Community GIS Map Gallery (click on maps to expand)
Communication Maps
Transboundary Grizzly Bear Population Areas
Partner:Natural Resources Defense Council
Year:2007
Hours:5
Summary: A color version of a map created for the Natural Resources Defense Council to highlight grizzly population centers in the Northern Rockies and North Cascades.
The Rocky Mountain Front: A Sense of Place
Partner: Save the Front Coalition
Year:2007
Hours:19
Summary: In the Spring of 2007, the Save the Front Coalition, with help from the Wilderness Society identified a set of special places they wanted to highlight along the Rocky Mountain Front. The resulting map is the result of this broad-based partnership and thinking between the region's local businesses, native community members, and sportsmen. It is accompanied by brochure materials which explain the unique features and opportunities available in this region and will be distributed among the region's Chamber of Commerces and through local businesses.
Oil and Gas & the Bridger Teton National Forest
Partner: Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance
Year:2006
Hours:130
Summary: In 2006, The Community Foundation of Jackson Hole's Conservation and Environment Fund provided money to the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance to build an oil and gas potential dataset for the Bridger Teton National Forest.
The GIS Lab at American Wildlands developed the oil and gas data based on 1990 BT forest maps, then overlayed this data with important recreational and wildlife values (such as hunt areas, wildlife birthing areas, roadless, and crucial winter range). Together, JHCA and AWL created over 35 maps. These maps are being used to build awareness about oil and gas potential and to find common ground for prioritizing protections from oil and gas development. To view 28 of the 35 in the series go to the JHCA: Mapping Out a Better Bridger-Teton web page.
Road Development in the Swan Valley, Montana
Partner: Northwest Connections & Wildlands CPR
Year:2006
Hours:36
Summary: This Community GIS project was jointly funded by two NGOs actively involved in the Swan Valley of Montana: Northwest Connections and Wildlands CPR. We produced a series of road maps reflecting development in Swan Valley over the last 100 years. The series of seven maps spans from 1912 through 2005 and will be used by both conservation groups in their outreach programs. In addition, Northwest Connections will benefit from having a current accurate and detailed road map of the Swan Valley (unavailable from any other source with the necessary detail) for on-the-ground wildlife monitoring and summer and winter field courses.
Big Open Target Area
Partner: Robert Scott and citizens
Year:2003
Hours:39
Summary: In 2003, an organized group of people came to AWL asking us to create a map that would support a vision to obtain landowner as well as agency agreement to support open range bison centered around the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge. This was an ambitious project with the much of the land owned by federal agency. Private lands exist, but are held by a few landowners. The group partnered with AWL to create a Big Open initiative boundary and to identify the major landowners whose participation and support would be necessary to make the project a reality.
Bighorn Roadless Plan and Elk Security Areas
Partner: Wyoming Wilderness Association
Year:2004
Hours:5
Summary: A roadless area reduction analysis was conducted on the Big Horn National Forest for the WWA. The resulting map, compared current and proposed roadless areas in the Big Horn Forest Plan proposal. The map was instrumental in galvanizing public support for retaining current roadless levels in local Wyoming forest plan meetings. As a result of this effort, the Big Horn National Forest recommended the Rock Creek roadless area (33,322 acres) as wilderness.
Know the Facts
Partner: Friends of the Gallatin
Year:2005
Hours:5
Summary: Commissioned by community group, Friends of the Gallatin (FOG), this map details proposed trail closures to mountain bike use under the Gallatin Travel Plan's Preferred Alternative. In showing only trails outside of Designated Wilderness that were subject to a change in management status, this map was used to counter a misperception in the local mountain biking community of more extensive closures. As a consequence, FOG garnered greater support from this constituency in their advocacy for the Preferred Alternative, a management scheme that entailing significant measures to mitigate for ecological degradation by extensive Off Road Vehicle (ORV) use in the Forest.
Got Roads?
Partner: Montana Wilderness Association
Year:2002
Hours:5
Summary: Education Campaign on the Roadless Area Conservation Rule - Roadless Coalition, Northern Rockies. During the 2-year public-review process leading up to issuance of the Conservation Rule in 2001, outreach efforts led by the Montana Wilderness Association provided the public with clear and accurate information on the state of designated Roadless Areas in the Northern Rockies, a bioregion globally recognized for its outstanding wildlands heritage. As part of this initiative, the map was created to provide an accurate, yet provocative, depiction of the actual extent of fragmentation of the Roadless Areas in the region. Ultimately, public support for the Rule was overwhelming and diverse in constituency.
A Recreational Opportunity Spectrum Alternative for the BLM
Partner: Southwest Utah Wilderness Alliance
Year:2004-2005
Hours:61
Summary: Road-buffering geospatial computations, comparative mapping and summary tabular analyses were conducted for the Southwest Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) to determine road proximities and densities in the Greater Dinosaur/Bookcliffs Heritage area of northeast Utah. These analyses are being used to help communicate the need for SUWA’s proposed recreational management plan over the extant plan detailed by the BLM Vernal Field Office, an alternative that would in part serve to mitigate for considerable ORV impacts in the region. In addition, 24 large poster-size and 20 11x17 (tabloid) maps were produced for their communications needs.
Montana Trout Habitat
Partner: Montana Trout Unlimited
Year:2005-2006
Hours:24
Summary: A 5-map series was created to communicate the importance of Inventoried Roadless Areas and Wilderness Study Areas in Montana to conservation of the state's remaining populations of Bull Trout, Westlope Cutthroat Trout, and Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout. An associated set of calculations was also generated to further describe the relationship between IRAs and WSAs and important stream habitat, including spawning and rearing habitat for Bull Trout and segments containing pure and abundant strains of Westslope Cutthroat Trout. The maps will be used by Montana Trout Unlimited in discussions with the Governor regarding roadless area protections.
Decision and Program Support
Old-Growth in the Swan River State Forest
Partner: Friends of the Wild Swan
Year:2007
Hours:10
Summary: American Wildlands created a map of the old-growth and >100 year forest stands in the Swan River State Forest to help Friends of the Wild Swan determine the potential impacts of a pending timber cut on wildlife connectivity.
Backcountry Areas in the Shoshone National Forest
Partner: Greater Yellowstone Coalition
Year:2007
Hours:29
Summary: American Wildlands created a series of three maps showing the impact of proposed management changes to the Shoshone N.F. Forest Plan. GYC used these maps in their local outreach - sharing with local citizens and officials the potential changes the Forest Plan would bring to their backyard.
Evaluating Threats to Grizzly Bear Habitat in the GYE
Partner: Natural Resources Defense Council
Year:2004
Hours:10
Summary: Geospatial support for Alternative 4 in the Grizzly Bear Six-Forest Amendment Plan - Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Livingston, MT. In conjunction with a series of maps of grizzly bear habitat and threats to the bears’ persistence, spatial analyses were conducted to examine on-the-ground differences between various Alternatives in the Six-Forest Amendment Plan. Of particular interest were effects upon the occupied zone determined by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC), as well as differences between this zone and the established Primary Conservation Area. Results indicated that in many cases a majority of suitable occupied grizzly bear habitat was located in areas vulnerable to threats from natural resource extraction activity (e.g., oil and gas drilling and timber harvesting). Ultimately, these spatial analyses and maps helped NRDC establish the case for implementation of a specific alternative.
Greater Yellowstone Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions Hotspot Analysis
Partner: Greater Yellowstone Coalition
Year:2004
Hours:64
Summary: Analysis and mapping of roadkill hotspots in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) was produced for GYC. The project was then expanded, partnering with the Western Transportation Institute, to identify and produce maps of specific areas with high roadkill densities. These maps were used to advocate for better protection of wildlife and humans through Department of Transportation road planning improvement projects. The example at left compares regional roadkill densities with wildlife corridors as modeled by American Wildlands’ Corridors of Life program.
Wolverine Spacial Use in the Bridgers
Partner: Earthjustice
Year:2005
Hours:8
Summary: The Gallatin National Forest supervisor's record of decision (ROD) for expansion of the Bridger Bowl Ski Area into interior, mature, and old-growth forests promised to disrupt critical habitat for resident wolverines and potential lynx denning activity. Mean annual home range estimates for female wolverines were obtained from several regional studies, then plotted against the wolverine analysis area outlined in the Final Environmental Impacts Statements Preferred Alternative. Areas of seasonal snowmobile access were then overlaid to determine their coincidence with available habitat outside of the FEIS analysis area. Results demonstrated that the ROD was based on an inadequate assessment of the spatial use of individual wolverines and their habitat needs in light of cumulative pressures from motorized recreation. The map was used to underscore the merits of a citizen's appeal of the USFS's approval of the ski area expansion.
Snake Headwaters Wild and Scenic River Designation
Partner: Campaign for the Snake Headwaters
Year:2005
Hours:90
Summary: In 2005, the Campaign for the Snake Headwaters (C-FSH) was initiated. A coalition of over 10 groups and private citizens in MT and WY got together with the mission to federally designate over 40 river segments as Wild and Scenic in the Snake Headwaters of Wyoming. AWL produced 5 poster-sized maps for use for display and discussion about the project for meeting with the public and senate legislature. A 30 map series was also produced of individual river segments used for detailed planning purposes. Maps are now being used in discussion in Washington D.C. with Wyoming Senator Craig Thomas and his staff, and for use in local education and awareness within the region.
Mapping of Rare Carnivore Surveys on the Gallatin NF
Partner: Wild Things Unlimited
Year:2000
Hours:8
Summary: Through snow track transects, remote cameras, and hair snares, Wildthings Unlimited (WTU) has documented the presence and activities of over 12 terrestrial carnivore species on the Gallatin National Forest, including lynx, wolverine, and pine marten. Mapping of WTU's survey results helps guide their future monitoring efforts, as well as further public awareness and direct conservation efforts on these species' behalf.
GIS Training for GYC Staff
Partner: Greater Yellowstone Coalition
Year:2004
Hours:4
Summary: In 2003, AWL provided 4 hours of discounted rate training to GYC staff in the use of ArcViewGIS. AWL GIS staff taught the basic principles of layer management and display in ArcGIS and how to make a simple map layout. This enabled the GYC staff to access spatial data created from multiple GYC GIS-based science projects.
