Abstract

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Using GIS to Document Cultural Resources After a Natural Disaster
Track: Parks and Natural Reserves
Author(s): Deidre McCarthy

Following Hurricane Katrina, the Gulf Coast suffered devastating loss and damage to important cultural resources. As a federal agency, FEMA must comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, which requires federal agencies to identify damaged and lost resources as well as mitigate the loss of any resources removed with federal money. FEMA requested that the National Park Service, Cultural Resource GIS Facility (CRGIS) develop a strategy to survey and evaluate cultural resources affected by this disaster in Louisiana, using GPS and GIS to expedite the Section 106 process. Additionally, the GIS is being used as a form of mitigation, with the GPS data serving as a form of documentation, to be integrated with state data. This project will provide a lasting methodology for documenting cultural resources for the Section 106 process and provide a comprehensive test of the cultural resource spatial data standards proposed by CRGIS.

Deidre McCarthy
National Park Service
CRGIS Facility
1201 Eye Street NW
Washington , DC 20005
US
Phone: 202.354.2141
Fax: 202.371.6473
E-mail: deidre_mccarthy@nps.gov