Physical and Environmental Geography Commons^™

Gis Mapping For Peace Corps, Jeremy Huey

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

International volunteerism programs, such as the Peace Corps, find interested, educated men and women to live abroad in order to help local communities in need of assistance. The goal of this project is to create maps intended to enhance the training of those volunteers. When volunteers leave training programs and head to their prospective service communities, a certain period of time is needed in order to obtain a full grasp of the terrain, boundaries, weather, climate etc. A more effective training program, which incorporates maps of regional climates, environments, landscapes, cultures and resources, will lead to more effective volunteerism. By …

September 2013, Colorado Front Range Flooding, And Impacts On Agriculture And Irrigation Infrastructure: A Case Study In The Left Hand Ditch System, Boulder County, Colorado, Nick Ludolph

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Flooding can cause massive harm to the agricultural sector by flooding fields and damaging the infrastructure that is essential for agricultural activities. Crops are often lost and repairs may be necessary to restore irrigation systems to functional status. This research aims to quantify the damages and losses experienced from the unprecedented September 2013 flooding event in Boulder County Colorado’s Left Hand Ditch Company service area. Damages are cataloged and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies were used to estimate economic impact and determine the landscape characteristics of lands where the highest rates of flooding occurred. Alfalfa and non-alfalfa hays experienced the …

Spatial Relationships, Movements, And Habitat Associations Of Introduced “Non-Native” Elk Populations On Etolin And Zarembo Islands, Alaska, Jean S. Davidson

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Etolin and Roosevelt Elk were introduced to Afognak Island, Alaska in 1929 (State of Alaska, 2013). Due to the success of that introduction, Roosevelt Elk and Rocky Mountain Elk were subsequently introduced to Zarembo and Etolin Islands in Southeast Alaska in 1987. Due to the environment of Southeast Alaska, the ability to determine movements, trends, and habitat preferences are limited. In support of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), this project analyzes the habitat preferences of the elk based upon data from global positioning systems. Locational data is analyzed for proximity to managed lands and considers proximity to …

Powering The Future: Siting Guidelines For Renewable Wind Energy Development In Eastern Colorado, Zach Ancona

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Wind energy is one of the fastest growing renewable energies around the world. The United States contains approximately 49,000 active wind turbines and Colorado accounts for less than 3 percent of that number, even though Colorado ranks 11^th in the nation for wind development potential. The siting process for wind development is lengthy, taking from 5 to 10 years, and many facilities that are proposed end up not being built due to complications from inadequate pre-siting techniques. The research in this report aims to identify high priority areas in eastern Colorado through the examination of key variables used in …

Blm Riparian Area Management Technical Reference: Using Uas Remotes Sensing Imagery To Assess Proper Functioning Condition Of Riparian-Wetland Areas, Heather Fonda

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was loaned older military Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and is pioneering their employment for land management applications. Riparian areas make up a small percentage of BLM lands but are some of the most environmentally and economically valuable. Assessments of these riparian areas are required by law. Assessments from UAS imagery could become an important monitoring tool that is cheaper, safer and allows access to previously unreachable areas. This capstone project tests the UAS imagery for conducting riparian proper functioning condition (PFC) and quantitative assessments; and includes a technical reference with an interpretation key and …

A New View On Ski Maps, Greg Schonberger

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Traditional ski area trail maps have remained mostly unchanged for many decades. Since the earliest maps were produced, they have shown picturesque panoramic views of the ski mountain nestled in with its the surrounding peaks. Trees individually painted on the slopes, pristine and snow-covered, the runs marked as a winter wonderland. These maps are each an individual work of art, painstakingly created by skilled artists but they are not quality maps. This project will present a new view on the ski area map, creating a more traditional topographic map depicting ski runs, elevation contours, and shaded topography. The project will …

Using Remotely Sensed Data To Detect Tamarisk Along Colorado’S San Miguel River, William E. Johnson

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Tamarisk, an invasive tree native to Eurasia, has become widespread in river corridors across the southwestern United States. Accused of excessive water consumption and degradation of native habitats, it has been the target of extensive eradication and restoration efforts. Identifying its ever-changing distribution and extent benefits natural resource managers tasked with planning and prioritizing invasive plant management activities.

The use of GIS tools and remotely sensed data offers the potential to speed and improve our ability to locate tamarisk distributions. This project searches for tamarisk by classifying land cover vegetation (including tamarisk) based on spectral reflectance values from three-band natural …

Water Efficiency Devices And Conservation Practices, Juan A. Gonzalez

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Southern California has a special and unique Mediterranean climate that is rare and only shared with a few countries around the world. In the last few years, the Southern California region has experienced unpredictable periods of both wet and dry weather, and it is likely that it will continue to experience these types of disruptions as a consequence of climate changes in the future (West Basin Municipal Water District [WBMWD]). Water supply agencies in the region have pressed for strong regulations in order to promote water conservation. The study will focus on a small water agency, Rancho California Water District. …

Using Geographic Information Systems To Select Suitable Columbian Sharp-Tailed Grouse Habitat In Northern Idaho, Jennifer Grew

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

The Columbian sharp-tailed grouse was once the most abundant game bird in the Inland Northwest area. The main reason for their loss was the conversion of their habitat into agricultural lands and timber forests. Several variables were incorporated into a weighted sum tool in ArcGIS using public raster layers for each of three seasons. The results layers were analyzed using the same tool to find the most suitable habitat. Six locations in the county had 50% or better suitability. One location showed 80% or better. The grouse historic range appears to coincide with Palouse prairielands in Benewah County. Further research …

Colorado Front Range Parks Location Mapping Website, Leah Alvarado

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

With current technology, using location based services has become easier than ever. There are services that can help a person find a home, save money, or even find a bathroom. In Colorado, parks are managed by the park and recreation department of a city, town, county, or by a district. Depending on the city, information on the parks that they service comes in different formats and information varies. Some department have online maps others have a map in a portable document format, and some offer no mapping but, a list of parks. Finding a park with consistent data formats and …

Gis Prototype Modeling Of Landslide Susceptibility And Risk Perception - Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Pueblo), Peru: An Exploratory Approach, Alicia Felice Tyson

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Tourism is an increasingly important and developing sector of the Peruvian economy and the country is fast-tracking development to accommodate an influx of tourists, reportedly over 1.8 million/year. Situated in the southwest region of Peru, Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Pueblo) continues to develop infrastructure to keep pace with this burgeoning tourism industry. Regional geology and hydrology are importation factors influencing the ability to accommodate tourism in Aguas Calientes. Located at the confluence of three rivers, the town is also situated in a watershed with high return intervals for flooding and mass wasting triggered by the sudden, intense rainfall characterizing the …

Mapping Sustainability: City Of Fife Parks And Recreation, Tonya Elliott

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Sustainability is based on a simple principle: Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment. Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permits fulfilling the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future.

Accuracy Of Boulder County’S Gis Parcel Mapping: An Examination Of Gis Cadastral Mapping Compared To Land Surveys, Kayce D. Wohlman

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

This research outlines land surveying in the State of Colorado and discusses the formation of parcel maps in the state. GIS continues to grow in various industries and government entities since it is able to best streamline copious amounts of geospatial information. Following suit, County Assessor Offices throughout the country have benefited from the use of a GIS to organize their data. The cost, implementation and maintenance of a GIS is a costly endeavor however it benefits both the County, State and the general public. County Assessor Office GIS systems have directly influenced the field of Land Surveying both positively …

Potential Wolverine Habitat Vs. Winter Recreation. Conflict In Colorado!, Paul Quigley

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

The Global list of endangered species of flora and fauna is growing, with the most highly specialized species often at ‘critically endangered’ status. Managing these populations effectively involves numerous and varied organizations, conflicting motivations, arbitrary anthropogenic boundaries and often most importantly, data compilation and management. We are seeing many more reintroductions of locally extirpated species back into habitats of historical prevalence – and as extreme a method of conservation as this is, there is still a need for more extreme methods. High profile and highly specialized endangered species are often managed in a ‘crisis’ mode, where complex behaviors and interactions …

Surface Modeling Topsoil Distribution On A Reclaimed Coal-Mine Site At Blackmesa Mine Complex, Kayenta, Arizona, Janine Ferarese

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

A necessary precursor to ensure proper vegetation growth on reclaimed coal-mine areas is even distribution of topsoil. This capstone discusses development of surface models to describe the accurate determination and visualization of the distribution of topsoil. Prediction surfaces from topsoil-depth point samples were created using the surface interpolation methods, Inverse Distance Weighted and Kriging. The validity and accuracy of each method was assessed to determine the best method to evaluate actual topsoil distribution at a coal mining site. The model can be utilized by non- spatially trained personnel working in the mining arena as an aid in assessing how appropriately …

From Lakes To Plants: Spatial Assessment Of Vegetation Dynamics Along 52 Disappearing Lakes In The Boreal Forests Of Alaska From 1984-2009 In The Yukon Flats Wildlife Refuge, Steve Ewest

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

A spatial assessment of vegetation change along the areas of shrinking lakes was conducted in 2011. The analysis utilized Landsat TM/ETM imagery bands 3 and 4 to calculate NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) from 1984 to 2009 and applied cell and zonal statistics to measure the change as well as create an animation of the change. Also, three 30 meter bands and the zonal averages for the maximum values were assessed. The band in the 60-90 buffer bands has the greatest ratio amount of the maximum vegetation values when compared to the 0-30 meter and the 30-60 meter buffered bands. …

Mapping In Philanthropy: Exploring The Use Of Mapping In Foundation Grantmaking, Jim Casey

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Foundations provide grants to nonprofit organizations in our communities, who then provide services locally. Choosing which nonprofit to fund, and which not to fund is difficult. This study examines current uses and upcoming uses of mapping and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as part of funding decisions made by foundations. Foundations engaged in strategic funding, especially that which targets specific populations are more likely to use GIS and geospatial analysis in funding decisions. Grantmaking in response to proposals requires less strategic analysis and calls for mapping much less by comparison. As a field, nationally foundations and nonprofits have identified many uses …

Developing Tornado Climatology In The Southern Great Plains Per Phases Of Prominent Oceanic Oscillations, Nicholas M. Fillo

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Meteorologists are continually working toward a greater understanding of which atmospheric environments are most conducive for tornado development. This Capstone project analyzed tornado occurrences across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana during the period 1950 through 2009 to determine if any correlation exists between the location and frequency of tornado activity and the phases of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation, the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. While it was determined that no phase of any of the oscillations studied was significantly more dominant over the other(s) concerning frequency, this project does identify some spatial shifts in tornado activity depending …

Determining Heritage Oak Tree Susceptibility To Sudden Oak Death Using Gis Risk Analysis, Michelle M. Guzdek

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Sudden Oak Death (SOD), caused by the pathogenic water mold Phytophthora ramorum, has killed hundreds of thousands of oak trees in the California coastal regions, with redwood-tanoak forests being hit the hardest (Shoemaker et al., 2007). The term “sudden oak death” is used to describe the disease, because of how rapidly the pathogen has killed otherwise healthy tanoaks, virtually in a matter of weeks (COMTF 2010). SOD was first reported in California in 1994 and is believed to have originated from infected nursery or ornamental plants, but the source has never been identified (Mascheretti et al. 2008).

Using Gis To Determine Wind Harvesting Potential To Help Offset Boulder County's Yearly Energy Usage To Become A More Sustainable County, Pete Coventry

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

This project focuses on Boulder County, Colorado as a case study to demonstrate how a Geographic Information System (GIS) can identify potential wind harvesting areas. A step by step demonstration will illustrate the steps needed to determine such harvesting areas and their wind potential. Once potential wind harvesting areas have been identified, concluding analysis will determine the amount of energy generated in efforts to offset current energy use. Harvesting wind has dated back to the 7^th century and is looked at as a mature technology (Edwards 2003). Over the past few decades, public attitudes towards wind harvesting is becoming …