New York State Office of Cyber Security
Geographic Information Systems Clearinghouse
GIS Partnership Summary
Using GIS to Assist Inventory in
Adirondack Forest Preserve Unit
Management Planning
Partnership Purpose and Goal:
Using GIS to Assist the Inventory Portion of the Adirondack Forest Preserve Unit Management Planning Process.
The goal of this five-year project is to facilitate planning for the Adirondack Forest Preserve using Geographic Information Systems. The Forest Preserve consists of millions of acres of public land in the Adirondack Park divided into units and managed by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. Stewardship of each unit is guided by a Unit Management Plan (UMP), a document within which natural and cultural resources, stresses on those resources, and present and potential recreational facilities are identified, and recommendations are made to ensure that these resources are not compromised.
Under the auspices of this project, a Consortium of partners from universities, state agencies, and non-governmental organizations have gathered with the intent of aiding the natural resource inventory portion of the Unit Management Planning process. Consortium partners are collecting and organizing data needed to guide state land planning using one standardized GIS, and analyzing and interpreting the data to produce maps and new datasets. The result will be a coordinated approach to better land use planning in the Adirondacks.
The project goal includes four objectives:
- Assemble the GIS database. Establish a collection of data layers from diverse sources.
- Provide interpretation and analysis. Offer GIS, ecological and statistical expertise.
- Maintain a data library for future users. Ensure high-quality, well-documented, consistent data that is compatible with existing DEC databases and flexible for inclusion of data in the future. Provide data documentation (metadata) including the description, age, scale, and original creator of the data.
- Provide technical support to DEC planners. Enable the planners to focus on planning rather than the finer points of using GIS software.
GIS enables public land planners to look at multiple scales. Additionally, new inventory information can be included in the GIS as it is collected. Because each unit has a unique set of natural resources and potential users, for each unit the questions will be different. The GIS can be used to ask questions such as “what is the erosion potential for three options for the location of a new trail?” and “How far from a campground are the locations of rare plants, animals, and habitats at risk of degradation/disturbance?”
Participants and Resource Contributions:
Partner Organization |
Contribution |
NYS GIS Data Sharing Coop |
Adirondack Council |
Provide comment/insight on planning process, 2020 Vision series on land planning |
N |
Adirondack Ecological Center/SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry |
Provide personnel, office space, data and technical expertise |
Y |
Adirondack Nature Conservancy/Adirondack Land Trust |
Provide personnel, technical expertise, and data |
Y |
Adirondack Park Agency |
Provide data, technical expertise |
Y |
Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks |
Provide comment/insight on planning process |
N |
Audubon Society - New York Chapter |
Provide data, technical expertise |
Y |
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation |
Provide funding, data, technical expertise, and data archive/repository in the DEC GIS servers and the Master Habitat Data Bank GIS |
Y |
University of Vermont, The Rubenstein School of the Environment and Natural Resources |
Provide data, technical expertise |
N |
NYS Natural Heritage Program |
Provide data, technical expertise |
N |
NY Gap Analysis Project, Cornell University |
Provide data, technical expertise, and CUGIR data repository |
Y |
Wildlife Conservation Society |
Provide data, technical expertise |
N |
Time Frame
Date Partnership Began: November 2003
Completed: No
Deliverables:
The partnership is one of the primary deliverables – it will enable better use of time and resources for many kinds of land use and planning needs in the Adirondacks.
Non-sensitive data layers, digital maps, sets of map symbols and other standard cartographic elements, and other products will be available through the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. Original creators of datasets reserve the right to share data.
Brief Summary of Partnership:
The project has been a great success in bringing scientists, GIS analysts, and land planners together. Through the Adirondack Ecological Center, DEC planners have access to specialists who can interpret data layers in ecology, hydrology, and myriad other disciplines. In addition to DEC GIS staff, planners also have GIS experts available to assist them in proper application of GIS technology. Datasets that were maintained in many different formats are now standardized, and tools such as cost path analysis and site planning will enable DEC planners to evaluate management alternatives more easily and efficiently. Finally, the state can expect future savings in time and cost of maintaining one streamlined system (scheduled UMP updates are to be every five years).
Consortium membership has benefited partners via better communication between the various interests in the Park. The Consortium developed a Memorandum of Agreement that specifies conditions under which data shall be shared. Sharing is essentially one-way: the Adirondack Ecological Center will maintain the GIS database for the duration of the project, and any partner wishing to obtain another partner’s data must ask the data originator directly. Sharing sensitive data is always a concern, and some information, such as specific locations of rare species, will remain protected. Frequently, simply knowing what data exist helps partners’ individual efforts.
A critical feature of the process is the restriction of decision-making to the DEC. UMP-GIS Consortium members agree to provide information without advancing any agenda for public lands management. The DEC planners have been charged with making the decisions about facilities in the Forest Preserve, and that responsibility remains in their hands throughout this project.
The partnership is ongoing and as such the Consortium continues to strive for the project goal of improved public lands planning. After less than a year, the project’s success in sharing data and improved inventory information is demonstrable. In addition to continued data collection and analysis, GIS training will be a key element of the second year of the project.
Additional Information Available On-line : http://www.esf.edu/aec/research/ump.htm
Contact Information:
Stacy McNulty - Research Associate
Adirondack Ecological Center – SUNY ESF
6312 State Rt 28N, Newcomb, NY 12852
Phone: 518-582-4551
Fax: 518-582-2181
E-mail: smcnulty@esf.eduJennifer Gagnon - GIS Analyst
Adirondack Ecological Center – SUNY ESF
6312 State Rt 28N, Newcomb, NY 12852
Phone: 518-582-4551
Fax: 518-582-2181
E-mail: jbgagnon@esf.edu