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GIS Partnership Summary

St. Lawrence County's
Biomass Inventory Project

Partnership Purpose and Goal

The goal of the biomass inventory project was to identify the location and quantity of land areas within St. Lawrence County suitable for grass and woody biomass resource production. These areas were identified using soil type, elevation, wetland, land use, and real property assessment data from a variety of federal, state and local sources.

This partnership between a county government and a private university was necessary due to the resource limitations of the county government. The County wished to inventory its biomass production potential but did not have the computer hardware and time or knowledge base to carry out this task. The goal of creating an inventory for the County and providing a learning opportunity, with course credit for a senior level student, was met.

Participants and Resource Contributions

Time Frame

Date Partnership Began: November 2008
Completion Date: May 2008

Deliverables

Countywide maps in hard copy and digital format showing grassland and forest land that is available for growing biomass that is unconstrained by soil type, wetland and slope. Lands are demarcated by parcel boundary and broken down by public or private ownership.  Data sets listing parcels and acreages are provided.

Brief Summary of Partnership

The partnership worked extremely well. The St. Lawrence University student worked closely with the University’s GIS Specialist, his academic advisor and a representative from the St. Lawrence County Planning Office to develop the parameters of the project. Restrictive parameters were developed in an effort to avoid possible exaggeration of biomass resources.

The data was analyzed using GIS (Geographic Information System) software. The GIS model was designed to generate a very conservative estimate.  For example, all wetlands and bodies of water were assigned a 100 foot buffer. As a result, lands that might be otherwise suited for growing grass or woody biomass were excluded due to their proximity to a wetland or water body. Land was also excluded if it had steep slope, was used for any type of existing agricultural operation, had good quality soil (soil that could better be used for growing production agricultural crops), was classified as primitive or wilderness areas within the Adirondack Park, or had a real property assessment not suitable for growing biomass (a commercial, industrial, residential etc. assessment).

As a result of these restrictive parameters, large amounts of land were removed from consideration; this resulted in a very conservative estimate of production capability.

St. Lawrence County lands determined to be suitable for grass and woody biomass production were divided into four categories:

Using the data produced it will be possible to generate less restrictive estimates by dropping out or reducing the limiting parameters.

All parties worked well together and a deliverable was produced on time.  Additional work will be undertaken by the County in partnership with the University to make the spatial data more accessible to the general public.

Contact Information

Carol Cady
GIS Specialist/Maps Librarian
St. Lawrence University

Phone: (315)229-5824
Fax:  (315)229-7291
E-mail:  ccady@stlawu.edu

    Jason Pfotenhauer                                        
    Deputy Director
    St. Lawrence County Planning Office

    Address: 48 Court Street, Canton, NY
    Phone:  (315)379-2292
    Fax:  (315)379-2252
    E-mail: jpfotenhauer@stlawco.org