globally rare forests and their inherent biodiversity. ArcInfo GIS software has given the Raincoast Conservation Society the means to put the central coast on the map so to speak.. We have produced some 18 plotmaps through Arcplot as well as 7 ArcView projects which provide graphics and critical information that is helping to define an overall wilderness reserve proposal for the forests of the central coast of BC. This mapping information has been used by major environmental organizations such as Greenpeace, The Sierra Club and Western Canada Wilderness Committee as well as many smaller local groups such as The Ingram-Mooto Lakes Project ( indigenous peoples), Forest Action Network and Round River Conservation Studies, in their campaigns to bring both local and international attention to the rapid decline of the temperate rainforests of coastal British Columbia. A Conservation Mapping Project for the Canadian Raincoast: The Raincoast Conservation Society (RCS) is working to establish protected wilderness areas on the mainland coast of British Columbia. Known as the Canadian Raincoast, this vast stretch of wilderness contains a major portion of all remaining temperate rainforests in the world. The project is the result of more than six years of exploration, documentation and research by the members of the Raincoast Conservation Society. Two major wilderness regions covering roughly 3 million hectares of the Canadian Raincoast and one smaller region in the Knight Inlet area have been defined by the RCS. Tentatively called the Greater Ecstall Wilderness, the Great Bear Rainforest, and Knight Inlet Wilderness Area, these three systems in conjunction with the Randy Stoltmann Wilderness Area to the south, contain the majority of the remaining intact temperate rainforest enclaves on the mainland coast of British Columbia. The basic biological information gathered over the past 6 years is centered around these three ecosystems and is being assimilated in a GIS mapping and database format. It is intended that the results of this project will be incorporated in a reserve design process to determine what areas must be strictly protected, where corridors should be, what are compatible uses in buffer zones based on the concepts of The Wildlands Project for the North American continent."

Rocky Mountain Ecosystem Coalition, e94 c98. (Suite 203, 1225A, Kensington Road NW., Calgary, Alberta, Canada. T2N 3P8 Telephone: 403-270-3455 GIS Contact, Mike Sawyer, mailto:sawyer@rmec.org) "mandate is to promote the principles of ecosystem management and the conservation of ecological integrity and biodiversity in the Canadian Rockies, an area of over 120,000 square miles straddling the continental divide in British Columbia and Alberta. RMEC is pursuing its mandate through advocacy, an aggressive litigation strategy, public education and applied research." GIS STATUS: "RMEC used the first GIS grant in support of its' and other grass-roots conservation organizations' conservation initiatives. To date, RMEC's application of GIS technology has focused on landscape scale human disturbance in the Rocky Mountains and Boreal Forests of western Canada. Past projects have included watershed assessments, regional cumulative effects assessments on the study areas of up to 600,000 km2 in size, and habitat assessments for disturbance sensitive species. Past projects have focused on priority landscapes of high conservation values where ecological integrity is threatened by the exploitative activities of the petroleum, forestry, mining and agricultural industries. The results of these analysis are often employed in regulatory hearings, litigation and public education relating to RMEC's conservation objectives. " Their Ecosystem Science and Conservation page links to a lot of excellent Conservation GIS work, including the papers (see relevant papers section for more): British Columbia's Level 1 Interior Watershed Assessment Procedure as a Tool for Monitoring Potential Impacts of Development on Aquatic Ecosystems in Canada's Rocky Mountains. Stream Crossing Density as a Predictor of Watershed Impacts (ESRI 1997 Conf Paper). Cumulative Effect Assessment On Alberta's Southern Eastern Slopes. Don't miss their articles: How Roads Kill Streams by David Mayhood, and The Road to Extinction by Mike Sawyer. see also: SEARCH.