| "We suddenly became very relevant to the whole conservation effort." | |
| Susan Bickford, Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve |
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Local land use and conservation decision makers in southern Maine have turned to the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve over the last decade for support with geographic information system (GIS) mapping and other technical needs. Today, the reserve is one of four GIS centers in the state, and has produced hundreds of maps at the request of resource managers, conservation groups, scientists, citizens, and students.
“We see our role as a clearinghouse for getting state and federal and regional information and passing it down to local organizations, as well as gathering data from local organizations and passing it up to the state, regional, and federal levels. We are the go-between,” says Susan Bickford, the Wells Reserve’s GIS specialist.
In addition to producing maps, the Wells Reserve GIS Center collects and shares digital parcel maps, aerial photographs, satellite images, maps of conserved lands, and rare wildlife and plant occurrence data. The center also offers conservation organizations direct technical assistance and training for GIS and the Global Positioning System (GPS).
“So much of land conservation is done visually,” notes Tin Smith, the reserve’s stewardship coordinator. “Taking an aerial photograph and putting a parcel map over it can create awe or amazement at a meeting.”
On the Path
The reserve’s path to becoming a GIS center began in 1998.
“We held a regional meeting where we brought 19 area conservation organizations together and asked them what barriers they had to conserving more land,” explains Smith. “At the top was access to GIS technology and resource information. They didn’t know what lands were being protected, or how they were being protected.”
Bickford notes that at that time, land use and conservation decision makers were basing all their decisions on hard-copy maps that would not even show the next town.
Out of that initial meeting came “our interest in increasing the quality and quantity of conservation going on in the area,” Smith says.
They began looking for the money and equipment they would need to provide the necessary technical support.
Federal Assistance
About a year later, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Coastal Services Center introduced its Protected Areas GIS (PAGIS) project, which provided the support the Wells staff members had been looking for.
The PAGIS project brought compatible GIS and geographic data management capabilities to each of the nation’s 25 estuarine research reserves and 13 marine sanctuaries to help build the capacity of the nation’s coastal resource managers.
Through PAGIS, the reserves and sanctuaries also developed advanced data sets, underwent extensive training, and found innovative ways to make the most effective use of their new data and technological capabilities.
“With the PAGIS program, we were able to put the technology and training together to meet our local organizations’ needs,” Smith says.
Number One Question
The Wells Reserve’s first effort was to create data layers that easily showed where area conservation lands were located.
“That took two years,” notes Bickford. “It took an incredible amount of effort to get going.”
Once complete, however, “people suddenly realized that natural resource assets were being lost,” she says. “We suddenly became very relevant to the whole conservation effort.”
One of Four
In 2006, the reserve was named by the Maine Coast Protection Initiative (MCPI) as one of four GIS centers on the coast of Maine.
MCPI is a coalition of more than 70 public and private conservation agencies and organizations working to leverage funding, technical assistance, and other resources to help build local capacity for conserving important areas along Maine’s coastal zone. The partnership was founded by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Maine State Planning Office, Land Trust Alliance, and NOAA Coastal Services Center.
In addition to providing operational funding, an MCPI grant enabled the four service centers to meet three times a year to share lessons learned and exchange technology.
“We were all doing GIS, but now we’re a little bit more coordinated and we have worked to get a standardized database format and uniform standards so that we can share information,” creating a coast-wide database of conservation lands, Smith says.
Although the MCPI grant has run out, Bickford notes that the four centers are continuing to meet on their own to continue data-sharing efforts.
Expanding Efforts
Today, the Wells Reserve GIS Center is providing data and support to 34 communities and conservation organizations. The center also works through the reserve’s Coastal Training Program to offer GIS, GPS, and other software training to enable local conservation organizations to create their own maps.
The support is provided on an as-needed basis and is free.
“Many people come to us not understanding anything about GIS,” says Bickford. “We offer training that enables them to visualize the kinds of assistance we can offer their organizations. We customize our services and training to each individual land trust.”
Documenting Success
While the amount of lands conserved in Southern Maine has increased greatly over the past decade, Smith says it is impossible to tell how much of a role the reserve’s GIS center has played.
Bickford estimates that over the years she and Smith have produced hundreds of maps for a variety of organizations, helped facilitate many large-scale collaborations, and enabled region-wide planning.
Projects have included supporting the Mt. Agamenticus to the Sea Conservation Initiative, a broad-scale effort to conserve a mosaic of 48,000 acres in a six-town area, as well as the Eastern Trail Alliance, a scenic walking and biking trail that will traverse coastal sections of Maine and New Hampshire.
“We have such a broad geographic mission to protect estuaries, but we can’t be in every community to protect every estuary,” Smith says. “Our goal is to help the people in those communities do their jobs better.”
For more information on the Wells Reserve GIS Center, visit http://wellsreserve.org. You may also contact Tin Smith at (207) 646-1555, ext. 119, or tsmith@wellsnerr.org, or Susan Bickford at (207) 646-1555, ext. 120, or suebickford@wellsnerr.org.
