Track: Ecology, Conservation, and Archaeology
Mapping the Roads to Ecological Restoration on Santa Catalina Island
Dr. William BushingJim Fellows , Peter Schuyler
The Santa Catalina Island Conservancy's mission is to preserve the native plants, animals, biotic communities and natural landscapes on the 17,000+ hectares that it owns on the island. In addition to its conservation mission, there is a mandate for reasonable public access to the island through a recreational easement with Los Angeles County. An existing network of more than 200 miles of interior roads facilitates access both for public recreation and management activities by the Conservancy's employees and volunteers. This extensive road network poses an interesting dilemma in that roads are necessary to provide access for ecological management activities, but also constitute a disturbance to the ecological landscapes they intrude upon. It is therefore necessary to evaluate the ecological costs and benefits of these roads. To do so requires an accurate road map. Although several previous maps of the island's road network exist, no single map nor even a compilation of all the maps represents all the roads. In addition, some roads were mapped in locations as much as 2 km from their true position. The Conservancy has developed an enterprise GIS as part of its ecological management program. An integral part of the GIS is the collection of field data using global positioning system receivers. The donation of a Trimble Pathfinder Pro XR GPS receiver allowed the Conservancy to accurately map the island's road network in the field. By incorporating this road layer into the GIS, the network can be better evaluated relative to access needs, ecological impacts, road maintenance frequency, and other questions. The road layer is also an integral part of the Conservancy's planned GIS-based Land Use Plan and Recreation Plan, which will assist its management efforts.
Dr. William Bushing
Santa Catalina Island Conservancy
P. O. Box 2739
125 Claressa Avenue
Avalon, CA 90704-2739
USA
Telephone: (310) 510-2595 ext 105
Fax: (310) 510-2594
E-mail: seer@catalinas.net