FRST 328 - GIS

Welcome

GIS applications are becoming commonplace in our everyday lives; we use it to find directions to a restaurant or plan a holiday route; those in the back country are able to determine and track their locations easily; automobiles are now commonly equipped with GIS.  Natural resource managers are often required to "think spatially" - GIS facilitates this ability.  Typical resource applications include:

• mapping where the available timber is located

• determining road locations that minimize environmental impacts

• conducting suitability mapping to determine the location of potential critical wildlife habitat areas (i.e. deer winter range)

• creating buffers around sensitive areas (streams and wildlife habitat areas)

This course provides an introduction to geographic information systems (GIS) within the context of natural resources.  The emphasis will be on spatial data issues, analytical operations and how to utilize GIS to aid in better decision-making.  In this course we will utilize a two-pronged approach to attain the learning outcomes:

• labs will be hands-on with the goals of gaining a basic skill set in utilizing GIS software (ArcGIS) and applying an analytical approach to solve problems

• lectures will provide the fundamental geographic concepts upon which GIS is based.