Abstract
GIS Model to Rank Private Lands for Conservation Opportunity Areas
Track: Ecology and Conservation
Author(s): Yingkui Li, Tim Nigh
Conservation Opportunity Areas (COAs) have been identified across Missouri as areas to maintain and restore rich and diverse natural heritages. The participation of private landowners within the COAs is critical to the success of the COAs, but little is known about their perspective. This project chose the Current and Eleven Point Hills COAs as the focused area and a GIS model (based on ArcGIS modelbuilder) was created to rank private land owners by multiple factors including size of parcel, percent forest cover, riparian corridor condition, proximity to public lands, and presence of heritage records. The model provided a visual and automated way to integrate various spatial data and perform spatial analyses. The distribution of the private lands and their relative importance were displayed to help guide private land contacts. The results will not only benefit work in this focused area, but also provide applications to other COAs.
Yingkui Li
University of Missouri-Columbia
8 Stewart Hall
University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia , Missouri 65211
United States
Phone: 573-882-2879
E-mail: liyk@missouri.edu
Tim Nigh
Missouri Department of Conservation
1110 S College Ave
Columbia , Missouri 65201
United States
Phone: 573-882-9909
E-mail: Timothy.Nigh@mdc.mo.gov