Artifact 4- Save the Catalpa Tree Power Point

Link to Artifact: Save the Catalpa Tree Power Point

PRT 505 GIS and Spatial Analysis in Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Sport Management

Submitted 14 April 2011

Author Travis J. Casper

Reflection

PRT 505 GIS Spatial Analysis provided me with the opportunity to increase my ability of spatial reasoning and develop basic skills of handling, evaluating and analyzing spatial data in common geographic information systems (GIS) platforms as it relates to hunting as a recreational activity. This has enhanced my understanding and ability to make more informed decisions in planning and management of resources and services, and be an intelligent user of spatial data and GIS tools for research and evaluation.

This course enabled me to assist in the fulfillment of the agency’s Strategic Plan by addressing these specific goals.

Goal 1:  All North Carolina citizens have the opportunity for safe and readily available participation in hunting, fishing, boating, and other wildlife- related activities

This course provided me with an in-depth knowledge of the impacts of recreation on active-healthy lifestyles and sustainable communities, and their connection to contemporary societal issues ensuring hunting, fishing, and boating as accepted and viable recreation in North Carolina.

Goal 2: Expand the constituency base by providing and promoting opportunities for every adult and child, regardless of physical abilities to experience North Carolina’s wildlife resources.

The knowledge skills and abilities acquired through PRT 505 have better enabled me to develop recruitment, retention and advertisement strategies for hunter education programming that are researched based.  A researched based recruitment and marketing strategy will ensure the outcomes are measurable and easily analyzed.  Measurable research will allow the constituency to be more effectively reached with the agency’s programs. By better understanding the trends and user patterns, I hope to generate opportunities to promote the goals and objectives of the agency’s education programs.

Save the Catalpa Tree Map Created in ArcGIS
Located at NC State

The Tree Protection Plan assignment was very beneficial and rewarding.  The ability to take data from two software platforms and combine them for review will be beneficial professionally.  Wildlife Enforcement Officers have been using Google Maps and Google Earth Software for wildlife violations and hunting and boating accident investigations.  Taking the knowledge gained from using Google’s platform and combining it with the data contained in the ArcGIS software will enhance the understanding of what has happened and assist in finding trends within the data sets.

The software is powerful in the information it can assist the user in obtaining but I was surprised of how sensitive the software is to how files are stored in relation to the ability to read or convert data into other types of files.  The user definitely has to be mindful of the location where the software is stored on the computer drive, the length of the file name, and the path to the file.  There was a couple times in the project that the work came to a halt because the data had not been stored properly.  Once this mistake was realized the project was straight forward and step by step.

There should be a warning about the sensitivity of the ArcGIS software platform in how files are saved on your computer.  This lesson was learned the hard way.   The GIS software seemed very sensitive and any variation from the software’s preferred path would not be accepted.  This was a benefit because it caused me to repeat steps over again until I found the path the software liked.

I found the Tree Protection Project highly beneficial.  The complications were drastically outweighed by the knowledge gained.  This project entertained me and I enjoyed the critical thinking in solving the steps of this project.  The steps were like a puzzle and the data outcome was the reward.  I have already begin using the combination of Google Earth and ArcGIS in my professional life!