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Track: Natural Resources and Conservation
Marshall Mayer
Conservation GIS Consortium
324 Fuller Ave Suite C2
Helena, MT 59601
Telephone: 406-442-3696
Fax: 406-442-3687
E-mail: jseymour@desktop.org
Conservation Technology Support Program (CTSP)
Defining Issue: The earth and its inhabitants face increasingly complex environmental problems that threaten our continued long-term existence. Solving these problems with citizen participation and collaboration requires an "ecological" view of reality and holistic information management. The technology that makes these collaborative solutions possible for local conservation and environmental groups is not readily available. GIS Solution: Because GIS allows a wide variety of data to be integrated and combined based on spatial relationships, it is the tool that gives these local organizations the capability of applying global level technology and thinking to local issues. Methods and Madness: The Conservation Technology Support Program (CTSP) was established in 1994 to provide access to GIS technology for conservation and environmental organizations. In 1997 CTSP is a partnership among Esri, Hewlett-Packard Company, Apple Computer, Inc., the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoological Park
Conservation and Research Center, and the Conservation GIS Consortium (CGISC), a national association of nonprofits that provide technical support to conservation and environmental nonprofits in the use of GIS. Under the partnership, Hewlett-Packard and Apple donate computers, peripherals and software, and Esri contributes software and basic training. CGISC together with the Smithsonian provide customized training. This panel will consist of three CTSP grantees who will present their GIS "success" stories, made possible by hardware, software, and training donated by CTSP in 1995 and 1996.
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