The GIS Integration and Development Program

Grant Project Summary: Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Digital Orthophotos for Lake Erie Shoreline

October 1998 to December 1999Grant Project Area Map

Project Summary

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources entered into a collaborative agreement with NOAA’s Coastal Services Center to develop digital orthophotos for Ohio’s portion of the Lake Erie shoreline. This project was designed to promote the national Natural Hazards Reduction Initiative program through the development of local decision support tools for use in analyzing coastal hazard risk and vulnerability. The project also supports the primary goal of Ohio’s strategic action plan for the Lake Erie coast, which is to enhance the delivery of technical assistance and information necessary for wise use and preservation of coastal resources. The creation of digital ortho imagery helps promote specific state coastal program goals in the areas of coastal hazard assessment, planning, and mitigation. Digital orthophotos can assist future review and revision of coastal erosion mapping and can aid the regulatory operations related to the construction of erosion control structures, submerged lands leasing, and development in identified coastal erosion areas. The project accelerates two important state coastal program initiatives, namely, developing a Lake Erie geographic information system (GIS) and updating and expanding inventories of coastal resources to support planning, assessment, and decision making.

The digital characterization of Ohio’s coastal shoreline was conducted to benefit many coastal management applications. The information developed by the project supported the larger Lake Erie GIS project, provided a digital spatial inventory of shoreline attributes such as public access areas, and facilitated the management and restoration of beaches.

NOAA Coastal Services Center's Role

This was a grant project and NOAA did not have substantial involvement with the work.

Grantee Overview

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) was created by the Ohio Legislature in 1949. At that time, the department was responsible for formulating and implementing a long term comprehensive plan and program for the development and wise use of the natural resources of the sate for the health, happiness, and enjoyment of life for the people of Ohio. DNR owns and manages more than 590,000 acres of land including 74 state parks, 20 state forests, 127 state nature preserves, and 120 wildlife areas. The department also has jurisdiction over more than 120,000 acres of inland water; 7000 miles of streams; 481 miles of the Ohio River; and 2.25 million acres of Lake Erie. DNR also licenses all hunting, fishing, and watercraft in the state and is responsible for overseeing and permitting all mineral extraction, monitoring dam safety, managing water resources, coordinating the activity of Ohio’s 88 county soil and water conservation districts, mapping the state’s major geologic structures and mineral resources, and promoting recycling and litter prevention through grant programs in local communities.

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