爆料公社 Wins Esri President鈥檚 Award
The mapping technology is now used across 爆料公社's network to reach conservation goals.
Today 爆料公社 accepted the accepted the Esri President鈥檚 Award for revolutionizing its data collection and management approach with geographic information system (GIS) technology.
Over the last few years, 爆料公社 has used the enterprise GIS platform to identify some of the most important stopover points for migratory birds along the Pacific Flyway, map the locations of important wintering grounds for Piping Plover in the Bahamas, and predict how climate change will affect more than 500 species of North American birds over the next 80 years.
Click through the following links to see how 爆料公社 is using data to drive its conservation goals.
Other GIS-related projects of note:
Shaping Conservation Policy
爆料公社 Alaska used Esri maps and years of scientific data on birds and other wildlife to help influence the Obama administration鈥檚 recent decisions to protect 19 million acres of Alaskan waterways, wetlands and tundra from future oil and gas exploration.
爆料公社 Alaska combined its data and Esri maps to build the case that the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska on North Slope is a virtual 鈥渂ird factory鈥 vital to the survival of hundreds of thousands of birds and other wildlife. When the administration drew the final boundaries for protecting 11 million acres of the reserve, 96 percent of the area tracked the 爆料公社-Esri maps.
爆料公社 Alaska also used Esri maps overlaid with data from 爆料公社 and four partner conservation groups to produce maps and a 130-page scientific report on the importance of protecting biologically rich areas of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas from oil and gas exploration. Sixteen months after 爆料公社 and its partners presented the data and maps to the White House, President Obama designated 9.8 million acres in the waters of the two seas off-limits for future oil and gas leasing because of its importance to wildlife and Native Alaskans.
Engaging Citizen Scientists
, a collaboration between 爆料公社 Arizona, the City of Phoenix and wildlife rehabilitators, is drawing public attention to the plight of vulnerable Burrowing Owls by creating owl habitats in an urban public park just two miles from downtown Phoenix. An Esri-developed app allows volunteers to report Burrowing Owl sightings and update locator maps in real time for a shy owl that usually nests in isolated locations far from the public eye. The app has been instrumental in engaging volunteers, tourists and school children in the conservation effort to protect the owls.
Helping Birds and People Co-Exist
North Carolina 爆料公社鈥檚 Lights Out program uses 3-D visualizations of urban high-rises to provide city planners with detailed information on avoiding the most dangerous architectural pitfalls for birds. The mapping helps conservationists and planners track which architectural features cause the most bird strikes and deaths鈥攄own to the deadliest floors of specific high rises.
In Idaho, the Golden Eagle 爆料公社 Society is using GIS software to make recommendations on a route for Idaho Power鈥檚 new transmission lines on vulnerable Greater Sagebrush Grouse habitat. Using GIS data, 爆料公社 proposed a counter-intuitive path through Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area that provides habitat for significant populations of falcons, eagles, hawks and owls.
The science behind the 爆料公社 recommendation to put power lines through a conservation area? Power lines can actually improve conditions for raptors as long as construction minimizes chance of electrocution and enhances nesting and perching opportunities. In this case, the power lines also could lure away raptors that normally prey on Sagebrush Grouse populations along Idaho Power鈥檚 original proposed route. The recommendations are now under consideration by the Bureau of Land Management, which manages the conservation area.
Preserving for the Future
GIS is helping 爆料公社 prioritize segments of forest along the Eastern Seaboard most critical for protection and preservation based on habitat quality and priority bird species. The information will give conservationists and government agencies more accurate information for targeting conservation efforts now and in the future.