Gathering Waters developed a statewide GIS Decision Support Tool and it is ready for use.
We are excited to announce that our statewide GIS Decision Support Tool is live and ready for member land trusts to use. The Decision Support Tool is intended to aid conservation planning efforts by putting a tremendous amount of data at land trusts’ fingertips as well as robust filtering capabilities to quickly zero in on particular geographies and conservation priorities.
The tool is the result of years of work by Gathering Waters’ board member and GIS professional Mike Koutnik. The work benefits greatly from collaborations with member land trusts including: Landmark Conservancy, Northwoods Land Trust, Geneva Lake Conservancy, Kettle Moraine Land Trust, Seno KRLT Conservancy, and The Nature Conservancy. Many thanks to everyone for their involvement thus far!
How To Access the Decision Support Tool
The Decision Support Tool is available to Gathering Waters member land trusts. Access the tool at this link if you access ArcGis Online through Gathering Waters. If you are a member of your own organization’s ArcGis Online space, access the tool through the “Land Trust Member Files” group hosted by Gathering Waters. Email Charlie Carlin if you need access to either space.
Currently in beta form, Gathering Waters encourages land trusts to use the tool and provide us with feedback.
Your feedback and suggestions will help us improve the tool. Please let us know what works, what difficulties arise, and what additional data you would like to see included in the tool.
How To Find More Information
Extensive documentation about the tool is available in the tool itself by clicking the info button in the upper right corner of your screen.
You may also download supporting documentation here, which serves as a useful reference guide while using the tool.
Please note that we are regularly updating and refining the Decision Support Tool, so you may notice changes to the user interface and available data.
Gathering Waters staff are also available for consultations. We’re happy to introduce your team to the decision support tool or to provide more advanced training to utilize the tool to address your organization’s specific conservation priorities. Contact us to learn more about training opportunities.
