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Atlas Of Maine: Inland Waterfowl And Wader Habitat, Liz Schell

Atlas of Maine

This map shows the relationship between inland waterfowl and wader habitat and the different hydrological features in Maine.

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid: Climate Change And Range Expansion, Drew Mealor

Atlas of Maine

The Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae, HWA) is an invasive forest pest that was introduced to the Eastern U.S. in 1951. The HWA feeds on Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) trees, which are an important component of the climax forest in Maine (Northern Research Station 2010, Carey 1993). These slow growing, shade tolerant trees will often die within 6 years of a HWA infestation. While much of the East Coast has seen devastating HWA outbreaks, Maine has largely been spared due to the HWA’s inability to survive in a colder climate (Paradis et al. 2007).

However, with warming …

Atlas Of Maine: Forest Stand Age, Drew Mealor

Atlas of Maine

This map shows forest stand age in Maine. The forest stand age essentially denotes time since last disturbance, which typically means logging.

Households Located Within The Willamette River Floodplain Area In Lane County, Oregon, Ethan Farina-Henry

Atlas of Maine

Every year the Willamette River, in Oregon rises and sometimes floods. I looked at households in census block groups of Lane County, Oregon that overlapped partially with historically flooded areas of the Willamette River. Using 2010 census data, I used ArcGIS to identify census block groups that intersected with the historical flood plain area. I evaluated whether households based on the race of the householder was any indication of a residence being affected by flooding. I did not find a definitive correlation between the race of a householder and whether a house may be located within the area of a …

Occupancy Status, Depreciation And Housing Condition In Waterville's South End, Caleb Harris, Savannah Judge

Atlas of Maine

The Waterville Community Land Trust is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to revitalizing the city of Waterville, Maine, particularly the South End, by promoting affordable housing and permanent residency (Calder 2013). ArcGIS was used to perform a spatial analysis of residential properties in the South End on behalf of the Land Trust. This allowed for an investigation of how occupancy status may influence the value of surrounding properties. The results show that owner-occupied homes depreciate less than non-owner occupied homes. This supports the Land Trust's hypothesis that increasing owner-occupancy will have positive impacts on property values and the community.

County Annual Crime Rate Per 1000 Residents And Correctional Facilities, Caleb Harris

Atlas of Maine

This map shows the placement of correctional facilities in Maine as well as the county crime rates for 2011, in total crimes per 1000 people. This map compares the rate of crime in each county to the location of the incarceration facilities.

Current Status Of Panama's Reefs, Sarah Madronal

Atlas of Maine

Coral reefs worldwide have experienced declines due to anthropogenic factors. As a result of the limitations working in marine habitats, accurate spatial representations of reefs are rare. In this study created a human influence model to determine which coral reefs were more likely to be healthy or not. I looked at three factors to determine health: proximity to a marine protected area, proximity to coastal development and impact of watershed based pollution. Coral reefs play a major role in Panama's economy and maintaining local biodiversity. Panama is rapidly developing coastline, so spatially examining coral health of it's coral reefs are …

Deer Wintering Areas And Forest Fragmentation, Victoria Abel

Atlas of Maine

This map contrasts deer wintering sites with areas of human-induced forest fragmentation and conserved lands in Maine. Fragmentation is represented as the percentage of remaining forest cover.

Gulf Stream Sea Surface Temperature Shift, Peter Willauer

Atlas of Maine

Sea surface temperatures (SST) of the Gulf Stream change enormously on year to year basis. In this study, however, I investigated the trends and temperature shifts over a 20-year period determining if a clear shift is evident in this particular current. I found no significant trends, but I did find several interesting results. I used ArcGIS to gather and analyze data from NOAA's satellite (AVHRR) and developed an Ordinarily Least Squares regression model comparing a monthly average over 20 years to determine if the temperature shifts over time were not random. I was able to isolate slopes with significant P-values …

Conservation Easement Distribution Across New England, Ginny Keesler

Atlas of Maine

My project considers conservation easement distribution across New England. I answer the questions: Are conservation easements clumped in each of the New England states? How do conservation easements generally differ between states in terms of size and number? Where are conservation easements located in relation to areas of various population densities? I examine clumping of conservation easements by state using a Monte Carlo simulation. Results suggest that easements are significantly clumped in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. There is no data for Connecticut. As far as size of easements is concerned, the average easement tract size is …

Emissions Estimate For Faculty, Staff, And Student Commutes In 2013, Ryan Newell

Atlas of Maine

In 2013 Colby College declared it was carbon neutral. The college achieved “net zero” CO2 equivalent emissions by switching to wind power for electricity and replacing 90% of its oil consumption with biomass. The remaining emissions were offset based on assumptions about travel, waste, consumption, etc. The goal of this project was to update the estimate of the total greenhouse gas emissions produced as a result of faculty, staff, and students commuting to Colby in 2013. This is not a comprehensive analysis of all college related travel, but a specific subset. This is important because it can improve Colby’s estimate …

Atlas Of Maine: Surface Water Features, Sarah Madronal

Atlas of Maine

This map shows some of Maine's surface water features. The features that were included are wetlands, vernal pools, as well as streams and rivers.

How Smart Is Lakesmart?: An Analysis, Eliza Phillips, Liz Schell

Atlas of Maine

Lakefront properties are greatly valued by home customers today. Unfortunately, many homeowners value clear views of the lake, and as a consequence, remove all natural barriers (i.e. trees, shrubs, etc.) from the lakeshore, which leads to a decrease in water quality (Schindler 1974).

In the Belgrade Lakes watershed in Maine, people have recognized that human intervention has led to a reduction in water quality in their lakes. Because of this, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), introduced a program called LakeSmart in 2003 to incentivize homeowners to keep lake water clean in the Belgrade Lakes by stabilizing eroded areas, …

Affordable Housing In Kennebec County, William G. Stohner ('05)

Atlas of Maine

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defines affordable housing as a household paying no more than 30 percent of its annual income on housing. That is, families who pay more than 30 percent of their income on housing are considered cost burdened and may have difficulty affording necessities such as food, clothing, healthcare, and transportation. This project focused on Kennebec County, Maine. Between 1990 and 2000, market demand for housing increased at a faster rate than did the supply of housing. Despite the addition of 6,719 homes, the average home price increased faster than average household income. This …

Moose Management And Conserved Areas, Kathryn Lee

Atlas of Maine

This map shows the Moose Management areas in relation to roads and conserved areas. In the Recreation Management Area, hunting and usually viewing opportunities were the most important goals. In the Road Safety Area, reducing the number of moose/ vehicle collisions was the only goal. In the Compromise Management Area, the goal was to balance recreation and safety concerns.

Predicted Witheringia Solanacea Habitat In Costa Rica, Sylvia Doyle

Atlas of Maine

Witheringia solanacea is a flowering shrub common to the Pacific Slope of Central America, from Mexico to Bolivia. Known locations of W. solanacea in Costa Rica were compared to geographic data to generate a predicted habitat model. Elevation, aspect, slope, annual mean precipitation, distance to roads, and distance to streams were statistically analyzed to determine their relationship with W. solanacea .The elevation, precipitation, and distance to roads variables had the most significant influence over plant distribution and were incorporated into the habitat model.

Atlas Of Maine: Critical Habitat Of The Atlantic Salmon, Matthew Lapine

Atlas of Maine

This map depicts two variations of critical habitat of the Atlantic salmon. The first layer shows three watershed regions of particular importance, while the second layer highlights important stream and rivers that serve as salmon habitat.

Police Stations In Relation To Population, Meagan Hennessey

Atlas of Maine

This map illustrates the relationship of police stations and population, measured per square mile, throughout the state of Maine. County boundaries, major cities, and major roads are included for reference.

Analysis Of East-West Highway In Maine, Kathryn Lee, Anna Hess

Atlas of Maine

A major east-west highway through Maine has been long debated by politicians, private corporations and environmentalists. The proposed highway has the potential to bring increased economic productivity to isolated communities and create more efficient travel routes, but it may also impact the landscape of the northern region of the state. The goal of this project was to estimate the proposed route of the highway and develop a simple model to estimate its relationship with elevation and land cover types.

Atlas Of Maine: Deer Wintering Areas And Fragmented Forests In Maine, Ellie Linden

Atlas of Maine

This map displays Maine in a sense that relates the wildlife (deer wintering areas) with zones that have been negatively impacted by humans with fragmented forest.

Concentration Of Arsenic Contamination In Township Water Resources, Avery Beck

Atlas of Maine

Arsenic is a toxic heavy metal that has been detected in much of Maine’s well water, and its widespread occurrence in Maine groundwater resources has become a public health issue. This map displays the towns whose domestic wells, by percentage of wells sampled, have had arsenic concentrations in excess of 10 micrograms per liter (µg/L) of well water, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum contaminant level for arsenic in public water.

The towns in which Maine's thirty most-contaminated wells can be found are denoted as well, as are the locations of public-supply wells and groundwater resources (aquifers) throughout the state.

Availability Of Biomass For Colby's Steam Plant, Avery Beck, Becky Forgrave

Atlas of Maine

Colby has just built a new biomass plant, and is committed to sourcing the wood from no more than 50 miles away. The plant is expected to need 22,000 tons of biomass annually. The question we chose to investigate is how much biomass is available within 50 miles, and whether Colby’s biomass use will have an impact on the surrounding forests. To quantify this, a GIS analysis was carried out using land cover and woodlots data. The 50-mile distance was measured in two ways: a radius from Colby and using roads.

Deer Wintering And Conservation Areas In Maine, Elizabeth Schneider

Atlas of Maine

This map shows the locations of deer wintering areas in comparison to areas reserved for conservation. As a reference, the counties of Maine are outlined and labeled. As can be seen from the shading, the southern and coastal areas of Maine are more heavily populated. It is interesting to note that deer wintering areas do not often overlap with conservation areas, and many deer wintering areas are found in areas of higher population.

Viewshed Analysis Of Proposed Wind Farms In Maine, Michael Stephens, Colin Cummings

Atlas of Maine

Wind energy has become a rapidly growing source of renewable electricity; world generating capacity is growing at 20-30% per year (IEA, 2008). Wind offers a fantastic opportunity for clean energy generation in Maine, and will support local community economies. However, the turbines that produce this clean energy typically stand over 250 feet tall and can be seen on their mountaintop perches for miles. Many consider them to be visually intrusive and fight to stop wind farm projects in their planning stages (Curtis, 2011). Maine has numerous wind farms already in operation, with many more in the planning and proposal stages …

Linking Farms And Food Banks In Massachusetts, Katherine Murray, Matthew Silverman

Atlas of Maine

Today farms typically grow more produce than they can sell in a season. This excess produce often goes to waste. However organizations like Boston Area Gleaners have started gleaning initiatives in which they organize volunteers to glean the excess produce from farms near Boston and deliver it to local food pantries (bostonareagleaners.org).

Gleaning initiatives such as Boston Area Gleaners can fill an important niche which reduces food waste and delivers the excess to places in need. Both farmers and food banks/pantries in Massachusetts have expressed interest in gleaning initiatives throughout the state, leading the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources to …

Sea Level Rise Impacts And The Value Of Affected Properties In Barnstable, Ma, Matthew Lapine

Atlas of Maine

A recent study by the nonprofit organization Climate Central found that over 3.7 million Americans live within 1 meter of the high tide mark along coastlines (Strauss, et al., 2012). The same study warned of the implications of rising sea levels, and how the increase predicted by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) could have drastic effects on many Americans. This projected aimed to model the range of potential sea level rise from the best to worst case scenario (0-6 meters) (IPCC, 2007).

This project aimed to determine if higher value properties along the coast are disproportionally affected by …

Watersheds On The Brink: Impervious Surface Cover In Casco Bay, Me, Elizabeth Schneider, Michael Whalen

Atlas of Maine

Casco Bay and its surrounding watersheds are threatened by increased impervious coverage in urban areas. We used ArcGIS to assign values for percent coverage by impervious surfaces to all watersheds at the HUC 12 level for the Casco Bay region in order to determine which would most benefit from management and restoration. To further pinpoint watersheds at the intermediate level of disturbance, we factored in riparian buffers of 20m around all streams and calculated percent coverage by impervious surfaces within these zones. Total impervious coverage within subwatersheds ranged from 0 to 26% with a mean of 5.7%, while cumulative impervious …

Suitable Land Cover Habitats For Elephant And Cheetah Populations, Ellie Linden

Atlas of Maine

Human influence has caused cheetah and elephant populations to become endangered, resulting in an essential demand to help conserve these African species. Scientific research has suggested that elephants favor savanna woodland and sand forest vegetation, and adjust their movement in order to avoid human interactions or unexplored areas (Druce, 2008). Elephants are threatened by habitat loss, hunting by farmers, and overexploitation through the ivory trade (Bagheera, 2012). Elephants are keystone species in their ecosystems, making them important targets for conservation efforts. Cheetahs are threatened by habitat loss, hunting by farmers, and prey decline (CCF, 2012). Cheetahs are predators in their …

Marine Worm And Molluscan Habitat On The Gulf Of Maine, Lydia Ball

Atlas of Maine

Marine worms and mollusks are important prey items for shorebirds and humans. Additionally, humans also use marine worms and mollusks as bait. This causes competition between shorebirds and humans. This map shows important habitat of marine worms and mollusks.

Income Per Capita In Maine, Anna Hess

Atlas of Maine

This map uses US Census Bureau data to depict income per capita from the year 2000 throughout the state of Maine. It also displays the names, locations and relative populations of each city.