SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION GIS.scgis.org 1997-2017 Commemorating 20 years. 1997 2007 2016 2015 20th Annual SCGIS International Conference July 17–19, 2017 Pacific Grove, California

scgis.org.

1997-2017 Commemorating 20 years.

1997 2007

20152016

20th Annual SCGIS International ConferenceJuly 17–19, 2017

Pacific Grove, California

SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION GIS

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A Message from the Board of Directors of the Society for Conservation GISOn behalf of the Board of Directors of the Society for Conservation GIS, I’d like to extend our warmest welcome and express our appreciation for your participation in our 20th annual con-ference. We are grateful that you have chosen to spend part of this week sharing, learning, and engaging with the SCGIS community. And indeed, it is “community”, with its many layers of meaning, that best describes what you will find yourself a part of over the next few days. A community of scientists and practitioners, teachers and students, spatial data producers and consumers, united by a common belief in the power of mapping to help conserve our natural and cultural heritage. Those of us that are SCGIS “old-timers” already know this well, and it’s a central reason that we return every summer. For those of you that are new to SCGIS, we hope over the next few days you feel embraced and energized by this like-minded group of tech-savvy passionate advocates for conserving the diversity of life.

A society is defined as an organized group of individuals associated together for a common purpose. In our case, we share belief in the power of science and Geographic Information Systems to educate, inspire, and mobilize evidence-based conservation actions that sus-tain nature and improve human well-being. In a world of increasing human populations and rapid environmental change, the need for our Society has never been greater, and will not diminish in our lifetimes. From the keynote speakers to the topical sessions to the project presentations of the SCGIS 2017 international scholars, you will hear a world of perspec-tive on the daunting challenges we face. But you will come away inspired by each speaker’s powerful combination of science, technology, and sheer commitment to practical solutions. Collectively, SCGIS is a powerful and positive force for good.

A society is only as effective as the combined efforts of its members. At this important milestone of our 20th anniversary, we reflect proudly on our history of accomplishments and aspire to increase our positive impact. Join us as we work to train the next generation of conservation GIS leaders from around the world, to provide a relevant and educational webi-nar series, to build community through our website and active listserv, and to organize and run this conference. We invite you to deepen your involvement in SCGIS, and be a part of a society whose mission is your own.

Healy Hamilton

Chief Scientist, NatureServe

President, SCGIS

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Table of Contents

Page 4 — Social Events

Page 5 — Opening Session Schedule

Page 8 — Session Matrix—Monday, July 17

Page 12 — Session Matrix—Tuesday, July 18

Page 16 — Session Matrix—Wednesday, July 19

Page 17 — Session Descriptions— Monday, July 17

Page 34 — Session Descriptions— Tuesday, July 18

Page 49 — SCGIS Domestic and International Scholars

Page 50 — 2017 SCGIS Committee Chairs and Board of Directors

Page 51 — SCGIS Advisory Council

Page 53 — SCGIS Committees

Page 55 — AcknowledgmentsRegistration Hours

Heather, Asilomar Conference Grounds

Saturday, July 156:30 pm–8:00 pm

Sunday, July 168:00 am–9:00 pm

Monday, July 177:30 am–5:30 pm

Tuesday, July 188:00 am–5:30 pm

Join the conversation on social media!

Conference hashtag: #SCGIS2017

Twitter: @SCGIS

Facebook: @SCGISIntl

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Social Events

7:30 pm–9:00 pm Sunday, July 16 Welcome Reception

Heather

7:00 pm–10:00 pm Monday, July 17 Map Gallery & Wine Reception Chapel

5:30 pm Tuesday, July 18 Monarch Butterfly field trip Meet Outside Chapel

7:00 pm–10:00 pm Auction and Reception Chapel

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Welcome and introduction of board and committee members, scholars, and a message from SCGIS Board President

Keynote Presentation Dawn Wright

Chief Scientist for Esri

Frank Davis

Professor, Bren School of Enviornemental Science and Management, UCSB

Conference Announcements and Closing Remarks

Opening Session ScheduleMonday, July 17 | 8:30 am- 10:30 am | Chapel

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Dawn Wright

Chief Scientist of Esri, professor of geography and oceanography at Oregon State University. In this role at Esri, she aids in formulating and advanc-ing the intellectual agenda for the environmental, conservation, climate, and ocean sciences aspect of Esri’s work, while also representing Esri to the national/international scientific community. Dawn also maintains an affiliated faculty appointment in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State. Her current research interests include data modeling, benthic terrain

and habitat characterization, coastal/ocean informatics, and cyberinfrastructure. Her recent advisory board service includes the US National Academy of Sciences Ocean Studies Board, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Science Advisory Board, the Blue Ribbon Panel of the World Bank’s Global Partnership for Oceans, the Science Advisory Board of Conservation International, the Board of COMPASS, and many journal editorial boards. Dawn is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as well as a fellow of Stanford University’s Leopold Leadership Program. She holds an Individual Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Physical Geography and Marine Geology from UCSB, an M.S. in Oceanography from Texas A&M, and a B.S. cum laude in Geology from Wheaton College (Illinois).

Frank Davis

Executive Director of the Long Term Ecological Research Network Communications Office (LTER NCO) and professor at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research interests are in landscape ecology, biogeography and conservation planning. Founder and Director of the UCSB Biogeography Lab, he has studied the biogeography and conservation of California plant communities, particularly foothill oak woodlands and maritime chaparral. His current research focuses on the ecological implications of climate

change for California plant species and ecosystems, including studies of the cumulative effects of renewable energy development, land use and climate change in the California Deserts, and collaborative research on cross-scale effects of climate change on California forests and wood-lands.

Frank is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Trustee of the Nature Conservancy of California, a member of the Board of Directors of the Tejon Ranch Conservancy, and past member of the National Research Council Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology. He is also a Fellow of the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program and a Google Science Communication Fellow. He earned his B.A. in Biology from Williams College in 1975 and Ph.D. in Geography and Environmental Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University in 1982.

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Maps for Advocacy2017 is an excellent time to re-examine our work as conservation technologists and question if we are doing all we can to use GIS most effectively to illustrate, persuade and explain our world’s conservation crises and solutions. To that end we are starting a new initiative to support our members to be better storytellers and advocates for nature. We call it “Maps for Advocacy”; and offer the following resources and changes in connection with our upcoming 2017 conference:

Panel Discussion

We will hold a panel discussion session called “Maps for Advocacy” where our cartographic experts listed above will share their strategies and methods for making maps that tell rich conservation stories and inspire people to act. We encourage you all to participate and bring your own recommendations to share about how you have created maps that make a different to your conservation mission.

Map Competition

A map competition is added to our 2017 Map Gallery. This will be a formal competition called “Mapping for Advocacy” and you will be judged on 2 submissions: First, you will submit your map which may take the form of a static map, map application, dynamic map (such as a storymap) or website. Second, you will submit an essay (one page maximum) where you will tell the story of that effort and, in particular, describe the impact it has had, or alternatively describe the design and artistic decisions you made in creating it and the viewer reaction you were trying to elicit with it. Your score will be based 50-50 on these 2 submissions. Winners will get a certificate called the “SCGIS Cartographic Impact Award” and there will be 3 categories: Best Design, Greatest Impact, and a Grand Prize winner. Maps may still be submitted to the gallery for display without being entered into the contest.

Map Doctor’s Office

Would you like custom advise on one of your map products? We will host a new “Doctor’s Office” during our traditional map gallery evening reception. Our cartographic design experts—Alex Tait, Jim Meacham, Jeff Howarth, and Marty Schnure—will be on hand to examine and critique any maps or apps you would like to share. They will answer your questions, offer tips about how to improve your map to make your compositions more impactful and memorable. One-on-one appointments of 15 minutes each are available for the first sixteen people who sign up. Signups are open to SCGIS members first. Any slots remaining two weeks prior to the conference will be open to members and non-members alike. If you reserve a spot, please come to your appointment a few minutes early with your map in hand (on paper or on a device) and with specific questions to ask.

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Session MatrixMonday, July 17

7:30 am–8:30 am Breakfast Crocker Dining Hall

8:30 am–10:30 am Opening Session and KeynoteChapel

10:30 am–NOON Chapel Acacia Toyon Curlew

Marine Ecology Birds Conservation Planning, Climate Change

Environmental Justice & Urban

Predicting the Global Distribution of Hermatypic Coral Reefs

Vitalis Dubininkas

Scholar Paper Distribution and Habitat Use of the Yellow Cardinal (Gubernatrix cristata) in Argentina and Perspectives on its Conservation

Marisol Dominguez

Land Protection in the Face of an Uncertain Climate

Neil Jordan

Scholar Paper Can the People Who Use Wheelchairs Enjoy the National Parks?

Khew Ee Hung

Scale and Patch-size of Deep Coral Gardens in Channel Islands

Peter Ethoyer

The Anthropogenic Landscape of Hawaii: Threat Assessment for Endangered Hawaiian Seabirds

Jenni Learned

Scenario Planning and Geodesign for Strategic Conservation

Jason Winner

The SCGIS Russia Chapter and Greenpeace Global Mapping Hub: The Two Sides of the Same Coin

Anna Komarova

Student Paper Satellite Data Products for Coral Reefs in Southwestern Puerto Rico

Suhey Ortiz

Expanding Avian Research and Conservation at Powdermill using GIS

Jake Slyder

Sense Globally, Act Locally: Global Data for Local Conservation Act David Eitelberg

Patterns of Risk using an Integrated Spatial Multi-Hazard Model

Kyle Buck

Student Paper Global Biogeography of the Deep Sea

Abby Lapointe

US Forest Service Mapping and Monitoring of Sage-Grouse habitat in the Intermountain West

Kevin Halverson

The Hudson Valley Conservation Strategy : Conservation in a changing climate

James Mudd

Delphi vs GIS: A com-parison of Two Methods for Identifying Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas in Canada

Nadine Wells

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12:00 pm–1:00 pm Lunch Crocker Dining Hall

1:00 pm–2:00 pm Chapel Acacia Toyon Curlew

Research Methods Vegetation Analysis Conservation Planning, Climate Change (Cont’d)

Tech: Mobile

Mapping Mycorrhizal Mutualists for the US

Randy Swaty

GIS Solutions for Earning FEMA CRS Open Space Preservation Credit

Melissa Rosa

Raspberry Pi and the Naturebytes.org kit as the Platform for Field Data Collection and Autonomous Detection

Chris Nicholas

Student Paper High Spatial Resolution Mapping of Land Cover Types in the Cerrado’s Heterogeneous Landscape

Fernanada Ribeiro

Utilizing GIS Applications to Enhance the California State Land Commission’s Sea-Level Program

Esther Essoundry

Kauai’s Natural Area Reserve’s Offline Tracking System of Resource Management Activities

Mapuana O Sullivan

Survey123 and Collector: Tools for Conservation of Mexican Protect Areas

Xochitl Rojas

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Chapel Acacia Toyon Curlew

2:00 pm–3:30 pm Marine Mammals Habitat Mapping Landcover Change

Landcover Classification and Analysis

Technical Workshop

Student Paper Characterizing Distribution and Habit of Hector’s Dolphins Using GIS

Cheryl Cross

Student Paper Connectivity Conservation for Tigers in a Human Dominated Landscape

Indranil Mondal

Forest Change Analysis of Agricultural Land Use

Ifeoma Collins

Conservation Planning Coast to Coast - SF Bay Area and Connecticut River Basin Stuart Weiss

Scholar Paper Occupancy rate and habitat preference of humpback whales in the Gorgona Natural National Park, Colombia. Benítez, Laura Daniela.

Modeling the Relative Priority of Habitat Linkages, Including Climate Considerations

John Gallo

Innovative Data and Tools for Chesapeake Bay Conservation and Restoration

Cassandra Pallai

Humpback Whale Distribution Patterns and Habitat Usage As Related To Bathymetry, Ocean Floor Variants Along the Hawaiian Islands

Michelle Kinzel

Explaining Marine Bird Spatial Distributions in Dynamic Windscapes

Max Czapanskiy

Scholar Paper Spectral Mixture Analysis in GEE to Map Fire Scars in Brazil’s Deforestation Arch

Gabriel Daldegan

Student Paper Noise Exposure of the Southern Resident Killer Whale Population, Canada

Simone Cominelli

Spatial Distribution of Overwintering Monarch Butterflies in Santa Barbara County

Daniel Meade

Scholar Paper Integrated Real-time Monitoring of the Alto Mayo Protected Forest with Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Systems and Acoustic Sensors

Jimmy Leonardo Pinedo

Session MatrixMonday, July 17 (continued)

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3:30 pm–4:00 pm BreakHeather


Wildlife Movement Modelling

Conservation Planning and Prioritization

Marine Animals

Maps for Advocacy

Balancing the Needs of Bears and Foresters: A Methodology to Identify Specific Forest Management Goals that Regionally Benefit an Umbrella Species

Annette Spivy

Beyond Tools: Using story to manage complexity

Dan Rademacher

Quantifying Effectiveness of Longline Gear Management Areas for Migratory Sharks

Hannah Calich

Student Paper Improved Habitat Connectivity Analysis Using Multiple Low-cost Paths

Nathan Walker

ArcGIS for Conservation of Urban Trees in Appomattox River Watershed

Shobha Sriharan

The Mapping of Sea Turtles and Whale Sharks using a UAV in the Baja California Sur Mexico

Scott Thompson

The Effects of Repeated Relocations on Range Establishment and Movement Metrics of Eastern Box Turtles in a Highly Urbanized Environment

Annette Spivy

Student Paper Creating a conservation network for the Mackenzie River Basin

Naomi Louchouarn,

Student Paper Doppler Radar as a Conservation Tool: Assessing Vessel Traffic Distribution

Samantha Cope

Student Paper An Evaluation of Elk Movement and Habitat Selection in North Dakota

Jacqueline Amor

Geospatial Excellence in Weed Control - Providing a National Picture

Ann De shutter

The Responsibility of Boaters

Matthew Sole

5:30 pm–6:00 pm Alex Tait National Geographic Scholarship

BreakHeather

6:00 pm–7:00 pm DinnerCrocker Dining Hall

7:00 pm–10:00 pm Map Gallery (Including Map Competition and Dr. Office from Maps for Advocacy) and Wine ReceptionChapel

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Session MatrixTuesday, July 18

7:30 am–9:00 am Breakfast Crocker Dining Hall

9:00 am–10:30 am Chapel Acacia Toyon Curlew

Aquatic Habitats, Species, Aquatic Restoration

Coastal Conservation & Planning

Ecosystem Services & Agriculture

Technical Workshop

Improved Conservation Outcomes Through Distribution Modeling of Threatened and Endangered Species

Healy Hamilton

Restoring the Louisiana Coast: Strategies for Analyzing and Prioritizing Coastal Restoration

Katie Coyne

Scholar Paper Vulnerability and Climate Risk Analysis of the Amazon Biome and its Protected Areas

Johanna Prüssmann

Image Processing and Analysis in ArcGIS

Miriam Schmidts

Biodiversity Information Serving Our Nation (BISON) - Mapping 300M Species Occurrences.

Derek Masaki

Student Paper Not All Shoreline is Created Equal: A Shoreline Vulnerability Index of San Francisco Bay’s First Line of Defense Against Rising Seas

Abby Mohan

Scholar Paper Pasture Utilization and Monitoring in Ol Pejeta Conservancy, a GIS Approach

Vincent Abere

Modeling on Stream Networks: Spatial Statistical Models for Herring Spawning Habitat Use

Meg Williams

Student Paper Integration of Terrestrial Source in MPA Management

Kyle Flanagan

Facilitating Climate Smart Agriculture through GIS

Kellee Koenig

Scholar Paper The System of Certification of Forests and Incentives (Sistema de Certificación de Bosques e Incentivos - SBCBI) is Derived from this Institution, the Project in Which it Currently Works

Erwin Pardo

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10:30 am–11:00 pm Coffee & SnacksHeather

11:00 am–12:00 pm Chapel Acacia Toyon Curlew

Aquatic Habitats Restoration

Drones Tech Conservation GIS Apps Technical Workshop (cont’d)

Student Paper Off-Channel Mapping for Identifying and Prioritizing Topeka Shiner Restoration Sites

Courtney Zambory

Student Paper Drone use for Botanical Surveys of Vertical Surfaces on Kauai, Hawaii

Ben Nyberg

FieldWatch - A Voluntary Mapping Registry

Bob Walters

Image Processing and Analysis in ArcGIS

Miriam Schmidts

Study of Endangered Habitat Structure and

Dynamics in Koshi Tappu Wetlands (Nepal)

Using Predictive GIS Models

Suruchi Prasad

Evaluating UAS/Drones for Monitoring and Modeling Riparian Systems

Jim Graham

WWF-SIGHT: integrating spatial data to guide land use planning, policies and investments

Paolo Tibaldeschi

A Bird’s Eye View: Maximising the Potential of Drone Technology for On-Site Wildlife Conservation

Thomas Starnes

Scholar Paper GIS for Nature Protection in Russia: The Short Survey of the Major NGO’s Projects in 2015- 2017

Anastasia Philippova

12:00 pm–1:00 pm LunchCrocker Dining Hall

1:00 pm–2:00 pm SCGIS Membership MeetingChapel - All Welcome

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Species Conservation: Mammals

Indigenous Conservation

Environmental Impacts Technical Workshop

Scholar Paper Spotted Hyena Survival and Density in a Lion Depleted Ecosystem: The Effects of Prey Availability, Humans and Competition Between Large Carnivores in African Savannahs

Jassiel L. Msoka

Te Orewai Wahi Tapu - GIS Mapping - Using Digital Tools to Support Traditional Practices

Delaraine Armstrong

Redefining Mine Closure Based on Deep Ecology & Solmaxion Engineering

Charlotte Thornton

An Introduction to Mobile Field Data Collection in ArcGIS

Ismael Chivite

Scholar Paper Human-Elephant Interactions and Associated Damage in the Northern Transboundary Areas of Bangladesh

Mohammad “Doha” Shamsuddoha

Scholar Paper Spatial Land Use Planning in Northern Nimba

Solomon C Carlon

Earth Engine as a Tool for Detecting Mountaintop Removal Mining in Central Appalachia

Christian Thomas

Scholar Paper Understanding the Home Range and Habitat Type used by the Bornean Elephant in the North Kinabatangan Managed Range

Lucy Peter Liew (EFN)

Scholar Paper Using the Past to Inform the Present: The Benefits of Cultural Restoration for Environmental Resource Management

Aaria Ripeka Dobson-Waitere

Using Python and Selenium to Make Geographical Sense of BLM’s LR2000

Connor Bailey

Scholar Paper Tracking Down the Ivory Traffickers in Gabon: Why Elephants Need GIS and Technology

Wilde Rosny Ngalekassaga (EFN)

Modeling Anthropogenic noise with Sound Mapping Tools ArcGIS Toolbox

Alexander Keyel

3:30 pm–4:00 pm BreakHeather

Session MatrixTuesday, July 18 (continued)

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Species Conservation: II

Participatory Forest Mapping

Water Quality & Image Analysis

Technical Workshop (cont’d)

Scholar Paper Assessing and Projecting Abundance of Brown Bear in Broghal and Qurumbar National Parks, Northern Pakistan

Ali Nawaz

Scholar Paper Development of participatory GIS approach for digital demarcation, database design, and update of several forest management regime of Nepal

Yogendra K Karna

Water Quality Index Models for Dokan Lake Using LANDSAT 8 OLI Satellite Image

Hasti Abdullah

An Introduction to Mobile Field Data Collection in ArcGIS

Ismael Chivite

Scholar Paper Spatial Distribution of Bamboo (Cathariostachus madagascariensis) and Endangered Greter Bamboo Lemur Species Territories in the Ranomafana National Park of Ranomafana.

Andrianoely “Dina” Herilala

Tree cover loss, human demographics, agricultural livelihoods and commu-nity forest use in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Janet Nackoney

Student Paper Using Historical Aerial Photography to Identify Landscape Legacies: Is there a Signal of Historical Land Use in Trans-Border Groundwater Aquifers?

Tanya Gallagher

Scholar Paper An Assessment of the Distribution and Conservation Status of Endemic and Near Endemic Plant Species in Maputaland

Hermenegildo Alfredo Matimelee

Holding Peatland Restoration Commitments to Account via Publicly Operated Monitoring Platform

Almag Fira Pradana

Student Paper Identifying Effective Locations for Urban Bioretention.

Benjamin Fahy

Scholar Paper Distribution of the Giant Armadillo in Mato Grosso do Sul Based on Three Different Sampling Methods

Bruna Oliveira

How Mapping Degraded Peatlands Will Help Indonesia Reach Its Restoration Target

Hidayah Hamzah

Open Source R Application in a Flood Forecast/Warning System

Nahm Lee

5:30 pm–6:00 pm BreakField Trip to see Monarch Butterflies - Meet at Chapel Outside (south entrance)

6:00 pm–7:00 pm Dinner Crocker Dining Hall

7:00 pm–10:00 pm Auction and ReceptionChapel

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Session MatrixWednesday, July 19

Final Day

7:30 am–9:00 am BreakfastCrocker Dining Hall

Chapel

9:00 am–10:00 am CheckoutLuggage can be left in the rear of Chapel

10:00 am–12:00 pmClosing Session - Final RemarksIgnite! Lightning talks and speed geeking (enlighten us, but make it quick)

12:00 pm Boxed Lunches to goCrocker Dining Hall

12:00 pm–1:00 pm Open Board Meeting

1:00 pm–2:00 pm Closed Board Meeting

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Session Descriptions Monday, July 17

10:30 AM–NOON

Marine EcologyRoom: Chapel

Predicting the Global Distribution of Hermatypic Coral ReefsVitalis Dubininkas, Oshana Environmental

Events of coral bleaching allude to the significant impact of climate change and anthropogenic pressure upon marine eco-systems, particularly upon the diverse taxa of photosynthetic corals. Fortunately, advances in ecological modeling methodologies and geographic systems provide scientists with a range of useful tools that can inform management and mitigate potential impacts. The present study aims to predict the spatial distribution and habitat suitability of hermatypic coral reefs by quantifying their fundamental niche. Using ARCgis 10.3.1 and its spatial analyst extension, the extent of the world’s oceans was overlaid with a high-resolution, equal-area grid. Subsequently, geostatistical tools from the geostatistical analyst were used to interpolate point data from NOAA’s oceanographic databases to create RASTER prediction surfaces. By interfacing the spatial overlays and environmental data with a statistical interface (R), several models, incorporating elements of machine learning, were created to predict the habitat suitability of coral reefs. It was observed that depth, sea-surface temperatures, salinity, and pH significantly affected the likelihood of observing coral reefs. Areas of marginal-to-high predicted suitability were used to approximate the global distribution of habitat for hermatypic coral reefs. Model outputs indicated that suitable habitat equates to 3.53 ± 0.18% of the ocean. Importantly, the outputs and data generated by this study have the potential to inform future studies regarding coastal eco-systems and how the spatial extents of coral reefs relate to marine bio-diversity

Scale and Patch-size of Deep Coral Gardens in Channel IslandsPeter Ethoyer, NOAA

The term ‘coral garden’ is used to identify significant aggregations of deep-sea corals. Our study used GIS to map coral gardens in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS) relative to seafloor topography and backscatter values. The ‘coral garden’ metric was originally

defined as 3.85 colonies/sq m, but later studies invoke larger extents of 100 sq m. Scale is important because deep coral communities are patchy, the units must be measurable in the field, and relevant to management. Between 2015 and 2017, studies were conducted to examine the effect of scale on density values for deep corals in CINMS. Benthic surveys used Beagle ROV to quantify gorgonian octocoral density and extent between 40-150 meters depth near Santa Rosa Island. Corals were enumerated from still images and video. Three transect approaches were considered, based on distance (100 m) and duration (5 and 15 min). The results of the surveys showed that 100 m and 5 min. transects could detect aggregations exceeding 100 colonies/ 100 sq m on the north (n = 6) and south sides (n = 13) of Santa Rosa. None of the 15 min. transects achieved this threshold due to patchy coral coverage. The mean aggregate density was 36 corals/100 m 2 . Highest single species densities were aggregations of Eugorgia rubens and Adelogorgia phyllosclera, in 55 and 70 colonies/100 m 2 respectively. The values exceeded OSPAR thresholds for a ‘coral garden’. Coral gardens were present outside of essential fish habitat, which restricts all bottom gear, but within Rockfish Conservation Areas, which restrict bottom trawls.

Satellite Data Products for Coral Reefs in Southwestern Puerto RicoSuhey Ortiz, University of Puerto Rico

We explored the use of remote sensing to monitor land-based sources of pollution (LBSP) as well as chlorophyll dynamics in southwestern Puerto Rico. Studies on spatial and temporal changes inchlorophyll- a and turbidity have been used as a proxy to determine coral reef health. The influence of LBSP over coral reefs and coastal water quality are worked overlaying data. The combination of GIS and RS provide the advantage to analyze extensive areas and seasonal changes. We used imagery from Landsat 8 and Sentinel to understand coastal processes from Gúanica Bay to La Parguera Natural Reserve. In situ data is collected over the pass of satellites for calibration purpose and inter-calibration with field sensors. Chlorophyll- a values are indicative of phytoplankton biomass and can be related to nutrient into aquatic ecosystems while turbidity is related to light transmittance into coral reef ecosystems. TSS values are ranging from 1-30 mg/L. TSS data and imagery suggest variability ofsediment sources, with influences from sea bottom resuspension. Sea surface

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chlorophyll values ranged from 0.1 to 8 µ g/L. This parameter is mostly influenced by river discharges, wind effect and suspended algae. The direct product retrieval from satellites at this area shows high uncertainties makingimportant the field validation process. The bottom signal, low values, and land pixels are affecting satellites data over the area. Our results can be used by managers to establish monitoring stations and improve coral reefs data interpretation. It enhances the capabilities to know the frequency and the impact of LBSP over reefs and provides information to implement mitigation actions.

Global Biogeography of the Deep SeaAbby Lapointe, University of Hawaii

The deep sea below 200 meters is the largest habitat on Earth, yet the organisms that occupy this vast wilderness and their distributions are still largely unknown, especially on hard to sample rocky ridges, seamounts, and island slopes. Marine biogeographic provinces have been described for shallow coastal habitats, the abyss, and even the hadal. Watling et al. (2013) analyzed data on water mass characteristics to propose biogeographic provinces in the lower bathyal (800 – 3000 m); however, global biogeographic provinces of the bathyal have yet to be characterized in detail based on biological data. The global distributions of corals in the families Isididae, Primnoidae, and Chrysogorgiidae at depths of 800 – 3000m will be plotted on maps using the program QGIS from data compiled from the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) database, published literature, in situ images, video footage, and collected specimens. The resulting maps will be used to test the provinces hypothesized by Watling et al. (2013), and to delineate biogeographic provinces in the lower bathyal based on biological distributions. Deep-sea corals have been classified as vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) and are threatened by several anthropogenic activities, including destructive bottom trawling by commercial fisheries, which can occur to depths of ~1500 m. A better understanding of the global distributions and biogeographical patterns in the deep sea (>200m) is imperative for implementing conservation measures on the high seas, and will also aid in marine protected area (MPA) planning, fisheries management, and other conservation initiatives.

10:30 AM – NOON

BirdsRoom: Acacia

Distribution and Habitat Use of the Yellow Cardinal (Gubernatrix cristata) in Argentina and Perspectives on its ConservationMarisol Dominguez

The yellow cardinal, Gubernatrix cristata, is an endangered passerine from southern South America. Populations are declining due to continuous extraction of individuals, mainly males, to commercialize them as cage birds, and the loss of their natural habitat, which causes a discontinuous distribution. We present the results of searches for the Yellow Cardinal in Argentina during two population surveys in 2015 and 2016. The sites with the highest counts were San Luis (n = 11), Buenos Aires (n = 11) and Corrientes (n = 10). Some of the sightings carried out are new for some localities. For example, in the province of La Rioja there were no documented records of the species and in Sierra de las Quijadas National Park due to the absence of sightings for years the species was considered extinct within this protected area. We also model the potential distribution of the species, taking into account environmental variables, in order to investigate in the future the presence of the species in unstudied but suitable sites. (Map right: “Previous project: Elaboration of a map with QGis in order to identify priority zones for the creation of protected areas for threatened grasslands birds”)

The Anthropogenic Landscape of Hawaii: Threat Assessment for Endangered Hawaiian SeabirdsJenni Learned, Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project

Over 50 species of seabirds inhabit the Hawaiian islands as residents, migrants, or during the breeding season. Of these, four species are listed as endangered or threatened. It is estimated that populations of these species are declining in Hawaii (Newell’s shearwaters have decreased 75% since the early 1990’s); however, assessing the demographics of seabirds like petrels and shearwaters is difficult due to the remote location of the colonies and the temporal activity of the birds. Agencies working to monitor and recover endemic seabird

Session DescriptionsMonday, July 17 (continued)

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populations use a variety of management tools including automated acoustic monitoring, invasive species removal, and colony enclosures within the current and historical breeding habitat. However, when seabirds leave the colony they face significant threats across the built landscape. A majority of the encounters that researchers have with endangered birds is in response to reports of downed birds recovered in urban areas. We use remotely sensed VIIRS radiance data and municipal spatial data along with location data collected on downed seabirds across Hawaii over the past 8 years to reveal anthropogenic factors most likely to impact seabirds. Artificial light, transmission lines, and energy facilities positively correlate with hotspots for reported downed birds. Our results focus efforts for downed seabird detection. Furthermore, these spatial analyses can be used to inform municipal planners and utility providers, as well as to educate the public, with the ultimate goal of reducing the number of seabirds impacted and thus aiding species recovery.

Expanding Avian Research and Conservation at Powdermill using GISJake Slyder, Powdermill Nature Reserve

Powdermill Nature Reserve has the oldest continually operating (50+ years) bird banding program in North America, providing a robust picture of species-level changes in migration and breeding phenology. Though these efforts provide a detailed picture of populations at various temporal scales, they are limited in geographic extent. Here, we highlight three recent collaborations between Powdermill’s GIS Lab and avian research center, wherein the integration of GIS approaches helps expand the scope of avian research and conservation. First, we use citizen science data to uncover previously unknown seasonal migration of the Common Potoo (Nyctibius griseus griseus), a charismatic nocturnal species in tropical South America. Next, we demonstrate shifts (500+ km northwest) in the summer breeding grounds for the Magnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia) over the past century using GIS analysis of stable hydrogen isotope signatures . Lastly, we use citizen science mobile mapping of bird-window collisions to better understand where, and how often, these collisions occur in Pittsburgh. Results of the monitoring efforts will be used to identify building and landscape characteristics that predict collisions, as well as evaluate the effectiveness of mitigation options to address the second greatest direct anthropogenic threat to birds.

US Forest Service Mapping and Monitoring of Sage-Grouse habitat in the Intermountain WestKevin Halverson, U.S. Forest Service

Through an interdisciplinary effort guided by the Habitat Assessment Framework (HAF) and the Record of Decision (ROD), the U.S. Forest Service Intermountain Region created a Preliminary Seasonal Habitat geospatial layer to direct the field monitoring program toward suitable sampling sites. Concurrent efforts by the Intermountain Region to generate mid-level, existing vegetation data provided the foundation for a refined habitat layer generated from the best available vegetation data in the Region. The Intermountain Regional Office used the habitat layer along with other key spatial layersto stratify and generate field sampling plots for ground-based assessments by resource experts. Using the results of the analysis, the Intermountain Region produced a Web Map Application to support the field users plan and choose sampling sites. The application has been accessed over a thousand times by users throughout the Region who rely upon the application to provide easy access to information necessary for the field monitoring decision support process. The application represents a turning point in information delivery toward web applications that allow everyday users to access pertinent geospatial information that had previously required trained Geographic Information Systems (GIS) users. The efficiencies gained through the use of refined vegetation maps and the web-mapping application have enabled the Forest Service to utilize resources in a more targeted and streamlined fashion that have advanced the agency’s ability to manage for habitat.

10:30 AM – NOON

Conservation Planning, Climate ChangeRoom: Toyon

Land Protection in the Face of an Uncertain ClimateNeil Jordan, Open Space Institute

Since 2012, the Open Space Institute’s Resilient Landscapes Initiative has approved nearly $10 million to fund over 50,000 acres of land protection across 54 projects from Maine to Alabama. OSI has also provided Catalyst Grants to build a

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knowledge base and advance the application of resilience science. Through our initiative, OSI is helping direct land conservation to the places that are most likely to provide enduring habitat for plants and animals, even in the face of an uncertain climate. GIS plays a vital role in every step of the process, from data distribution, to internal evaluation, to assessing overall impact on the landscape, and finally to guiding protection efforts in the future. Over the years, data has improved dramatically. Originally evaluated in 1,000 hexagons solely in the northeast, data is now available at a 30m resolution across the entire east coast of the US and Canada. OSI first provided this data to applicants via map package. But large file sizes created complications, especially when working with applicants in remote locations lacking adequate staff and computing capacity. Now, by using the TNC “resilient land mapping tool” with OSI-developed web services, we are able to simplify the process for our applicants. OSI conducts internal analyses employing ESRI model builder to evaluate discrete components of the resilience data as well as significant geologic features. Subsequent GIS analyses allow us to quantify the impact our re-grants have on the larger landscape. This presentation will cover lessons learned throughout the re-grant process, and how OSI is using resilience science to help guide conservation efforts from Florida to Quebec.

Scenario Planning and Geodesign for Strategic Conservation Jason Winner, Marstel-Day

In a rapidly changing landscape, natural habitats and critical ecosystems in Virginia’s fastest growing Planning District are threatened by urban development and climate change. The Climate, Environment, and Resilience (CLEAR) plan used GIS and scenario planning to identify alternative futures based on drivers for urban development, agriculture,habitat conservation, and climate change. Scenarios were considered through a geodesign framework that allowed stakeholders with competing interests to visualize alternative futures, identify conflicts, and determine priorities forcollaborative solutions. The analysis promoted sustainability among multiple systems and identified strategic conservation priorities to protect the mostcritical and vulnerable resources.

Sense Globally, Act Locally: Global Data for Local Conservation actionDavid Eitelberg

Global scale datasets are becoming more prevalent, however, many conservation efforts still require local action. Designing analyses that transcend scales is essential so that all available data can be utilized while still providing actionable information. In this presentation we show how global forest monitoring and global fire monitoring can be used in support of conservation efforts at national and local scales. We demonstrate the workflow of collecting global data, processing the data, and the creation of an interface within which individuals can interact with the data. This presentation is useful for gaining perspective on how global-scale Earth systems monitoring data can be used to provide insights on relationships and drivers of the evolution of the surface of the Earth and the human relationship with it.

The Hudson Valley Conservation Strategy : Conservation in a changing climateJames Mudd, Scenic Hudson, Inc.

Worldwide, the conservation community is grappling with the challenge of ensuring that species and habitats have the ability to adapt to climate change. One increasingly common approach to preserving ecosystem resilience focuses on geodiversity: conserving representatives of all the types of places (different geologies, elevations, slopes, etc.) and targeting areas that contain a high diversity of these types. This “Conserving Nature’s Stage” strategy preserves the enduring, unchanging values of the landscape in order to conserve the dynamic, diverse biodiversity that will shift and adapt to a changing climate in ways that are difficult to predict. Using Marxan–a systematic conservation planning tool–and an array of data sets, Scenic Hudson identified and prioritized the most efficient combinations of potential land conservation projects in New York’s Hudson Valley that will achieve explicit targets in four categories: climate resilience, landscape connectivity, biodiversity, and farmland. In all, the strategy points to approximately 760,000 acres in the 11 counties of the Hudson Valley region that represent the best potential conservation investments for achieving a resilient, functional, and productive landscape. Scenic Hudson is facilitating the implementation of the HVCS using online mapping applications developed with ESRI’s Story Map templates. The presenter will review the HVCS conservation planning process, Marxan methods, input


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data sets, target and weighting criteria, mapped results, and online decision support tools and story map applications.

10:30 AM – NOON

Environmental Justice & UrbanRoom: Curlew

Can the People Who Use Wheelchairs Enjoy the National Parks?Khew Ee Hung

National parks are important not only to conserve and preserve the environment but also a good place for recreation and eco-tourism. As conservation and preservation need money, recreation and eco-tourism can be a good source of income as many are willing to pay for the service. With the expanding population of people with disabilities (PwDs), including the elderly due to better awareness of human right, advancement of healthcare, and the increasing aged population and traffic accidents in the world, the accessibility of national parks towards the people who use wheelchairs has become more significant. Besides, I believe that everyone, including the disabled do have the rights to enjoy the nature and they may want to involve in conservation and preservation activities as well. Penang National Park (PNP), Taman Negara National Park (TMNP), and Kinabalu Park (KP) are chosen in this study because of their short distance to a city or they are popular or both. This study utilize descriptive research method to examine the current accessibility of people who use wheelchairs to the selected national park based on collected data. The collected data are free/open GIS data to identify the location of the parks, the accessible area, the location of facilities, services and/or experiences accessible by the people who use wheelchairs using GIS. Verification of the accessibility was done by collecting the primary data via on-site observation and telephone interview as well as secondary data from the online survey. Slope percent calculated from DEM data is used to identify the accessibility and difficulty of the road and trails to people who use wheelchairs by comparing to the accessible scales. The least accessible distance and least accessible elevation range in the park is PNP, followed by TNNP, and KP. In Malaysia, people who use wheelchairs mostly cannot access to the parks or access with difficulties and much inconveniences as the accessible facilities such as toilets

are either not provided or provided without complying with Malaysian Standard. The paved path may have numbers of obstacles that stop the use of people who use wheelchairs or threaten their safety.

The SCGIS Russia Chapter and Greenpeace Global Mapping Hub: The Two Sides of the Same CoinAnna Komarova, SCGIS Russia

The Russia chapter of SCGIS has a long history. The chapter members take part in SCGIS International activities since 1999. Anastasia Filippova, who was selected to participate SCGIS Scholarship program in 2017, is the jubilee 40th scholar from Russia chapter The idea of SCGIS was very popular in Russia in the beginning of 2000s, then was a period of stagnation. Since 2012 we start to produce and realize a conception of chapter development. From 2012 we established the whole system of training, support, conferences, skillshares and so on under the SCGIS guise. In 2013 we were one of the first who held John Shaeffer’s Train-To-Trainer course and start our own course covering nnot only GIS, but remote sensing for environmentalists issues. To the moment we have conducted 6 one-semester academic course and 5 full-three-days trainings for over 80 environmentalists and scientists. This October we’re holding the 3rd regular SCGIS Russia Conference. Two previous conferences in 2013 and 2015 were the biggest conservation events over the post-Soviet countries and gather over 100 specialists in conservation, science and technology. Greenpeace Russia has the biggest GIS Unit over all Greenpeace offices, and two people of the Unit staff have been SCGIS Scholars in 2011 and 2012. So in fact GIS Unit of Greenpeace Russia is the most active facilitator of SCGIS Russia chapter now. And we also provide the SCGIS ideas over the Greenpeace community. This year the Greenpeace Global Mapping Hub was established. The main goal of the GMH is to provide the information and share the skills of GIS and RS over global Greenpeace. To the moment about 10 short trainings and webinars and one full tree-day training have been organized. So as the Russia chapter we try to cover all needs within Russia and near countries, and also start to involve to the same idea extremely environmental Greenpeace community. We have some problem with the isolation from SCGIS international community and would like to present our work and probably get some ideas for better engagement and interworking with the SCGIS community.

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Patterns of Risk using an Integrated Spatial Multi-Hazard ModelKyle Buck, EPA

Multi-hazard risk assessment has long centered on small scale needs, whereby a single community or group of communities & rsquo; exposures are assessed to determine potential mitigation strategies. While this approach has advanced the understanding of hazard interactions, it is limiting on larger scales or when significantly different hazard types are present. The model proposed here circumvents some of these issues by coalescing multiple hazards, both natural and anthropogenic, into a single index along with losses to represent a true hazard-scape that can be effectively tracked across space and time. Its creation will allow communities to analyze shifting patterns of risk in detail while also providing information to counties, states and regions on the distribution of risk across the landscape. This, along with loss numbers, allows for inclusion of multiple hazards in a single ledger with exposure and loss potentials acting as proxy for severity of risk. The proposed model is applied, and fully quantified, for the entire United States using the county as a spatial unit. Results highlight both a landscape with varied risk values as well as a lack of areas with no risk. The result of the quantitative analysis is a single risk value that decision makers can deconstruct along a multitude of hazards to determine specific risk profiles. This risk value provides a baseline for further studies in community resilience on multiple scales in the United States.

Delphi vs GIS: A comparison of Two Methods for Identifying Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas in CanadaNadine Wells, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Under Canada’s Oceans Act (1997), “conservation, based on an ecosystem approach, is of fundamental importance to maintaining biological diversity and productivity in the marine environment”. This Act provides the legislative framework for an integrated ecosystem-approach to management in Canadianoceans, particularly in Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs). Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Science has developed its own guidance and has endorsed the scientific criteria of the Convention on Biological Diversity for identifying EBSAs. Canada is currently designing regional MPA networks to help meet domestic and international

conservation commitments for which EBSAs areconservation priorities. In 2007, DFO Science provided advice on EBSAs within the Placentia Bay-Grand Banks (PBGB) area using a Delphic approach. This resulted in the identification of 11 EBSAs. In 2017, DFO Science re-evaluated the PBGB area using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to identify EBSAs. Existing data were collected and processed into spatially referenced layers and cell statistics were used to find areas of importance. This process resulted in the identification of 14 EBSAs. We compare EBSAs identified using a Delphic approach to those identified using a GIS. Nine EBSAs identified during both exercises overlap and are based on similar features but boundaries were different. Two of the 2007 EBSAs were no longer considered EBSAs in 2017 and 5 new EBSAs were identified in areas not previously considered. We will discuss the similarities and differences of the 2007 and 2017 EBSAs as well as thepros and cons of each process.

1:00 pM – 2:00 pM

Vegetation Analysis

Room: Acacia

Mapping Mycorrhizal Mutualists for the USRandy Swaty, The Nature Conservancy

Symbiotic relationships between mycorrhizal fungi and their host plants are nearly ubiquitous, occurring in, and affecting most terrestrial ecosystems. These mutualisms can drive aboveground plant diversity,plant productivity, carbon sequestration and colonization of post-disturbed areas. While many studies have reported on the types of mycorrhizal fungi associated with a specific host plant species and/or have described the mycorrhizal fungal community of a site, mapping mycorrhizal relationships at a landscape scale has been difficult or impossible until recently. LANDFIRE’s Biophysical Settings (BpS) data maps the dominant vegetation that may have occurred on a site prior to major European settlement in the United States.The BpS descriptions include one to eight dominant plant species. Using literature and expert knowledge we assigned each of the 1100+ BpSs with a mycorrhizal labelbased on the relative proportions of dominant host plants present in that BpS and their known mycorrhizal fungal associates. In ArcMap we attributed the


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BpS grid with mycorrhizal labels to createthe first map of potential mycorrhizal communities for the United States. Additionally, using Color Brewer and Visucheck, we made the maps, which had complex legends,interpretable to most color-blind conditions. We then explored potential uses of the map in three locations. In this first known nationwide map of mycorrhizal communities we leverage ArcGIS,literature and LANDFIRE data to product a product that we hope will accelerate the understanding of these key mutualisms, promote consideration of mycorrhiza in restoration efforts and inspire other previously impossible mapping projects.

High Spatial Resolution Mapping of Land Cover Types in the Cerrado’s Heterogeneous LandscapeFernanada Ribeiro, University of California Santa Barbara

The Brazilian savanna, Cerrado , is the second largest biome over South America and the most floristically diverse savanna in the world. It is currently the main agricultural frontier in Brazil and one of the most threatened biomes, considered a hotspot by IUCN. This scenario results in environmental impacts such as fragmentation, losses in connectivity, biodiversity, and gene flow, changes in energy and carbon cycles, among others. This study aims to generate more precise information for the Cerrado’s natural vegetation, focusing on priority areas for conservation of this biome. The main objective is toidentify which ecosystems are present across these areas and/or threatened by land use conversion, refining information for further protection. In order to test methods, the priority area for conservation Rio de Ondas was selected as the study site. This area is ranked as “extremely high priority” and is located in Bahia State , Brazil. Satellites with finer spatial resolution may improve the classification of heterogeneous landscapes, such as the Cerrado’s vegetation. RapidEye 3A imagery (5m spatial resolution) collected in 2011 were used to classify the Cerrado’s major land cover types of this area. The classification considered the Cerrado’s major terrestrial ecosystems, which are divided into forest, savanna and grassland, as well as scaling it down to the major physiognomy groups of each ecosystem. Remote sensing (pixel-based and object-based) and GIS were used to map the land cover types present in the region and demonstrated to have an effective result. GIS and Google Earth were used to validate the map and generate accuracy assessments.

1:00 pM – 2:00 pM

Conservation Planning, Climate Change (Contd)

Room: Toyon

GIS Solutions for Earning FEMA CRS Open Space Preservation CreditMelissa Rosa, The Baldwin Group/NOAA

FEMA’s Community Rating System (CRS) encourages communities in flood hazard zones to reduce their flood risk by engaging in activities that promote the natural functions of floodplains in exchange for credits, which translate to reduced insurance premiums. The “Open Space Preservation (OSP)” activity allows communities to obtain credit for open space areas that are already preserved, however OSP is underutilized since many communities do not have sufficient technical guidance or capacity to conduct the geospatial analyses themselves. This presentation will introduce two GIS resources that were developed by Digital Coast partners, NOAA and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), to help communities map preserved open space in coastal and non-coastal floodplains and calculate potential OSP credit. NOAA’s ‘How to’ and ‘GIS workflow’ provide step-by-step guidance for identifying parcels with eligible open space using GIS software and tools to query spatial datasets , analyze land cover rasters, perform overlay analysis, and calculate spatial statistics . TNC’s CRS Explorer is a complementary web application that helps planners prioritize areas for OSP credit, produce exportable maps and parcel tables to support the CRS review process, and determine future OSP areas. Both products leverage GIS technology and spatially-explicit information to aid communities with conserving natural systems, thereby reducing their vulnerability to floods and insurance premiums. The products also simplify the process of identifying areas that qualify for OSP credit at the parcel and community level so communities can take advantage of the economic and ecological benefits of the CRS program.

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Utilizing GIS Applications to Enhance the California State Land Commission’s Sea-Level ProgramEsther Essoundry, California State Lands Commission

The California State Lands Commission manages four million acres of tide and submerged lands and the beds of navigable rivers, streams, lakes, bays, estuaries, inlets, and straits for the people of California. The Commission strives to leverage the best available science and technology, including GIS, to manage these sovereign lands and their public trust resources, uses, and values. GIS applications are used at the Commission to advance marine protection and pollution prevention, respond to climate change,and ensure public access to land and water for current and future generations. This presentation will highlight how the Commission uses GIS to help prepare its lessees and granted lands partners forthe impacts of sea-level rise, which poses a major threat to public trust resources. The Commission has integrated sea-level rise projections and storm event layers from sources such as Our Coast Our Future(CosMoS) and NOAA with lease boundary spatial data in a web-based mapping application to examine site vulnerability and inform risk analyses. Our goal is to communicate and collaborate with our lessees and granted lands partners to prepare and adapt to changing conditions at the parcel level withintheir specific regional setting. State Lands are on the front lines of sea-level rise and storm surge impacts, therefore this application gives the Commission a powerful tool to protect public trustresources in the face of these challenges.

1:00 pM- 2:00 pM

Tech: Mobile

Room: Curlew

Raspberry Pi and the Naturebytes.org kit as the Platform for Field Data Collection and Autonomous DetectionChris Nicholas

(Abstract not submitted.)

Kauai’s Natural Area Reserve’s Offline Tracking System of Resource Management ActivitiesMapuana O Sullivan

Kauai’s unique and extremely diverse and fragile ecosystems requires a range of natural resource management duties to ensure continued protection of a range of plant and animal species, many of which are endangered, in specific areas. Geospatial technologies play an important role in aiding crucial management decisions through tracking, monitoring and analyzing management practices. Of these, web-based mapping and mobile technologies are of increasing importance. The objectives of this study was to streamline offline data collection efforts that could sync with an online database to allow for real-time access of information while in the field to enhance the management decision making process, provide post-analysis capabilities and the generation of reports. To accomplish this a GIS system was designed and developed that utilizes server technologies and includes a collector app that is currentlybeing tested by field crews. I will highlight the challenges we encountered during the different phases from design to implementation as well as the benefits of the system by using examples of how managers are using this to monitor up-to-date management activities and the generation of reports detailing the progress of programs activities.

Survey123 and Collector: Tools for Conservation of Mexican Protect AreasXochitl Rojas, Puente Institute/Pronatura Noroeste, A.C.

Pronatura Noroeste (PNO) is a non-governmental organization that leads conservation programs in Northwest Mexico. In 2007 PNO started supporting surveillance and enforcement efforts to increase environmental and fisheries compliance in Marine Protected Areas. Which involves government agencies, private funders and communities, all with different legal and technical capacities. Since the surveillance takes place in remote locations, such as the open sea, it’s been complicated to use technology for the collection and processing of data. The original method involved a GPS device, digital camera, paper logbook and weeks of data processing. In an attempt to systematize and analyze the results, apps such as Survey123 and Collector are being used to work in the field and send the information later in an easy and automatic way. The logbook program is taking place at Islas Marietas National Park,


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Nayarit, Mexico, since 2016. The islands are not populated, there is no Wi-Fi or mobile service, and transportation is only by boat. The surveillance consists of verifying up to 150 boats a day that frequent the islands, with tourism, fishing and other activities. The results are uploaded every day and data is visible seconds later through the ESRI Webmap Application. There are important improvements on the complete process: reduced equipment demand, the system is easy to learn and use, reduced data input time and input errors, system is available to view and download from any place with internet connection, authorized personnel able to access the results anywhere. We can work now in remote places, with the appropriate technology and have a system that provides the effectiveness required to help marine conservation. We are now expanding into three new areas.

2:00 pM- 3:30 pM

Marine Mammals

Room: Chapel

Characterizing Distribution and Habit of Hector’s Dolphins Using GISCheryl Cross, Massey

Queen Charlotte Sound (QCS), is a semi-enclosed sound located at the northeastern tip of New Zealand’s South Island. Several cetacean species, including the endemic and endangered Hector’s dolphin ( Cephalorhynchus hectori hectori ) occur here. Studies were undertaken in QCS to explore this species’ historical presence, identify their hotspots and characterize associated habitat parameters.This work is valuable considering the overlapping and growing anthropogenic influence in the region, including marine farming, tourism and vessel activity. Dolphin geospatial sighting data were collated from logbooks maintained from 1995-2010 and collected during surveys on tour vessels from 2011-2014. Dynamic and static environmental variables were sourced from local government agency databases. GIS was used to calculate the frequency of historic sightings; generate kernel density estimates, determine home and core range; interpolate in situ environmental data and extract corresponding values to dolphin sightings. Habitat models were subsequently developed and spatial predictions created

from the resultant significant variables. Long-term and seasonal spatial shifts were observed, while density estimates indicated a restricted species’ core and home range. Habitat model results suggest that dolphin density is influenced by temporal, static, dynamic and anthropogenic factors. This study relied on a variety of GIS techniques that allowed for control and efficiency of data processing and analysis. The outcome will benefit local integrative management planning, assist with the design of future fine scale studies in the region and contribute to Hector’s dolphin conservation measures.

Occupancy Rate and Habitat Preference of Humpback Whales in the Gorgona Natural National Park, ColombiaLaura Daniela Benitez, Yubarta Foundation

This study was carried out in Gorgona National Natural Park, one of the five most important zones of Colombia for breeding of the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Southeast Pacific. Gorgona Island is part of the IUCN Green List, a global recognition for the good management and promotion of scientific research in a protected area. Given the current threat facing the island due to the construction of a Coast Guard Station and the reopening of tourism in the area, it is important to study the distribution of this population of whales in areas with presence of vessels. The objective of this study is to know the occupation rate and habitat preference of seven different types of groups of humpback whales regarding to depth and distance to the coast. Maritime monitoring was conducted on a 22 ft fiberglass craft with outboard motor. Data were collected from September 13th to November 8th, 2014. Navigation effort was 108.30 hours, and effective tracking of 57.67 hours. A total of 103 groups were observed. The analysis of this information is currently underway and ArcGis 10.4.1 software will be used. For distance, five categories (0.02-0.3 km, 0.3-1.0 km, 1.0-3.0 km, 3-5 km, 5-7 km) will be established. For depth will be four (<10 m, 10-30 m, 30-50, >50 m). Through the spatial tools options, the occupancy rate of the whales`groups in each category (zonal statistics) will be calculated, and the habitat preference of the different groups (Extraction) will be examined. These results will be important to conservation efforts and will serve as a reference for establishing priority management areas during humpback whale season in Gorgona.

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Humpback Whale Distribution Patterns and Habitat Usage As Related To Bathymetry, Ocean Floor Variants Along The Hawaiian IslandsMichelle Kinzel, GIS in Ecology

Research undertaken in the waters off Maui has been conducted on Hawaiian humpback whales under a Federal Scientific Research permit as part of a long term study on behavior, acoustics, and the distribution and habitat usage of humpback whales. These studies were done in order to better understand the interaction, if any, between these whales and the habitat of their breeding grounds in the Pacific Islands of Hawaii. Every winter, individuals from the Central North Pacific stock of humpback whales make the long journey southward from the northern Pacific Ocean near Alaska to occupy breeding grounds along the Hawaiian Islands where the whales give birth, nurse their young, and mate.This study examines what marine variables may influence the local distribution of these ocean inhabitants. Species distribution patterns are analyzed related to bathymetry and variation in theseafloor. Patterns of hot spot analysis and correlation with factors such as distance to shore, ocean depth, and ocean currents are analyzed relative to species distribution using ArcGIS 10.4 software.

Noise Exposure of the Southern Resident Killer Whale Population, CanadaSimone Cominelli, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Shipping is the most ubiquitous source of anthropogenic noise in the oceans as well as one of thefastest growing sectors of the global economy. Our study focuses on noise exposure from shipping of the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW) population in the Salish Sea, British Columbia, Canada. Areas with high levels of noise and high probability of SRKW presence were identified using a geographic information system (GIS). A 2D Kernel Density Estimation with Barriers (KDE) was used to delineate SRKW summer habitat. KDEs were produced for the entire population as well as for its sub-groups (J, K and L pods). Habitat extents based on 95% volume contours (PVCs) were delineated as polygons from the KDEs. The resulting maps were combined with a cumulative noise model describing the sound generated by 22 ships classes. In the study area, ferries are the main contributors to noise (61.9 %), followed by tug boats (20.1%)

and container ships (11.7%). The average cumulative noise was the highest within the L-pod core habitat (116.2 dB re 1 mPa), followed by the K-pod (114.33 dB), the J-pod (112.5 dB) and the entire population (112.4 dB). GIS analyses helped assess chronic noise exposure and locate noise hotspots within an endangered population’s habitat. This work can help marine spatial planners to take actions for the reduction of SRKW’s noise exposure.

2:00 pM- 3:30 pM

Habitat Mapping Landcover Change

Room: Acacia

Connectivity Conservation for Tigers in a Human Dominated LandscapeIndranil Mondal, Wildlife Institute of India

High density wildlife habitats in India are surrounded by high human use areas and such an interface is fraught with man-animal conflict. the same is true for tigers, especially when their dispersal routes, very often, pass through areas of high human activity, posing a threat to humans and tigers alike. This study aims to investigate the use of areas outside protected forests and to characterize human-tiger conflict along potential movement corridors in the Eastern Vidarbha landscape, in Central India. We analyzed tiger presence and human-tiger conflict locations and regressed them against habitat variables to define the cost surface for connectivity analysis. We used Circuit Theory and ArcGIS for corridor analysis. We mapped bottlenecks using centrality analysis and investigated the coincidence of conflict with the occurrence of bottlenecks. Results show that tigers are using a much wider landscape than thought earlier. We found that there is a high incidence of conflict in degraded stepping stone corridors and bottle neck areas. A high number of conflict cases were reported from villages wit high human and livestock population, and where agriculture and grazing is practiced adjacent to densely forested areas. Conflict occurrences also show significant differences across seasons and land use classes. We recommend focused restoration of corridors and bottlenecks and regulated grazing and agricultural activities near tiger corridors as the key to manage human-tiger conflict.


27

birds at the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, HI with combination GPS/accelerometer devices. By regressing acceleration-derived energy costs against wind conditions and other variables, we developed a flight cost model which we used to weight rasters of wind speed/direction in a least-cost path analysis. The resulting rasters quantify the cost of transport to reach all points in the colony’s foraging territory. Preliminary qualitative examination suggests the least-cost path model better predicts foraging site selection of tracked birds than a distance-to- colony null model. Subsequently, we will quantitatively verify this result using the true skill statistic. This metric is similar to the kappa statistic derived from confusion matrices and is used to measure the accuracy of species distribution models. We expect to find that energy landscapes explain the influence of wind on the spatial distribution of seabird populations around their colonies.

Spatial Distribution of Overwintering Monarch Butterflies in Santa Barbara County

Daniel Meade, Althouse and Meade, Inc.

Each fall, monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) west of the Rocky Mountains migrate to the California coast for the winter. As of 2015, there were 136 known monarch butterfly overwintering sites in Santa Barbara County, the most of any county in California. Due to rapidly declining populations, the monarch butterfly is currently under review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for listing under the Endangered Species Act. It is therefore crucial that habitat for this species be conserved and properly managed. The most recent comprehensive study of overwintering sites in Santa Barbara County occurred 18 years ago during the 1998-1999 season. We conducted a study of monarch overwintering locations during the winter of 2016-2017 and utilized GIS to update our understanding of spatial distribution and habitat use across the county from October to January. We compared 1999 to 2017 data and discovered that there was a decrease in the number of sites utilized as well as fewer individuals on average. We also found that several overwintering sites were lost to development, but several new sites are being utilized by monarchs. The results of this study will be used to identify the most important monarch butterfly overwintering sites in Santa Barbara County and will inform future conservation efforts.

Modeling the Relative Priority of Habitat Linkages, Including Climate Considerations

John Gallo, Conservation Biology Institute

Habitat connectivity is a cornerstone of conservation, and in the past decade, modeling techniques have blossomed. Resistance-surface-based models is the family of models that we have been using. We have developed a new add-on for Linkage Mapper (in alpha testing) that prioritizes among the linkages based on about a dozen attributes that relate to the characteristic of each linkage or the two cores being connected. We then combine this output with conventional least cost corridor outputs (Linkage Mapper), and circuit theory outputs (Circuitscape). We tested this novel combination of existing and new methods in a real-world application in the West Mojave Desert. We modeled structural connectivity four ways and combined them. First, we considered how the landscape would look for a small species as well as for a large species, and incorporated these considerations in building the respective resistance surfaces and core areas. For each of these, we considered both (1) landscape connectivity for the present time, in order to maintain the current population demographics, and (2) landscape connectivity over a longer timespan that includes a climate lens, such as valuing linkages that connect lowlands to mid-elevations, or cores and linkages that include physical refugia. We then repeated similar analyses for Mojave Ground Squirrel and Desert Tortoise. All methods except for the Linkage Priority Mapper add-on can be replicated now with open access tools, and the add-on is slated for open-access release after a final round of development and testing.

Explaining Marine Bird Spatial Distributions in Dynamic WindscapesMax Czapanskiy, San Francisco State University, Romberg Tiburon Center

The spatial distribution of predators is linked to their prey but not all prey patches are of equal quality. The energetic cost of accessing a patch contributes to its value and thereby influences the spatial structure of a population. We applied the energy landscape conceptual model, which explains animal movement by the cost of transport through heterogeneous environments, to analyze the influence of winds on the distribution of the Red-footed Booby (Sula sula), a marine predator. In May-September 2016, we tracked fifteen breeding

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2:00 – 3:30 pM

Landcover Classifications and Analysis

Room: Toyon

Forest Change Analysis of Agricultural Land UseIfeoma Collins, World Resources Institute

Agriculture for commodities including palm oil, beef and soy is one of the main causes of deforestation. Many companies have committed to deforestation - free supply chains among their commodities by 2020 , but have struggled with quantifying the potential impact their agricultural practices may have on deforestation spatially and temporally . This paper will discuss how companies can use GIS and data derived from satellite imagery to examine supply chain risk on forests in tropical locations. Using the Global Forest Watch Commodities GIS methodology, geospatial analysis of agricultural land use, tree cover loss, and fire activity data was performed to assess the risk of agricultural practices on forest cover for various companies. Results have helped companies that lack GIS capabilities identify areas of high risk and better understand how they can limit the impact of their supply chains on forests. Audience members can benefit by learning how to use open methods for forest monitoring and analysis to help with decision making for sustainable agriculture.

Innovative Data and Tools for Chesapeake Bay Conservation and RestorationCassandra Pallai, Chesapeake Conservancy

The Chesapeake Bay is the country’s largest estuary; it drains five major rivers and is home to a growing population of over 18 million people. In 2017, the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP), a regional partnership that coordinates watershed-wide conservation and restoration efforts, is reporting on Baycleanup progress. Because of this update, the Chesapeake Conservancy and CBP have collaborated to advance the spatial data that serves as the foundation of progress statistics. To that end, new land cover information has been made by CC and partners that is 900 times more specific than the alternative Bay-wide National Land Cover Dataset. It provides complete coverage of 206 counties that comprise the watershed. In and beyond a regulatory setting, the land cover


is helping to push conservation and restoration efforts toward precision and maximum impact per dollar spent. Participants will learn about not only the new land cover dataset, but also about a complimentary flow path analysis for evaluating prime opportunities for conservation and restoration action. They will watch a demo of customized web tools that allow the Conservancy’s partners to access this information without special expertise or licenses. Together, these data and tools facilitate improved efficiency with first-pass conservation and restoration decisions, such as site suitability queries and rankings of restoration projects. Finally, looking toward the future, participants will hear about how the Conservancy aims to expand these products beyond the watershed boundary using promising advancements in cloud-based computing.

Spectral Mixture Analysis in GEE to Map Fire Scars in Brazil’s Deforestation ArchGabriel Daldegan, University of California Santa Barbara

Fire is used around the world for many purposes, including to clear natural vegetation areas for economic activities and to manage the regeneration of already opened sites. In Brazil, fire is mainly used to convert natural vegetation areas to agricultural activities and to manage pasture for livestock, stimulating the sprout of grasslands. The two most extensive biomes in Brazil, the Amazon Forest and the Cerrado, are subject to several fire events every dry season. Both biomes are well known for their ecological and environmental importance but, due to the intensive human occupation over the last four decades, they have been experiencing high deforestation rates with much of their natural landscape being converted to agriculture and pasture uses. This project used Google Earth Engine to apply Spectral Mixture Analysis over Landsat 5TM and Landsat 7 EMT+ imagery to map fire scars from 2002 to 2011. The study site is a subset of the transition zone between the two above-mentioned biomes, focusing on the State of Mato Grosso – Brazil, a region that hosts protected areas and native people lands and that is known for its high deforestation rates. Results show that more than a million hectares was burnt over the period analyzed, and a descending trend in burned area was observed. Knowing the fire history of a region would help to pinpoint areas of higher human activities, allowing prioritizing those areas where fire management should focus.

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Integrated Real-time Monitoring of the Alto Mayo Protected Forest with Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Systems and Acoustic SensorsJimmy Leonardo Pinedo, ECOAN

The objective of this project is detect illegal deforestation at real-time for a rapid response. The monitoring system starts with acoustic sensors installed in tree canopy, which record sounds and when a chain saw is identified a signal is sent to the server. The acoustic sensors are old cell phones powered by solar panels, and the signal is uploaded in the server via mobile network. There is not much mobile coverage in the Alto Mayo Protected Forest and to overcome such barrier, an antenna was installed that expanded the coverage. Then the server sends an email alerting the subscribers (i.e. park rangers) about the activity via Firecast platform. Based on the alert a flight mission with unmanned aerial vehicle is planned and an overflight to verify and map the activity is made. The outcomes from the flight orient the park rangers in the implementation of the best strategy based on informed decision. The project is in the implementation of a pilot phase, which counts with 10 sensors, and the first results were transmitted in January 2017. A second phase is being planned which will included the expansion to the entire protected area and the analysis of biodiversity vocalizations.

2:00 pM – 3:30pM

Technical Workshop

Room: Curlew

Conservation Planning Coast to Coast - SF Bay Area and Connecticut River BasinStuart Weiss, Creekside Center for Earth Observation

The science and art of regional conservation planning has advanced greatly in the last decade thanks to significant improvements in spatial data, scientific grounding, and GIS tools, all driven by a need for connected networks of protected lands to support wildlife and people into the future. In this technical session, we will compare and contrast two exemplars of science-based conservation plans from opposite sides of the country – the San Francisco Bay Area’s Conservation Lands Network (CLN), and the Connecticut River Watershed’s Connect the Connecticut (CtC). Similarities in approaches for these projects include subregionalization

(mountain ranges and valleys in CLN, and HUC 8 watersheds in CtC), coarse filter (vegetation-types/ecological systems) and fine-filter (species and special habitats) targets, high-level conservation goals (~50% of the undeveloped landscape), handling of aquatic networks, broad stakeholder involvement, climate change analysis, and on-line delivery of data and analysis. Key differences include the means of building the networks (Marxan in CLN, assembling core areas in CtC), and the timelines – CLN1 was launched in 2011, a Progress Report was compiled in 2014, and an updated CLN2 begins in 2017, while CtC was launched in 2016. During the discussion section, representatives from each project will share lessons learned, “wish list” advancements, and examples of how stakeholders are using or intend to use the conservation designs to inform their work.

4:00 pM – 5:30 pM

Wildlife Movement Modeling

Room: Acacia

Balancing the Needs of Bears and Foresters: A Methodology to Identify Specific Forest Management Goals that Regionally Benefit an Umbrella Species

Annette Spivy, University of Maryland

The balance between economics and conservation continues to be tenuous. Without ways to implement sustainable use in areas with critical wildlife habitats, either human or wildlife communities tend to suffer. Through the utilization of ESRI software, as well as select programming software, we present a novel way to identify and evaluate industry-specific forest characteristics for wildlife. GIS is an essential component of this work as it is a visual tool that inherently facilitates improved communication and better decision making among a diversity of stakeholders. We used data collected on radiotelemetered black bears from 1988 to 2015 to develop a habitat model throughout Louisiana and Arkansas based on the Mahalanobis distance statistic. Utilizing advanced lidar processing of point cloud data and Forest Inventory Analysis data, we then determined specific forest and tree metrics for overlapping areas of high predicted habitat quality and areas currently used by bears. Our analysis indicated that bears

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utilized forests that had a mean canopy height of 9.9-21.0 ft and mean canopy density of 55.0 - 66.4%. Texas oak and sugarberry were prevalent throughout the high quality bear habitat. Average stand age of the hardwood forests was 43yrs with the majority of trees having a diameter of >11”. Softwood forest stand age averaged 35.7yrs with the majority of trees having a diameter measuring >5”. While these results can be incorporated into ecological forest management plans, they can specifically inform the forest industry about creating or maintaining quality bear habitat while also considering their primary management priorities.

Improved Habitat Connectivity Analysis Using Multiple Low-cost PathsNathan Walker, Nicholas School of the Environment

Habitat connectivity is an important consideration for land conservation. Evaluations of habitat connectivity often rely upon least-cost path analyses to determine the connectedness of any two habitat patches, based on an underlying cost surface. In this talk, I present two improvements upon these common methods. First, rather than using a single least-cost path, I developed a new method to generate multiple low-cost paths. This allows conservationists to differentiate between habitat patches that are connected only through a single narrow corridor, and habitat patches that are connected through a wide swath of traversable lands. The ability to identify habitat patches with a greater variety of potential routes to other patches is of interest for resilience planning and prioritization in the face of continued habitat loss and climate change. The second improvement is that instead of relying upon a single cost surface to evaluate connectivity, I have generated a series of landscapes with spatially varying costs. By testing a variety of alternative cost surfaces, I can better account for spatial uncertainty in my input data. I am using the methods described above to evaluate habitat connectivity for the endangered San Martin titi monkey ( Callicebus oenanthe ) in north-central Peru.

The Effects of Repeated Relocations on Range Establishment and Movement Metrics of Eastern Box Turtles in a Highly Urbanized EnvironmentAnnette Spivy, University of Maryland

To examine the effects of repeated relocation of Eastern box turtles in an urban environment, and to facilitate the development of proper management strategies for box turtle conservation, we used data collected on 10 radio telemetered turtles, from 2011-2014, to analyze range establishment of these relocated turtles. Of the 10 relocated turtles, 4 turtles settled immediately after the initial relocation attempt and required no further relocation attempts and 6 turtles exhibited a homing behavior and required repeated relocation back to the original release site. We further determined if there was a significant difference in movement metrics (movement area size, bearing, and step-lengths) of all turtles as a result of relocation attempts. A one way ANOVA was used to determine if there were significant differences in movement area size, dispersal direction, and step-lengths as a result of repeated relocation. Our analysis suggested 2 types of movement patterns for the established turtles that required no repeated relocations after the initial release: they settled immediately and their 50% and 95% kernel density estimator home range size decreased over time. Overall results revealeda significant negative correlation between each relocation attempt and both size of movement area and step-lengths. This study suggests that if Eastern box turtles must be relocated within an urbanized area, management agencies should be committed to tracking and repeatedly relocating turtles for a minimum of 3 years to obtain >50% retention of turtles in the general settlement area. Without meeting the minimum conditions of 3 years, efforts prove unsuccessful.

An Evaluation of Elk Movement and Habitat Selection in North Dakota

Jacqueline Amor, University of North Dakota

In North Dakota, elk ( Cervus elaphus ) have recently colonized areas of suitable habitat in Bottineau, Cavalier, and Sioux Counties. Although these 3 herds are small (~75–300 individuals each), they have caused crop depredation and other management challenges. The North Dakota Game and Fish Department (NDGF) had little information on these elk


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herds. In cooperation with Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Manitoba Department of Sustainable Development, NDGF contracted with UND to collect and analyze critical baseline information to better manage these elk herds. The objectives of this study are to determine 1) population estimates and demographic composition; 2) home range and habitat selection; and 3) biological and cultural carrying capacities. We gathered 6 GPS locations per day from each of 15 collared animals (5 per herd) to determine summer, winter, and hunting season home ranges. We conducted home range analyses using Brownian Bridge Movement Models in the program R, which are currently among the most robust methods to analyze these data. We also used GIS to help complete an accuracy assessment of the National Land Cover Dataset 2011 before using it to determine habitat resource selection for each elk herd. We demonstrate the importance of GIS analysis to help inform important management and policy decisions that affect wildlife conservation. We intend to

4:00 pM – 5:30 pM

Conservation Planning and Prioritization

Room: Toyon

Beyond Tools: Using story to manage complexityDan Rademacher, GreenInfo Network

For more than 20 years, GreenInfo Network has developed critical datasets about the public and natural landscapes of California and provided map-based communications solutions to a long list of nonprofit organizations working on a wide range of environmental and social issues. This year, we’ve been working on a range of important conservation tools, including the Bay Area Greenprint (launching June 2017), a regional multi-benefit conservation planning tool developed with the Nature Conservancy, Bay Area Open Space Council, American Farmland Trust, and Greenbelt Alliance, funded by the Bechtel Foundation. The heart of the Greenprint is a fairly complex reporting tool that brings in dozens of data layers, everything from pending development projects to sea level rise and groundwater data. Given the complexity of the tool, we also spent considerable time and effort on user testing with practitioners and developing a framework

for public-facing stories of how those practitioners are using the tools we’ve developed. The key discovery we made is that even experts in one field need the support of concrete stories and demonstrations when a data tool spans beyond their field. Along with other examples from GreenInfo’s client work, we’ll use the Greenprint design and development process as a case study of how narrative can help scaffold and frame even complex data challenges in ways that make them approachable and manageable for busy professional planners and other key users. We’ll also look ahead to using what we learned in the upcoming revision of the Bay Area Conservation Lands Network Explorer tool and website.

ArcGIS for Conservation of Urban Trees in Appomattox River WatershedShobha Sriharan, Virginia State University

Urban trees are a vital part of our environment. They reduce air temperature and control run off. Virginia State University (VSU) is located in Petersburg where Appomattox River flows through VSU’s Randolph Farm. VSU has “Campus Tree Care Plan.” The hypothesis of this research is that trees intercept and absorb precipitation that allows the slow absorption of the precipitation into the aquifer. At the same time, if there is any connection between the weather conditions in the runoff in watersheds. Therefore, information on urban tree inventory and water quality testing in study areas will help in community education for conservation of urban trees. The study was conducted in Appomattox River Watershed. Data was collected on topography of the area within 20ft radius up and down stream and 20ft. arc up the bank and focusing on canopy cover (i-Tree Hydro and i-Tree Eco software), height and canopy spread of trees by a Hypsometer. Tree inventory was made by geo-tagging each tree, specifics such as the trunk’s diameter at breast height (DBH), height, and canopy breadth, and graded according to i-Tree eco specs (25ft upstream and downstream). The data was collected on urban trees, species, tree size, and taxonomy. The water quality was monitored for nutrient contents (nitrates and phosphates), pH, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen. ArcMap was used to map the study area to display current and historical data around Appomattox River Watershed that were linked with the water testing.

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Creating a conservation network for the Mackenzie River Basin

Naomi Louchouarn, University of California, Santa Barbara

Canada’s Mackenzie River Basin (MRB) covers over one-fifth of Canada’s landmass and is considered one of the most intact and resource-rich natural areas remaining in North America. However, any conservation plan developed to maintain this region’s ecological integrity must also account for the economic interests present. To facilitate conservation planning and identify high priority biodiversity conservation areas in the MRB, Caribou were used as umbrella species. Using MaxEnt, we mapped relative rate of occurrence for three types of caribou—boreal woodland caribou, mountain woodland caribou, and barren-ground caribou—based on historical and future bioclimatic variablesprojected out to 2050. Resource value was assessed for timber, hydrocarbons, and minerals based on their location, volume, and current market prices. We then used MARXAN to design reserves which achieved caribou conservation targets (17%, 50% and 80% of caribou range) while minimizing the total cost of the reserve system. We found that it is more cost effective to conserve 50% or greater of caribou range, as there is a disproportionate increase in ecological value relative to cost at this conservation target. Larger reserves increase protection of the eight ecozones, the land cover types and river systems in the region. However, these reserves may inadequately account for biodiversity and watershed health in the southern MRB. This is not surprising given that the majority of human activity and high value resources lie within these southern regions. Our results can be used to promote the ecological integrity of the region while balancing the interests of three major natural resource extraction industries.

Geospatial Excellence in Weed Control - Providing a National PictureAnn De shutter, Department of Conservation

DOC is making use of spatial technology in combatting invasive plants, and restoring native eco-systems. Spatial representation is key when visualizing the nature and extent of the problem, and enables national collaboration. The Weeds System provides business-centric workflows that allow users to enter surveys, infestations and controls. Relationships enable us to better understand the time, effort and effectiveness. This system, now being used nationally, improves results and reduces costs.

4:00 pM – 5:30 pM

Marine Animals

Room: Curlew

Quantifying Effectiveness of Longline Gear Management Areas for Migratory Sharks

Hannah Calich, University of Miami

Highly migratory fish species (sharks, tunas, billfish, swordfish) present unique conservation management challenges due to their wide-ranging and concealing movements. Great hammerhead ( Sphyrna mokarran ), tiger ( Galeocerdo cuvier ), and bull sharks ( Carcharhinus leucas ) are primarily vulnerable to capture as target and bycatch in longline fisheries. Thus, this study aimed to: (1) identify suitable habitats for these species, (2) determine what proportion of these habitats are currently protected from longline fishing versus vulnerable to exploitation, and (3) compare the magnitude of habitat protection and vulnerability at species-specific and seasonal levels. ArcGIS was used to analyze the movements and habitat use patterns of 96 satellite-tagged sharks throughout the southeast region of the USA’s exclusive economic zone. Their movements and habitat use patterns were compared to longline gear management areas to determine where these species are vulnerable to interacting with commercial fisheries. The implications of this study extend to the management and conservation of other highly migratory species (both terrestrial and aquatic).


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The Mapping of Sea Turtles and Whale Sharks using a UAV in the Baja California Sur MexicoScott Thompson, University of Denver

The GIS science applied for this research project is for the evaluation of populations of endangered sea turtles and whale sharks that inhabit the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean near La Paz Mexico and Cabo San Lucas in the Baja California Sur Mexico. Sea turtle and whale shark imagery and habitats will be captured with a high definition camera utilizing a cost efficient UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) microquadcopter. The georeferenced raster data will be mapped and analyzed with the appropriate operations in GIS software. The power comes from extrapolating data in real time and processing the data into a GIS system for analysis in a short interval. This paper examines the power and versatility of a cost efficient UAV to harvest valuable data related to oceanic ecosystem health of marine animals, shoreline, and migration routes of turtles and whale sharks. These specialized areas of study pinpoint fine resolution, spatial, and temporal factors associated with these oceanic habitats.

Doppler Radar as a Conservation Tool: Assessing Vessel Traffic DistributionSamantha Cope, Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies, San Francisco State University

Human use is an important factor to consider when assessing habitat quality or anthropogenic risks to wildlife. The overlap of vessel traffic and marine mammal habitat for a growing number of species in San Francisco Bay (SFB) presents a potential conservation issue, and analysis of vessel distribution within the Bay is lacking. In order to address this problem, a Doppler radar sensor linked to a high-definition camera was employed to continuously detect, track, and catalog vessel location and speed within a study area. Point data containing vessel location, speed, and timestamp attributes were stored in a geodatabase and analyzed in a GIS. Transect lines were created for each unique voyage based on sequential timestamps, and an average speed for each leg was determined using the observed speeds at the two end-points of each segment. Working within a GIS allowed us to then overlay a cell grid, cut the leg segments based on the cell boundaries, and calculate a “distance-weighted” average speed for each cell. A bivariate choropleth map coded to display cells as a combination of average speed and number of unique transits allowed for visualization

of results. This heat map revealed isolated areas of high vessel density with maximum speeds greater than 15 knots. Collisions between cetaceans and vessels become increasingly lethal at vessel speeds greater than 10 knots, and vessel presence can influence habitat use by both cetaceans and pinnipeds. This research provides a method for observing and classifying vessel distribution in a meaningful way for wildlife conservation, as well as valuable spatial human use data for marine mammal researchers in SFB.

The Responsibility of BoatersMatthew Sole, Elliot

Marine navigation, autonomous boating and the conservation of our local waterways & bays is no longer a choice, it’s a necessity. The vehicles of conservation have changed. Marine navigation systems have always given boaters the right to choose how to navigate local waterways, without informing them of the damage they cause or of the reasons why damage occurs. Restricted areas are nothing new but current marine maps do nothing to change behavior, and with social media and connected boats, changing behavior is the new objective. Nautical map providers and marine navigation companies need to incorporate conservationist data into nautical charts.

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Session DescriptionsTuesday, July 18

9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

Aquatic Habitats, Species, Aquatic Restoration

Room: Chapel

Improved Conservation Outcomes Through Distribution Modeling of Threatened and Endangered SpeciesHealy Hamilton, NatureServe

The geographic distribution of threatened and endangered (T&E) species is fundamental to a wide range of conservation and resource management actions. Differing approaches to determining a threatened species distribution range from using point locality observations to broad range maps to county-based records. Each of these approaches has drawbacks. When only observations are used, the accuracy depends on intensity and distribution of sampling effort, and the occupied area is usually underpredicted. When coarse range maps are used, they are often subjective and difficult to replicate, and the occupied area is overpredicted. These issues can provoke unnecessary conflict in endangered species management, can affect downstream spatial analyses of conservation prioritization, and can cause misdirection of limited resources. Advances in ecologically modeling can help solve this tractable problem. Here, we describe a proposed initiative to produce a nationally consistent, verifiable, multi-jurisdictional library of T & E species distributions by applying scientifically robust species distribution modeling (SDM) techniques. We demonstrate use cases where SDMs of threatened species have informed ESA listing decisions, guided avoidance and mitigation strategies, supported species recovery efforts, and increased efficiency of inventory and monitoring programs. This national effort could increase the effectiveness of conservation, while reducing costs for industry and federal agencies.

Biodiversity Information Serving Our Nation (BISON) - Mapping 300M Species OccurrencesDerek Masaki, USGS

Biodiversity Information Serving Our Nation or BISON is a web-based Federal resource for finding, visualizing and downloading species occurrence data in the U. S. and territories. BISON currently provides over 300 million

mapped occurrence records. Search is provided via text-based or geospatial enabled queries. Web Map Service and REST APIs provide additional functionality, allowing search and visualizations independent of the BISON web front end. The USGS has built and maintains BISON, which runs on federal government Amazon Web Services cloud infrastructure. BISON provides a single interface for millions of species records, generated by thousands of providers. The application solves the challenging issue of managing several thousand heterogenous data resources by processing data to conform to a consistent international data standard (Darwin Core schema), creating FGDC compliant metadata, and implementing an easy to use web front end for query, mapping and retrieval. BISON provides a visual geospatial framework built on open source software that helps users better understand the distribution of species, gain insight on historical trends, and ascertain future directions of species abundance. The system is powerful tool for research scientists, land use managers, policy makers and citizens. Those attending the presentation will learn what technologies drive BISON, the workflow used to process and load tens of millions of species records per year and how to use BISON to find, view, filter and retrieve species data using the web interface and provided APIs (using applications like R and QGIS)

Modeling on Stream Networks: Spatial Statistical Models for Herring Spawning Habitat Use

Meg Williams, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Historically abundant river herring spawning runs in rivers of the US Atlantic coast have declined to a fraction of their former numbers. Loss of spawning habitat due to construction of dams and culverts has likely contributed to this loss, sparking interest in stream restoration projects. To better understand stream habitat use by river herring, we analyzed field-collected herring occurrence data, and GIS-derived land use metrics for local watersheds for 178 sites in Chesapeake Bay tributaries. Stream-based phenomena present unique autocovariance challenges in statistical model development: stream networks are dendritic and stream flow and fish migration is directional. These characteristics may produce spatial relationships that statistically invalidate traditional analysis. We apply SSN and STARS tools (in R and

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ArcGIS respectively) and Python scripts to improve Bayesian models of herring spawning habitat use in stream networks in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Inputs to models include 30m and 1m land cover data, local watershed indicators, eDNA samples and NHD Plus V2 stream attributes.

9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

Coastal Conservation & Planning

Room: Acacia

Restoring the Louisiana Coast: Strategies for Analyzing and Prioritizing Coastal RestorationKatie Coyne, Asakura Robinson Co

The coast of Louisiana is rapidly losing ground in the most literal sense – over one million acres of coastal land have been lost since the 1930s. Analysis presented here was undertaken at the request of attorneys hired by coastal parishes seeking to restore portions of the coast impacted by oil and gas activities. This project attempts to identify the best locations for various types of coastal rebuilding efforts with a focus on restoring and protecting ecosystem services throughout the coast of Louisiana. Utilizing a GIS-based suitability methodology, weighted variable data was combined into a cumulativescore at a per cell basis. Various social, economic, and ecological variables were weighted with input from a team of experts in related fields. Individual variables are presented in a grid at both the parish and coast wide level. Cumulative results synthesize the suitability of each grid square. The result is a coast-wide determination of suitability for restoration that will be used to assist in decision-making regarding which projects to construct at which locations within various parishes. This work is in its early stages and should be considered a work-in-progress, although initial synthesis maps exist for the entire Louisiana coast. It is the intention of the team to further refine this methodology to assess restoration suitability at a finer grain coast-wide, and will more specifically influence site-scale recommendations. The results of this analysis will also be aligned with priorities from the Louisiana Coastal Plan 2017.

Not All Shoreline is Created Equal: A Shoreline Vulnerability Index of San Francisco Bay’s First Line of Defense Against Rising SeasAbby Mohan, Bay Conservation and Development Commission

Understanding the vulnerabilities of engineered and de-facto shoreline defense throughout the San Francisco Bay region will better help to identify the opportunities to adapt portions of the shoreline to address rising sea levels. Utilizing the SF Estuarine Institute’s Bay Shore inventory geodatabase of shoreline types along SF Bay and a survey of local planners, permitting authority agencies, and coastal engineers, we developed a shoreline vulnerability index (SVI). This SVI will assist the Bay Conservation and Development Commission’s Adapting to Rising Tides program in planning for a more resilient shoreline. The SVI is composed of: shoreline type, adaptability to SLR, fortification, frontage/2nd line of defense, normalized elevation and wave energy with each attribute ranked and weighted using an analytical hierarchy approach. Using a heuristic model in GIS, we calculated the SVI to derive a unique vulnerability score for each 100ft segment of 1st line of defense along the shore of San Francisco Bay. This qualitative and quantitative approach allows for both a regional and local scale understanding of how shoreline vulnerability varies throughout the Bay. The SVI identifies attributes of shorelines that provide greater resiliency, and will ultimately help the Bay Area prioritize adaptations against the climate and storm generated coastal flooding.

Integration of Terrestrial Source in MPA ManagementKyle Flanagan, USF St. Petersburg

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are established based on ecological and economic characteristics and needs, and assessed through adaptive management where success targets are set by comparison with controls; a method considering ecology within MPA boundaries, but failing to integrate/incorporate effects of runoff-derived inputs (sediments/pollutants). Studies show that MPA success is related to water quality from watersheds. To effectively plan, manage, and protect MPAs, placement and success criteria need scope expansion to include interconnectivity of terrestrial-coastal systems and mechanisms linking landuse/landcover (LULC) to water quality. It was hypothesized that

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urbanized watersheds discharge poorer quality water to downstream MPAs than watersheds with less urbanization thus negatively impacting MPA success. A comparison using LULC data from the 1992 and 2011 National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) at the HUC 8 scale was performed on simulated water quality discharged into Lower Suwanee National Wildlife Refuge (LSNWR) and Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserves (CHAP) using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The LSNWR watershed increased in urbanization 13.4% since 1992, while CHAP changed by only 0.8%. It is expected that SWAT results will show declines in water quality discharged to LSNWR, while water quality discharged to CHAP remains relatively constant suggesting an inverse relationship between urban coverage of watersheds and water quality discharged to MPAs.

9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

Ecosystem Services & Agriculture

Room: Toyon

Vulnerability and Climate Risk Analysis of the Amazon Biome and its Protected AreasJohanna Prüssmann, World Wildlife Fund

(Abstract not submitted)

Pasture Utilization and Monitoring in Ol Pejeta Conservancy, a GIS ApproachVincent Abere, Ol Pejeta Conservancy Kenya

This paper seeks to show how GIS is used in monitoring pasture and its utilization. Since Ol Pejeta has an integrated livestock and wildlife program, its paramount that we know the changes in pasture biomass throughout the conservancy and is usually done in a quarterly basis. By mapping out the movement of wildlife and determining biomass at different sampling points, we can therefor use this information to determine suitable areas for grazing livestock. This therefor ensure that there is effective and sustainable utilization of pastures in the conservancy without the risk of overgrazing or environmental degradation.

Facilitating Climate Smart Agriculture through GISKellee Koenig, Conservation International

The growing demand for food and other crops globally puts increased pressure on the very natural resources supporting their cultivation as well as the communities involved. Companies are assessing how to increase the sustainability of their crop cultivation processes, both environmentally and socially, throughout their supply chains. While definitions of “sustainable” may differ, there is an increasing recognition that company and consortium efforts are happening in the same regions and need to be coordinated to maximize impact. Using coffee as an example, this presentation will show the role of GIS in Conservation International’s work to bring these efforts together to make coffee the first sustainable commodity. It will include examples of our GIS work over the years to-date with coffee companies as they assess their individual sustainability measures, and how GIS is informing new efforts as we move beyond a single crop and farms to a broader landscape approach.

The System of Certification of Forests and Incentives (Sistema de Certificación de Bosques e Incentivos - SBCBI) is Derived from this Institution, the Project in Which it Currently WorksErwin Pardo, Autoridad de Fiscalización y Control Social de Bosques y Tierra

The presentation will make a synthesis of the results achieved with the performance evaluations carried out to forest users (indigenous communities, peasant communities, forestry companies, sawmills, forest products marketers). This work will show the importance of the use of GIS as tools for planning, decision making and analysis during performance assessments, in addition to experiences in the inclusion of smartphones as a tool for georeferenced field data, traceability of forest products, storage and synchronization of information.

Session DescriptionsTuesday, July 18 (continued)

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9:00 AM – NOON

Technical Workshop

Room: Curlew

Image Processing and Analysis in ArcGISMiriam Schmidts, Esri

Image Analysis workflows are crucial to many marine and conservation GIS projects. In the recent years, Imagery processing and analysis has become more and more a core functionality of ArcGIS software. Mosaic datasets enable you to intelligently store and process large amounts of Imagery in ArcGIS. Raster functions complement the ArcGIS geoprocessing tools to create on-the-fly raster products. Image segmentation and classification, Orthomapping in ArcGIS Pro and Drone to Map are examples of image processing functionality in ArcGIS. In this workshop we will explore some core imagery workflows in ArcGIS Desktop using the ArcGIS Pro and ArcMap applications.

11:00 AM –NOON

Aquatic Habitats Restoration

Room: Chapel

Off-Channel Mapping for Identifying and Prioritizing Topeka Shiner Restoration SitesCourtney Zambory, Iowa State

The Topeka Shiner (Notropis topeka) is a small, federally endangered cyprinid that was once widespread in Iowa. Populations have been in decline throughout their range, and current distribution of known populations in Iowa are primarily believed to occur in the North Raccoon, Boone, and Rock River Watersheds. Once an expansive wetland and prairie ecosystem with meandering streams and countless off-channel habitats, much of Iowa’s historical landscape has been lost with the expansion of row crop agriculture and the channelization of streams. Off-channel habitats, such as oxbows and livestock watering ponds, play an important role in the Topeka Shiner life cycle throughout its range. Restoration of these habitats, particularly oxbows, has

become the primary method of Topeka Shiner conservation in Iowa, and over 60 restorations have been completed since 2002. Yet with limited resources available for conservation, it is critical to prioritize restoration efforts so they are both financially and ecologically effective. The objective of this study is to analyze landscape characteristics that are associated with Topeka Shiner presence, and then prioritize potential oxbow restoration sites based on landscape variable suitability. Potential restoration sites were identified using 2m resolution LiDAR-derived digital elevation models. Depressions located on the landscape within the riparian zone of perennial streams were filtered by applying size, shape, and locational criteria parse out oxbow features. By optimizing site selection, this work will support guidance for future oxbow restoration projects for efficient restoration of Topeka Shiner habitat in Iowa.

Study of Endangered Habitat Structure and Dynamics in Koshi Tappu Wetlands (Nepal) Using Predictive GIS ModelsSuruchi Prasad, Civic Forum for Sustainable Development

Koshi Tappu wetland lies on the floodplains of Koshi River which is the largest river in Nepal and Ganges’s major tributary. The reserve provides a mosaic unique habitat structure and is a refuge to rich biodiversity including over 485 bird, 35 reptiles, 200 fish, 31 mammals and 500 plant species. Monsoon brin flood every year to the reserve and habitat structure is pretty dynamic. A study was conducted to understand the habitat structure and dynamics using 30 meter resolution LANDSAT imagery taken in spring (pre-monsoon), monsoon, and winter (post-monsoon) each year between 2010 and 2016. Training data obtained from the field was used to perform supervised classification and identify habitat types (e.g. dense forest, open forest, tall grassland, short grassland, bush land and wetland etc). Various vegetation indices were also derived. A predictive distribution model was developed using Landsat derived land cover and vegetation indices and 13 other uncorrelated environmental layers for 5 flagship and endangered species – gharial ( Gavialis gangeticus ), Ganges river dolphin ( Platanista gangetica ), swamp francolin ( Francolinus gularis ), greater adjutant stork ( Leptoptilos dubius ), and the wild water buffalo ( Bubalus arnee ). Over 345 occurrence points were used as training points and over 200 occurrence points were used to validate the predictive model. Landsat image

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processing and classification was carried out using ERDAS Imagine 2016 and all geoprocessing were carried out in ArcGIS desktop 10.3 using spatial analyst extension and automated using ArcPy python.

11:00 AM – 12:00 pM

Drones Tech

Room: Acacia

Drone use for Botanical Surveys of Vertical Surfaces on Kauai, HawaiiBen Nyberg, National Tropical Botanical Garden

UAV technology is progressing at an incredible pace, leading to increased functionality at reduced cost. Coupled with loosened FAA restrictions, this is creating excellent opportunities for small organizations to apply UAV tools to complex conservation problems. The National Tropical Botanical Garden is tasked with protecting rare tropical plants both in-situ and ex-situ. The critical first step for this process is systematic plant surveys which are challenging in the steep, rugged terrain of Kauai. Traditional nadir imagery has not provided the resolution or angle to effectively survey these areas. By conducting surveys of this nature we aim to increase genetic diversity of our collections and protect in-situ populations which will lead to a better understanding of rare species range, habitat requirements, and phenology. Information collected can be used for restoration and climate change mitigation. We have developed a protocol to search some of the most difficult and dangerous cliff areas using UAV’s. As part of this process we are able to create high resolution topographic data utilizing “Structure from Motion” technology. Then by employing 3D flight planning and automated flight software, consistent resolution imagery can be collected. These remote botanical surveys have been highly effective for plant discovery and monitoring on vertical cliff faces. New populations have been discovered and inventoried. Most importantly, the methods outlined quickly produce results with an inexpensive entry-level UAV.

Evaluating UAS/Drones for Monitoring and Modeling Riparian SystemsJim Graham, Humboldt State University

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), also known as UAV or drones, provide unprecedented flexibility and resolution for monitoring and modeling natural systems. New regulation and license options now provide the potential to use UAS for research and conservation management. However, the technology is new and while less expensive than traditional aerial photography, is still out of reach of many organizations. We flew UAS for projects along the Eel River and near Mono Lake in California over the last year. All the projects focused on riparian systems, used optical sensors, and utilized structure for motion software to create the final data products. Our objectives included; identifying salmon habitat, determine topography of the stream channels and measuring green up within the riparian corridor. Our results show that you can obtain orthomosaics at a resolution of 3 cm per pixel of at least 10 cm. UAS also provided digital elevation models with resolution of 3 cm per pixel but a true resolution that is better than 1 meter per pixel where there was sufficient overlap in the aerial images. We also created 3D triangulated irregular networks (TINs) that could be used for hydro-dynamic modeling. Overlaying the TINs with the orthomosaics provide compelling and informative 3D visualizations. With a relatively small investment in equipment, training and time, UAS can be used by researchers and managers to obtain high-resolution data of key conservation areas .

A Bird’s Eye View: Maximising the Potential of Drone Technology for On-Site Wildlife ConservationThomas Starnes, RSPB

The use of ‘drones’ or Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) has rapidly accelerated in the past decade, offering us an unprecedented combination of a bird’s eye view and a consumer-level price tag. Using drones to take oblique aerial images of reserves has allowed site managers to gather aerial imagery of unprecedented spatio-temporal resolution not possible with manned aircraft and satellite remote sensing methods. Seeing how many of our reserves colleagues had acquired their own drones, we decided to roll out a project which would help them to unleash the potential of the technology which was already at their fingertips. As


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an organization we have moved from visual interpretation of oblique aerial imagery, to quantitative analysis of orthorectified aerial imagery and digital surface models which we can use to map and measure habitats. We are using photogrammetry to create models from which we can analyze vegetation height and structure, classify habitats and model hydrology. Here we present some short examples of how we have made this transformation, maximized our use of drone technology and applied this to in-situ conservation.

11:00 AM – NOON

Conservation GIS Apps

Room: Toyon

FieldWatch - A Voluntary Mapping RegistryBob Walters, FieldWatch

FieldWatch is a non-profit that operates and manages the DriftWatch Specialty Crop Site and BeeCheck Apiary Registries. We operate in 14 states and Saskatchewan and provide an online mapping registry to support communication, collaboration, and cooperation between growers of specialty crop, beekeepers, and pesticide applicators. More information can be found at www.fieldwatch.com.

WWF-SIGHT: integrating spatial data to guide land use planning, policies and investmentsPaolo Tibaldeschi, WWF Norway

Increasing world population and related demand for commodities has made resource rich countries in Africa, South America and Asia hot prospects for industrial expansion. These new industrial developments will inevitably impact on land use, areas of ecological importance and vulnerable communities. In this fast evolving context, WWF and partners often have poor intelligence on the current and future threats driving land use change and environmental degradation. This inability to well understand these threats hinders the ability of WWF to take the appropriate and timely actions to ensure environmental protection and social welfare. Based on these gaps, WWF-SIGHT

emerged and aims to improve decision making through easy access to spatial information and analysis early in the project life-cycle to reduce environmental and social risks and promote sustainable investments. The areas of focus are: - Monitoring developments: rapidly assess up-to-date industrial development datasets; - Land use planning: assess the potential environmental and social conflicts of existing or planned projects to inform key stakeholders; - Tracing investments: linking high risk projects to specific investors in order to engage more effectively. Some of the achievements to date include the 2015 global extractive assessment which found that one third of natural UNESCO World Heritage Sites were potentially threatened by oil and gas or mining. WWF-SIGHT has also been working on developing a National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) Index to assess and encourage countries to be more transparent on their spatial data. For more information please visit http://wwf-sight.org/

GIS for Nature Protection in Russia: The Short Survey of the Major NGO’s Projects in 2015-2017Anastasia Philippova, NeoEcoProject

It’s a brief reference of the Russian NGO’s main GIS-projects and analysis of what NGOs considered to be the main ecological problems of the recent years and how they are dealing with situation using GIS.

2:00 pM – 3:30 pM

Species Conservation: Mammals

Room: Chapel

Spotted Hyena Survival and Density in a Lion Depleted Ecosystem: The Effects of Prey Availability, Humans and Competition Between Large Carnivores in African SavannahsJassiel L. Msoka, Zambia Department of National Parks and Wildlife

Interspecific competition between large carnivores is not well understood due to the complexity of carnivore guild dynamics and the array of ecological and human factors affecting them. The loss of a carnivore guild’s dominant

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species can therefore provide considerable insights. We evaluated spotted hyena density and demography from Zambia’s Liuwa Plain National Park, a recovering ecosystem where the hyena’s main competitor, the African lion, was severely reduced to 3–5 animals. Using data from 233 individuals in five clans and mark-resight robust design models we estimated population size, density, age and sex-specific annual survival rates for the hyena population from 2010 to 2013 and tested for the effect of human settlements, prey density, competition with lions and hyena clan size on mean hyena survival. We estimated a minimum density of 0.13 hyenas/km2 and maximum density of 0.52 hyenas/km2. Density fluctuated with seasonal migrations of the main prey species, the blue wildebeest. Mean annual survival across all age classes was 0.93 (95%CI: 0.79–0.99).With high survival rates across all sex and age classes, we found no detectable effects of ecological or anthropogenic factors on survival. These results suggest that the combination of abundant prey, weak human-carnivore conflict, and weak competition from lions provide very favorable conditions for hyena survival. Additional investigations of hyena demography concurrent with lion population recovery efforts can provide considerable insights into the dynamics of carnivore competition and predation in African savannahs and the human and ecological factors affecting them.

Human-Elephant Interactions and Associated Damage in the Northern Transboundary Areas of BangladeshMohammad “Doha” Shamsuddoha, WildTeam

Bangladesh and estimated the scale of associated damage due to the negative interaction by visiting conflict area, performing FGDs, key informant interviews and using secondary data sources. Around 70-80 non-resident elephants regularly intruded to the study area through the international border fence using several trespassing points and engaged in conflicts with frontier villagers. We discussed the nature and scale of conflict and the financial losses due to the conflict. Besides severe casualties in both end, the enumerated economic loss was USD 11,71, 665 in 2013 and 2014 due to the damage to cropland, house and properties, trees and orchards etc. We have identified major HEC zones adjacent to the border fence through spatial analysis with different level of intensity. Appropriate HEC mitigation measure such as habitat improvement and management,

monitoring of elephant population, alternative income generation, awareness programs for the local people and working together with India regarding this issue is a timely and urgent need for Bangladesk

Understanding the Home Range and Habitat Type used by the Bornean Elephant in the North Kinabatangan Managed RangeLucy Peter Liew (EFN), Danau Girang Field Centre

Background: Home range can be defined as an area over which an animal or group of animals regularly travels in search of food or mates, and that may overlap with those of neighboring animals or groups of the same species. Studies have shown that for African and Indian elephants the size of home range is determined by numerous factors including water availability, food sources, seasonal changes, habitat loss and existence of man-made barriers. In Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, the Bornean elephants occur mainly in the south, center and east of the state. The most current and reliable estimation of the Bornean elephant population in Sabah is around 2,040 individuals. Currently, the Bornean elephants are under threat of population decline. The primary threats to these elephants are mainly due to habitat loss and human-elephant conflict. This project focuses on understanding the home range and habitat type used by the elephants specifically in the North Kinabatangan Managed Range (where human-elephant conflicts have recently increased) and aims to analyze the home range and habitat type preferences using Geographic Information System (GIS).

Tracking Down the Ivory Traffickers in Gabon: Why Elephants Need GIS and TechnologyWilde Rosny Ngalekassaga (EFN), Conservation Justice Gabon

Gabon is full of wildlife species, including one of the largest population of forest elephants in the world. However, these protected animals are poached for ivory and intensively trafficked while measures to combat this scourge remain weak. Despite the declared will of the authorities to combat it, ivory trafficking goes on. The weakness of law enforcement and a lack of consistent public policies are the main factors for this. By providing clear and searchable data, it is possible to contribute to decision-making and thus push for better law enforcement, which will lead to a reduction in the rate


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of poaching and trafficking. The Wildlife Law Enforcement Project (Projet d’Appui à l’Application de la Loi, AALF, in French) supports the authorities in enforcing anti-trafficking efforts. To this end, it keeps databases of operations that make it possible to identify all the proven cases of ivory traffics in Gabon. We hold these databases on an Excel file for an internal use. These data are reliable because they are collected directly on the ground by a team of committed activists. The difficulty is that they are not searchable by those who make the decision and so they do not contribute as much as they could. Hence, converting the AALF Project data in a format accessible to all and translating these results to the decision-makers will lead to better public policies. The web mapping with GIS is a very powerful tool for that. Thus, it is possible to combine internet technology, GIS systems, and law enforcement operations to improve public policies on ivory trafficking in Gabon. To do this, an effective mapping system must be set up. Moreover, this is what I am committed to doing.

2:00 pM – 3:30 pM

Indigenous Conservation

Room: Acacia

Te Orewai Wahi Tapu - GIS Mapping - Using Digital Tools to Support Traditional PracticesDelaraine Armstrong, Nga Tirairaka o Ngati Hine

New Zealand Maori are a people of oral traditions, reciting genealogy back to the beginning of time. This ancestral knowledge is critical to the kinship relationships between tribes that identify each person, their extended family and their traditional lands. It is a declaration of identity that holds authority amongst the Polynesian peoples of the greater Pacific. Without it, maori are lost. This GIS based project was completed in collaboration with GIS Cloud. After winning second prize in GIS Cloud’s Collaboration competition in 2016, we began the GIS mapping and recording of all wahi tapu (burial sites) within the tribal area of Te Orewai, which is a small, rural community an hour’s drive from the nearest city of Whangarei in NZ’s Northland region. We decided to map and record every grave in Te Orewai. The record has the name, dates of birth and death

with a photo of the grave marker, so that anyone with relatives or ancestors buried in Te Orewai, can locate the exact place of their grave. With many maori recording generations of their family history, we often field queries of relatives who live overseas or have never visited our small valley in Northland, so this work provides a digital portal to information for our traditional practices, to maintain our knowledge and connection to each other and the land, wherever people may live in the world. Our Ngati Hine tribe is stronger and more vital, when we know who we are, who our ancestors are and how we connect to each other and to the land.

Spatial Land Use Planning in Northern NimbaSolomon C Carlon, Conservation International

Conservation International (CI) has been working with the Government of Liberia to help protect Liberia’s biodiversity and natural capital for future generations. CI is working with communities around the East Nimba Nature Reserve (ENNR) located in Nimba County which borders Guinea and the Ivory Coast. The East Nimba Nature Reserve covers approximately 13,500 hectares of highly biodiverse land. Considerable threats to biodiversity in this region include ongoing extraction of iron ore at a commercial scale and the extraction of reserves of natural resources for both subsistence and commercial use. These natural resources include the hunting of bushmeat and non-timber forest products (NTFP) such as resins, medicinal plants, fruits, nuts, etc. CI is in the process of providing livelihood projects to communities around the ENNR to help protect the reserve. Currently, there is no form of land use planning in the Northern Nimba Landscape and CI is considering developing a spatial land-use plan across the entire Landscape using GIS data and analysis.

Using the Past to Inform the Present: the Benefits of Cultural Restoration for Environmental Resource ManagementAaria Ripeka Dobson-Waitere, Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika

Kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and tikanga (cultural practices) were the traditional methods of managing resources used by Maori ancestors. These practices continue to be of value and relevant in application today. We not only have

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a responsibility to look after our resources but also the knowledge associated with these resources so it is available to be passed on to future generations. The environment is a place of connection between us and our tupuna/ancestors and one that is essential for us to connect the younger generations with, also for maintaining kaitiakitanga/guardianship into the future. The project will utilise the latest GIS technology to record, map and transmit traditional knowledge. With the aid of GIS technology, the stories and place names that record Taranaki Whanui history in Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington), Aotearoa (New Zealand), will begin to be mapped onto a virtual landscape for future generations to come.

2:00 pM – 3:30 pM

Environmental Impacts

Room: Toyon

Redefining Mine Closure Based on Deep Ecology & Solmaxion EngineeringCharlotte Thornton, Institute for Deep Ecology & Solmaxion Engineering

Mine tailings are the unwitting achilles heal of Big Copper Mining globally. When mine tailings are analyzed using GIS and geospatial tools, The Atacama Desert plays host to over 56% of the world’s copper production. This epic revelation makes self-evident that The Atacama sports an irreplaceable land/ocean ecosystem providing untapped services, all of which are at risk when all permitted mine plans are project forward over the next 50, 100, 500, and 1000 years. Why 1000? Roman mine tailings in Jordan are now well documented as contaminating today’s populous living in the region. Mine tailings are permitted in perpetuity, then and now, without regard to current day egress upon known and unknown desert oases that should be leveraged for regional agricultural needs and economic diversification, alongside cultural and historical archaeology and anthropology, both with artifacts and knowledge base now acutely at risk. Mine tailings are given highest ranking by policy makers. When eco-enviro-econo-political-socio facts are presented via GIS tools, even Big Copper Mining can be the winner alongside townsmen, workers, and regional touristic traders, all of which suffer extreme and under reported health risks by smelter

and aquifer pollution. Using GIS, Deep Ecology ideology and Solmaxion Engineering are defined and applied to the Atacama based on existing permitted mines for the next 50 years. From this we derive a redefinition of mine closure that delivers a win win win solution for policy makers and Big Copper Mining to consider.

Earth Engine as a Tool for Detecting Mountaintop Removal Mining in Central AppalachiaChristian Thomas, SkyTruth

Surface mining has long been a staple of the coal industry in Central Appalachia, and the destructive process has a significant impact on both environmental and public health. Previous research on the impacts of this extractive process has relied upon the use of a dataset last updated in 2005, which identifies the location of surface mining on a decadal scale. The continuation of surface mining activity since 2005, as well as the coarse temporal resolution of the existing dataset, necessitated an update to the existing dataset. To this end, we used Google Earth Engine to process three decades worth of Landsat imagery to identify the extent of mining activity at a yearly level from 1985 to 2015. Over the course of our the 31 year time frame of our study, we find that 3,600 square kilometers of land in Central Appalachia has been mined since 1985. When data from the previous decadal study is included, that number reaches 5,200 square kilometers since 1976. In addition to the improved temporal resolution of this dataset, the process developed in Earth Engine can be easily updated each year as new imagery is collected in order to provide temporally relevant data as to where and when new land is converted to mines.

Using Python and Selenium to Make Geographical Sense of BLM’s LR2000Connor Bailey, The Wilderness Society

If you are interested in what happens on federal public lands, one of the most important databases available is the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) LR2000 system, a non-spatial database with every record of oil, gas, renewable energy


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leasing, rights-of-ways, coal and other mineral development, land and mineral title, mining claims, withdrawals, classifications, and more on federal lands or on federal mineral estate. Every record has a legal description using the Public Land Survey System (PLSS), however who in their right mind has any understanding of how to read the PLSS! Using Selenium as a web scraper and Python for parsing and batching, a team at The Wilderness Society has been able to shed light on the LR2000 system. They have developed a system to download and store the geographic locations and record information. They have developed oil and gas, coal, solar, wind, geothermal mapping applications that allow users to interact with the records from the LR2000 system that can be updated with a single click (almost). This presentation will go over some of the technical details and challenges of using Selenium and Python to generate the spatial database as well as showing some of the big data results in a web map

Modeling Anthropogenic noise with Sound Mapping Tools ArcGIS Toolbox

Alexander Keyel, Colorado State University

Noise is a pervasive source of pollution, negatively impacting human health, wildlife species, and ecosystem services. We evaluated planning and mitigation options for potential noise impacts from motorized recreation and energy development on public lands. We found that sound levels were not a simple function of distance from the sound source and that a spatially-explicit noise modeling approach was necessary to identify viable alternatives. We present a general framework for modeling noise levels in natural areas and the potential impacts on the species present.

2:00 pM – 5:30 pM

Technical Workshop

Room: Curlew

An Introduction to Mobile Field Data Collection in ArcGISIsmael Chivite, Esri

In this session we will present how you can use ArcGIS tools

to facilitate field data capture. We will describe how you can configure maps and smart electronic forms for use while offline. Different options to enhance the locational accuracy of your mobile device will be discussed.

4:00 pM – 5:30 pM

Species Conservation II

Room: Chapel

Assessing and Projecting Abundance of Brown Bear in Broghal and Qurumbar National Parks, Northern PakistanAli Nawaz, Wildlife Conservation Society

Broghal and Qurambar are two adjacent remote valleys in northern Pakistan, lying along the border with the Afghanistan. Additionally, WCS managed community conservancies are located among and near Himalaya, Hindukush and Karakorum ranges. These highly rugged parks (elevation: 2500-7000 m) are without any jeep access, have low human densities and limited human related infrastructures. Their mountainous habitats fall in the distribution range of many endangered mammals, including markhor, urial, Marco polo sheep, blue sheep, ibex, musk deer, brown bear, snow leopard, Asiatic black bear, Himalayan lynx, grey wolf. Their geographic location and low humanoccupation make them promising habitats for a variety of threatened fauna, and was a motivation behind declaring them national parks. However, despite this remarkable potential, there is dearth of information on biological resources of these parks, because there has been no scientific exploration in past. The objective of the present study was to explore presence/absence of brown bears, and estimate its abundance in the two national parks. We did field surveys to collect signs of bear presence in a grid of 5 x 5 km. Using no of signs recorded per grid cell an index of relative density of brown bear was estimated. The score obtained for each grid cell was plotted on a map of study area, and kriging interpolation tool in ArcGIS was used to develop a bear abundance map.

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Spatial Distribution of Bamboo (Cathariostachus madagascariensis) and Endangered Greter Bamboo Lemur Species Territories in the Ranomafana National Park of Ranomafana.Andrianoely “Dina” Herilala, Centre ValBio

Madagascar is one of the hotspot areas in the world in terms of biodiversity conservation with a high endemism in fauna and flora. At the same time, this biodiversity is threaten by pressure happening in the habitat of the wild animals. In this case, I am looking at the problem of the habitat of one endangered species of lemurs that depend on Bamboo as a food. Therefore, I will use field expedition and GIS technology to collect information on the spatial distribution of the Bamboos and the territory of the Great Bamboo lemur. To do it, I use GPS to locate and track the areas where there is Bamboo forest around the National Park. I will set up transects within these bamboo forest to know the densities of the Greater Bamboo lemur in their habitats. All the data from the expeditions will be put and transferred into computer with GIS software for making maps and for further analyses. At the end, I will give recommendations to the Park Management to preserve these important and also one of the flagship of Ranomafana forest area.

An Assessment of the Distribution and Conservation Status of Endemic and Near Endemic Plant Species in MaputalandHermenegildo Alfredo Matimelee, National Herbarium of

Mozambique

The Mapuland Centre of Endemism (MCE), an area stretching from northern-east KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa to Limpopo River in southern Mozambique, holds more than 2,500 native plant species. Of those, over 203 are endemic or near endemic to this area. However, the current high human population density in MCE, coupled with high population growth, has increased the pressure on the natural resources of the region and threatens the natural vegetation and plant diversity. Therefore, there is a pressing need to fully understand the threats faced by the Maputaland endemic and near endemic plants and to carry out appropriate conservation actions. In this context, the main aim of the study was to document the distribution of the MCE endemic plant

species, with particular emphasis on southern Mozambique. The study also aimed to document the threats to these species and to assess their global conservation status using the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Categories and Criteria. This was done by gathering historical species distribution data from herbarium specimens and by assessing their current distribution in the field. In addition, a land cover data set was used to evaluate the level of habitat transformation over time. As a result, 13 endemics were assessed, 11 of these species for the first time. Of the 13 species assessed, two were assessed as Least Concern, five as Vulnerable, four Endangered, one Critically Endangered, and one possibly Extinct. MaxEnt models were used to model the potential distribution of the species assessed and to identify hotspots and priority areas for conservation. The priority areas represent sites of greatest overlap, where 50% of all modelled species overlap in their suitable potential distributions. With this approach, priority areas were identified that can be used in conservation planning, protected area expansion, or other conservation projects. This analysis showed that the highest number of the study species (>7) is concentrated within the Licuati Forest, located south of Maputo in Matutuine District, southern Mozambique. The main threat to this area is charcoal extraction and although none of the endemic species are targeted for charcoal production, the impact of the associated habitat destruction on the endemic species is expected to cause severe declines. It is recommended that studies on the dynamics of the Licuati Thicket vegetation are needed, particularly in terms of the impact of charcoal extraction on the endemics.

Distribution of the Giant Armadillo in Mato Grosso do Sul Based on Three Different Sampling Methods

Bruna Oliveira, Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas

Giant Armadillo is a very rare animal, occurring in low population densities, with nocturnal and solitary habits. There is a lack of information about this species in the literature and no accurate information about its occurrence in Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil. The objective of this project was to collect and analyze data in order to produce a distribution map of the Giant Armadillo in Mato Grosso do Sul. The occurrence of giant armadillos was obtained through


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field site visits throughout the state in search of evidence (258 sites visits), interviews with local people (512 interviews) and a citizen science campaign using posters (147 occurrence data). The three methods will be compared for accuracy and cost efficiency and several models will be tested.

4:00 pM – 5:30 pM

Participatory Forest Mapping

Room: Acacia

Development of participatory GIS approach for digital demarcation, database design, and update of several forest management regime of NepalYogendra K Karna, University of Melbourne/Nepal Ministry Forests

Identification, demarcation and spatial database generation of several forest management units remains a major challenge for long-term planning, administration, and monitoring work. The real status of these forest types both in socio-economic and geographic context is still unknown to the forest managers of the country. Hence, development of the geospatial database in a participatory approach are crucial for effective policies and planning, prioritizing interventions, valuation of forest resources and implementation of sustainable forest management. GIS is one of the promising and vibrant technology for planning, monitoring, and mapping of forest resources and its inventory. This paper aims to develop a community-based GIS approach for identification, digitization, and updating the database of several forest management regime of Nepal. Cadastral vector data, GPS data collected from the field, existing analog map and google earth imagery with expert knowledge and field verification was used for identification of different forest management regime of the district. Analog map prepared from Compass survey and google earth imagery was the prime source of data for digitization of the forest area. The grid sheet of the cadastral layer was used to find out the location and verification of the existing analog map. Geo-referencing in the ArcGIS software was mainly applied for co-registering the ground control points and delineation of the forest boundary. Field verification was carried out

only for the unit which has more or less than 10% of the original forest area.. This study introduced an integrated approach for delineation of several forest management regime by combining the community expert knowledge, GPS data, cadastral data and google earth as a base map. The study found that a geo-referenced cadastral data with the help of few ground control points can be readily used for the preparation of community forest map which was further stored in the geodatabase format of ArcGIS. The novel approach demonstrates a cost effective and efficient approach of digital demarcation of forests, development of geospatial infrastructure and generation of several thematic maps of the forest management regime with community participation.

Tree cover loss, human demographics, agricultural livelihoods and community forest use in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Janet Nackoney, University of Maryland

The University of Maryland has been supporting conservation land use planning activities led by the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) in the Maringa-Lopori-Wamba Landscape, located in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as part of the USAID-funded Central Africa Program for the Environment (CARPE). A main goal of the project is to reduce forest loss by engaging local communities in participative land use planning activities and offering agricultural extension assistance in order to increase food production in established zones that limit deforestation. Since 2009, participatory zoning activities have been taking place in the eastern part of the landscape near the village of Djolu. Analysis of socio-economic survey data reveal high levels of poverty and full dependence on surrounding forests for human livelihoods; primary livelihood activities include s lash-and- burn agriculture and hunting. Due to previous civil conflict and two wars that occurred in the DRC between 1995 and 2003, communities in living this area are now mostly isolated, have low access to markets, and their once-thriving coffee and rubber tree plantations are now inactive. This presentation will highlight results of an analysis focused on monitoring tree cover loss in the context of land use and human livelihood data collected from village-level participatory mapping activities in the region in order to better understand the relationships between human

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demographics, agricultural livelihoods, and local forest use.

Holding Peatland Restoration Commitments to Account via Publicly Operated Monitoring PlatformAlmag Fira Pradana, World Resources Institute

After the 2015 forest fires, which was the largest and longest ever recorded in the country due to illegal clearing of peatland, the national government of Indonesia issued series of commitments to restore 12 million hectares of peatland by 2021. Nation-wide public pressure at the time ensured that some ofthese commitments were quickly turned into regulations with specific technical deliverables. However, these national commitments are often challenging to be monitored sub-nationally. Therefore, Communities in key pilot areas were trained to monitor restoration progress by performing a simple geotagging, collect information with pre-determined questions for key restoration activities and to submit them using their cellphone to a monitoring platform that is managed by a coalition of civil society organizations. Early findings of this on-going project revealed that the execution of key restoration commitments by national and sub-national leaders were often halted due to: (1) overlap of authorities by multiple ministries and agencies involved in peatland restoration (2) lack of vertical coordination between stakeholders and (3) lack of an on-the-ground monitoring mechanism to ensure a bottom-up information flow for a rapid decision making processes. Enabling local communities to be part of this nation-wide initiative by the use of GIS technology has improved their understanding of the issue which in turn will accelerate restoration progress and to hold government’ commitments to account. This initiative is also proven to be key in educating the public about the issue of peatland degradation that affect their daily lives

How Mapping Degraded Peatlands Will Help Indonesia Reach Its Restoration TargetHidayah Hamzah, WRI Indonesia

Vast swaths of Indonesia’s peatlands ha ve been deforested, burned and drained in order to be converted to farms and plantations . In 2016, President Jokowi established the Peat Restoration Agency to restore at least 2 mio ha of degraded peatlands in 7 provinces by 2020.

Thisarticle will shed light on WRI Indonesia’s exercise in mapping degraded peat as a baseline for potential peat restoration. Both large-scale fires and drainage in peatlands contribute directly to degradationas they disturb peatlands’ hydrological, ecological and climate-controlling functions. Therefore, data on fires and drainage in peatland areas can be used to map degraded peatlands. We also used the extent of plantation across peatlands as a proxy for degradation due to drainage, given that all types of tree plantation in peatlands require canals that would regularly drain excessive water from the peatlands. The analysis identif ied approximately 3.6 mio ha of peatlands that have been burned and impacted by drainage in seven priority provinces. This exercise is useful to look at where potential restoration areas are and and what kind of restoration intervention should beimplemented depending on the causes of peatland degradation. The interventions will primarily consist of re - wetting peatlands and replanting of native, non-flammable species. On top of that, roughly 7.4 mio ha of peat swamp forests not experience burning in the past and not impacted by drainage. The government must protect these undisturbed peat swamp forests , the last remaining area s with high carbon storage.

4:00 pM – 5:30 pM

Water Quality & Image Analysis

Room: Toyon

Water Quality Index Models for Dokan Lake Using LANDSAT 8 OLI Satellite ImageHasti Abdullah, University of Sulaimani

It is impractical to monitor water quality more than a small fraction of lakes by conventional field methods because of expense and time requirements. Satellite image is more convenient to be applied to collect the required data for monitoring and assessing water quality in the lakes.Therefore, this study aims to estimate the Water Quality Indices through applying developed water quality estimation models based on the remote sensing and GIS techniques on the Landsat 8 OLI satellite image using twenty points in Dokan lake, Iraq. Four standard mathematical methods, (National Sanitation Foundation, Canadian Council of Ministers of the


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Environment, Oregon and Arithmetic Weight) Water Quality Index are used to find the water quality indices at the twenty stations in Dokan lake. Multiple linear regression is used to obtain mathematical models for estimating the water quality indices depending on spectral reflectance of Landsat 8 OLI. In this study, new band (coastal blue) of Landsat 8 OLI has been undertaken in developing of models. Moreover, new Independent Component Analysis and new 7 band ratios with 16 band combinations have been used. The best model is the AWWQI which has the highest coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.98 for autumn season and slightly low (0.61) for spring season. Generally, for Spring season, the performance of all models is reduced due to seasonal change, variance of parameters and other factors. The results of the developed WQIs models have been mapped to show the water quality distribution within Dokan Lake. The conclusions present that correlation of all bands of Landsat 8 OLI is appropriate to water quality indices.

Using Historical Aerial Photography to Identify Landscape Legacies: Is There a Signal of Historical Land use in Trans-Border Groundwater Aquifers?Tanya Gallagher, University of British Columbia

Bioretention has became a popular flood mitigation technique in urban watersheds. Although bioretention is frequently implemented to reduce pollutants, various projects have been effective in preventing rainfall runoff from overwhelming pipe networks and flooding properties. In focusing on the urbanizing watershed of Kelley Creek in Oregon, this study uses geospatial tools to ask “ which potential locations for bioretention can best reduce stormwater runoff that leads to flooding ?” Testing this question is broken into two parts: creating a drainage network to perform a location suitability analysis, and testing the impact of each project location by running a series of geospatial simulations. Using ArcGIS, natural flow path dynamics are built from elevation and land cover data, and integrated with sewer dynamics from pipeshed data. ArcGIS Hydrology tools then identify sites with high potential for flood mitigation, and each site is tested by running simulations in the EPA Stormwater Management Model for Kelley Creek. The results illustrate that specific locations identified as suitable can reduce flooding after heavy rainfall, and should therefore be considered for future development.

This process can be repeated for other watersheds and can assist flood mitigators using GIS all over the world.

Dentifying Effective Locations for Urban BioretentionBenjamin Fahy, Portland State University

Bioretention has became a popular flood mitigation technique in urban watersheds. Although bioretention is frequently implemented to reduce pollutants, various projects have been effective in preventing rainfall runoff from overwhelming pipe networks and flooding properties. In focusing on the urbanizing watershed of Kelley Creek in Oregon, this study uses geospatial tools to ask “ which potential locations for bioretention can best reduce stormwater runoff that leads to flooding ?” Testing this question is broken into two parts: creating a drainage network to perform a location suitability analysis, and testing the impact of each project location by running a series of geospatial simulations. Using ArcGIS, natural flow path dynamics are built from elevation and land cover data, and integrated with sewer dynamics from pipeshed data. ArcGIS Hydrology tools then identify sites with high potential for flood mitigation, and each site is tested by running simulations in the EPA Stormwater Management Model for Kelley Creek. The results illustrate that specific locations identified as suitable can reduce flooding after heavy rainfall,

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and should therefore be considered for future development. This process can be repeated for other watersheds and can assist flood mitigators using GIS all over the world.

Open Source R Application in a Flood Forecast/Warning SystemNahm Lee, Santa Clara Valley Water District

This application is a part of a flood forecast/warning system (FF system). The FF system requires rainfall data in order to simulate a rainfall-runoff numerical model or to get a flood forecast flow range by amultiple regression. Most rainfall-runoff models require weighted rainfall data, and their formats are time series of raster set or Thiessen polygon based on point measurements. One of the difficulties of the Thiessen polygon method is that the polygon depends on rainfall signals. The GUI based numerical model’s Thiessen parameters need to be updated if rainfall signal problems occur. It is hard to update the GUI based model input in real time. However, the raster rainfall data doesn’t have those problems because each sub-watershed has its own weighted rainfall data. This application generates real time raster sets from real time rainfall measurements. Open Source R script is used because of the following reasons: easy automation process, easy to handle no signal data, very light weight software, and easy to access a database like Mysql. It works very well with GIS library like GDAL..


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SCGIS 2017 Domestic and International ScholarsAaria Ripeka Dobson-Waitere, New ZealandTaranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika / Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust

Anastasia Philippova, RussiaNeoEcoProject (formerly Greenwave)

Bruno Oliveira, BrazilInstituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas

Dina H. Andrianoely, MadagascarCentre ValBio

Mohammad “Doha” Shamsuddoha, BangladeshWildteam

Doost Ali Nawaz, PakistanWildlife Conservation Society

Erwin Pardo Toledo, Bolivia ABT Bolivia

Hermenegildo A. Matimele, Mozambique National Herbarium

Jassiel L. Msoka, Zambia Department of National Parks and Wildlife

Johanna Prüssmann (EFN), ColumbiaWorld Wildlife Foundation

Khew Ee Hung, Japan/MalaysiaRakuno Gakuen University

Laura Daniela Benítez, ColombiaFundación Yubarta

Lucy Peter Liew (EFN), MalaysiaDanau Girang Field Centre

Marisol Dominguez, ArgentinaAves Argentinas

Solomon C. Carlon, LiberiaConservation International

Vincent Abere, KenyaOl Pejeta Conservancy

Wilde Rosny Ngalekassaga (EFN), GabonConservation Justice

Yogendra K. Karna, Australia

Nepal Ministry of Forests / University of Melbourne

Jimmy Leonardo Pinedo Silva, ECOAN Alto Mayo Protected Forest, Peru

Adnane Labbaci, Morocco High Commission of Water, Forests and Combating Desertification

Special thanks to the World Wildlife Fund EFN program for their special support of our 3 scholars from Gabon, Malaysia and Colombia.

2017 Train the TrainersAngela Tarimy, MadagascarManondroala Project

Tatenda Muchopa, ZimbabwePainted Dog Research Trust

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2017 SCGIS Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is the governing body of SCGIS. The board is responsible for steering SCGIS activities and has all final decision making authority. Board members are elected every three years. Once a complete board is elected, members of the board elect the President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. These officers can hold their positions for one year. Elections usually occur after the Annual Conference in July. The SCGIS board would be happy to hear from you. We can be reached at [email protected]

Dr. Healy Hamilton, Board PresidentNatureServe, USA Chair, Executive Committee Term Ends: Jul 13, 2017

Dr. Karen Beardsley, University of California-Davis, USAFinance CommitteeInternational CommitteeTerm End: Jul 13, 2017

Monica Noon, Secretary Conservation International, USAExecutive Committee Term End: Jun 25, 2019

Dr. Janet Nackoney, Vice President, University of Maryland, USA Chair of Finance Committee Domestic Chapters Committee Term End: Jul 13, 2017

Jason Winner, Treasurer, Marstel-Day, USAExecutive CommitteeFinance Committee Term End: Jun 25, 2019

Bart Butterfield, Idaho Dept. of Fish & Game, USACo-Chair, Conference CommitteeTerm End: Jun 25, 2019

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Dr. Mervyn Lotter, Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency, South AfricaInternational CommitteeMembership CommitteeTerm End: Jul 13, 2017

Dr. Tosha Comendant, Conservation Biology Institute, USACommunications CommitteeTerm End: Jul 11, 2018

Jocelyn Tutak, Ecotrust, USAChair, Communications CommitteeTerm End: Jul 11, 2018

Kelley Koenig, Conservation International, USAMembership CommitteeTerm End: Jun 25, 2019

M Abdullah Abu Diyan, USAID, BangladeshInternational CommitteeTerm End: Jun 25, 2019

Dr. Miguel Fernandez, United Nations Development Program, BoliviaTerm End: Jun 25, 2019

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The SCGIS Advisory Council supports the Board of Directors and SCGIS committees in their duties and decision-making, and are encouraged to serve as mentors to new officers. Members are former board officers, co-founders, or have otherwise made significant contri-butions to the development of SCGIS and its programs.

SCGIS Advisory Council

Gillian Woolmer, WCS Canada

Lisa Pierce, Redlands Conservancy

Charles Convis, Esri conservation program

Robert Rose, William and Mary University

Miriam Schmidts, Esri

Sandra Coveny, Coveny and Associates LLC, Strategic Planner

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Prashant Hedao, Asian Nature Conservation Foundation / Centre for Ecological Sciences

Lucy Waruingi, African Conservation Centre

Lata Iyer, Auroville, India

Eric Sandoval, Sandoval & Associates, LLC

Susan Miller, The Nature Conservancy

John Schaeffer, Juniper GIS Services

Leslie Backus, Chrysalis Biology

Michael Hamilton, University of California, Berkeley

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All committees are solely volunteer; there are no term limits for committees at this time.

2016 - 2017 Committee Members

Advisory Council

Charles Convis

Leslie Backus

Lata Iyer

Lisa Pierce

Prashant Hedao

John Schaeffer

Susan Miller

Alexander Yumakaev

Eric Sandoval

Rob Rose

Lucy Chege-Waruingi

Mike Hamilton

Sandra Coveny

Miriam Schmidts

Membership

Kelle Koenig

Mervyn Lotter

Miriam Schmidts

Sandra Coveny

John Cannon

Website

Charles Convis

Nasser Olwero

Sandra Coveny

Timothy Kimathia

Conference

Dean Walton

Charles Convis

Eric Sandoval

Healy Hamilton

Joseph Bishop

Janice Thomson

Nasser Olwero

Lisa Pierce

Melissa Kralik

Miriam Schmidts

Meg Southee

Sandra Coveny

Saskia Fagan

Stu Weiss

Vivian Schlater

Bart Butterfield

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International

Mervyn Lotter

Karen Beardsley

Charles Convis

Leslie Backus

M. Abdullah Abu Diyan

John Schaeffer

Sandra Coveny

Prashant Hedao

Lata Iyer

Lisa Pierce

Miriam Schmidts

Carlos De Angelo

Steven Blum

Vanya Stamenova

Stefan Stamenova

Finance

Janet Nackoney

Jason Winner

Sandra Coveny

Karen Beardsley

Vivienne Schlater

Executive Committee

Healy Hamilton

Janet Nackoney

Jason Winner

Monica Noon

Communication Committee

Jocelyn Tutak

Charles Convis

Eric Guinther

Jessica Forrest

Laura Roll

Li Ling Choo

Meg Southee

Rebecca Degagne

Tosha Comendant

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Acknowledgments

The 2017 SCGIS Conference Co-Chairs would like to say a special thank you to this year’s conference committee volunteers, without these talented and dedicated folks, this conference would not have been possible. We are lucky to have such dedicated volunteers who donate their time and energy to SCGIS:

We would also like to thank or generous sponsors:

• Melissa Kralik provided us with her expert conference organizing skills, conference signage, name badges, fully ready laptops for pre-conference workshops and registration.

• Nasser Olwero (website committee) and Timothy Kimathi (staff web support from Cytonn Inc) who both provided us with constant and timely resolution of credit card issues and website support for the web-based portion of our conference.

• Dean Walton who patiently put our ever-changing agenda into YAPP, and providing video support and managing the mobile app before and during the conference, as well as responding to emails with questions regarding the conference.

• Nasser Olwero of the website committee and Timothy Kimathi, our staff web support person from Cytonn Inc., who both provided us with constant and timely website support for the web-based portion of our conference.

• Meg Southee who did double duty with the conference and communications committees, providing much needed perspective and support for our outreach.

• Janice Thompson who organized our first-ever Maps for Advocacy panel session as well as our Maps for Advocacy Contest and Dr. Office as part of the Map Gallery. And who took on the job of AV coordination too!

• Stu Weiss for his continued commitment to SCGIS and assistance in theme selection, keynote speaker selection, and agenda decisions.

• Charles Convis for being his usual inspirational self, for piecing together your papers into cohesive sessions, and for being there whenever we needed him for whatever we needed (T-shirts, this year’s design, panel projectors (refurbished by him) iphones for recording sessions and AV carts). Also, for his undying commitment to SCGIS, to conservation, and for his support of the scholarship program.

• Joe Bishop, conference volunteer extraordinaire, who tirelessly and with great cheer, runs our registration and t-shirt sales every year.

• A very special thanks to Jason Winner, with help from Janet Nackoney for developing the conference committee budget and financial planning strategy.

• Esri for providing in-kind contributions of staff support and resources.

• SWCA Environmental Consultants, Blue Raster, NatureServe, The Portland Oregon Chapter of SCGIS and MDPI.

• And a huge thanks to ALL OF YOU, SCGIS Members and volunteers, and soon-to-be members, for attending this conference and for offering your work up for presentations and your participation in the audience. THANK YOU!

• Sandra Coveny, Vivienne Sclater, Bart Butterfield Conference Committee Co-chairs

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Thank You Sponsors

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FORESTLODGE

Surf and Sand

Bon�re Pit

Asilomar Ave.Asilomar Ave.

Pathways

DisabledParking

Conference Grounds Map

G77298

SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION GIS.scgis.org 1997-2017 Commemorating 20 years. 1997 2007 2016 2015 20th Annual SCGIS International Conference July 17–19, 2017 Pacific Grove, California

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