2016 conservation track: under the hood of an rea: what is within a rapid ecoregional assessment by...

Rapid Ecoregional Assessment


Under the hood of an REA:What is within a Rapid Ecoregional Assessment

Chris WoodwardGIS Specialist

BLM National Operations CenterDenver, CO



Deliverables (Data, maps, models, reports)

*REA Figures are Hyperlinked to Map Services

Data

Online Maps

Geospatial Models

Reports

My role at BLM as a contractor



Geospatial Modeling Methods

Geospatial Process Model Example

= Input Data

= Model Tool

= Model Output* Five inputs, 1 output…



Custom Python Scripting

Many REA contractors utilized python for custom tools

When this occurs, both the python file and the custom toolbox tool are distributed with the geospatial model



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Types of input data…. Routine

LandFire Existing Vegetation Type (EVT) & fire perimeters, succession

SWReGAP Landcover/Species distributions

Wildlife point occurrence (state wildlife agencies, literature, natural heritage programs, etc..)

NatureServe Land Cover Protected Areas Database

(PAD) & Conservation Easements

US Census Roads (TIGER) Regional growth models for

urban areas (SERGoM)

Non-typical/special Climate data

• Monthly & Average temperature & precipitation

• Alaskan REA’s contain permafrost as a change agent. Date of frost/freeze and number of growing days

Lightning strikes points Regional datasets on

Invasives, many others…



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Geospatial Analysis Approaches to Development

Fuzzy Logic – Allows the user to assign shades of gray to thoughts and ideas rather than being restricted to black (false) and white (true) determinations. Data are normalized using a -1 to 1 scale. Ecological measures can therefore be quantified on a sliding scale of how bad or how good an effect has upon a resource

Modified Fuzzy Logic – A simplified version where the fuzzy logic, scaling is done for combining different variables together

EEMS – Environmental Evaluation Modeling System – A processing speed improvement over traditional fuzzy logic. EEMS uses a tree-based fuzzy logic approach with processing that is independent of the number and size of data within the model



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Geospatial Analysis Approaches to Development (continued…)

Terrestrial Development Index (TDI) – Quantifies surface disturbance within a 16 KM2 moving window

Landscape Condition Model – Expert opinions for anthropogenic site impacts and distances for decreasing or decaying influence

Multi-Criteria Overlay – Use of key ecological attributes to reflect size and condition required to sustain a conservation element. These KEA’s are quantified with available GIS data and given appropriate weights and combined



Where can I get all this cool REA stuff?

Landscape Approach Data

Portal

I’m going to Google that…

https://www.landscape.blm.gov/geoportal/catalog/main/portal.page



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What is a GIS professional to do?

Reviewed REA model packages Detailed modeling guide document Models overview diagram Read (skim) the report! Perform local testing on sample data

Non-Reviewed REA model packages Read the report Review the non-reviewed models yourself Contact BLM and/or the primary contractor

for support



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2016 conservation track: under the hood of an rea: what is within a rapid ecoregional assessment by...

Technology