PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #44: Remote Sensing and GIS.
Wednesday, August 7. Presentation from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. Exhibit Hall B & C, TCC

Integrating various data layers and multi-media in a comprehensive format for land managers: A case study at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah.

Alley, Nate^*,1, Coleman, Robert², Stohlgren, Thomas³, Evangelista, Paul¹, Guenther, Debra¹, ¹ Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Fort Collins, CO² Forest Sciences, Fort Collins, CO³ Midcontinent Ecological Science Center, USGS, Fort Collins, CO

ABSTRACT- Natural resource managers are continuously faced with the challenge of managing multiple databases. When data sets are stored in different formats, they can be overlooked to the detriment of management plans or decision-making processes. Additionally, the compilation of incompatible data sets may be time consuming when needed at short notice. These are just a few concerns of resource managers in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, who oversee over 2 million acres of remote backcountry. Our research team has been conducting extensive vegetation surveys within the Monument over the last five years and also faces the challenge of presenting large quantities of tabular, spatial, media, and ancillary data in a compact, user-friendly format. The solution to the dilemma was found in Esri ArcView software, which provides a platform for combining spatial information and remotely sensed data. These include a variety of satellite images, aerial photographs, and GIS coverages representing land-use, biotic, and abiotic themes. Any one of these coverages may be overlaid with the locations of our Modified-Whitaker multi-scale plots. Each of these sample points has several links to other data sets and types. One such link is to a MS Access database that lists vegetation and soil information from each plot in a spreadsheet format. Other links allow the user to view still photographs of the site or view 360 degrees of video from the geo-referenced point. These points may be linked to websites, data sets of different software, or research data from other disciplines. Additionally, managers can add to the database as research progresses or for future monitoring.

KEY WORDS: data management, databases, remotely sensed data, video