Abstract
GIS-Enabled California Agricultural Land Evaluation and Site Assessment Model
Track: Agriculture
Author(s): Dorothy Watkins, Molly Penberth
Agriculture in California is an essential part of the state economy, which has a finite inventory of viable agricultural lands for production. California is also a highly urbanized state with an ever increasing population that requires housing and employment. Therefore, there is a need to balance conservation and development. The California Department of Conservation currently uses the California Agricultural Land Evaluation and Site Assessment Model (LESA) to plan rural land use, evaluate development projects, and review applications for long-term conservation easements. However, the entire decision-making process is manually completed, which is time-consuming and prone to spatial or classification errors. In order to improve the efficiency and consistency, the project aims to develop a GIS-enabled LESA model to automate workflow involved in land use evaluation and the final application will enhance day-to-day operations of the Department of Conservation.
Dorothy Watkins
University of Redlands MSGIS
1111 E. Central Ave., ##21
Redlands , California 92374
United States
Phone: 530-526-1404
E-mail: dorothy_watkins@spatial.redlands.edu
Molly Penberth
California Department of Conservation
801 K Street
Sacramento , California 95814
United States
Phone: 916-324-0863
E-mail: Molly.Penberth@conservation.ca.gov