Goal: The goal of this lab was to use geoprocessing tools from ArcMap to map out the best locations for bears to live in a study area in Marquette County, Michigan; and also to make a data flow model of the process.
Background: I was given a study area in the county of Marquette, Michigan, and I was shown bear locations, the land coverage, and also streams in the area. The data was provided from The Michigan Center for Geographic Information.
Methods: First I converted the bear location data I received in Excel format into x, y coordinate data. I mapped out the locations and found what types of land cover the bears were found in using the Join tool to combine the tables from the landcover and bear location layers. They were found in mixed forests, forested wetlands, and evergreen forests. I then performed a Buffer 500 meters around the streams to see if bears we found in these areas. They were found 500 meters from streams 72% of the time, so I used that information in finding ideal bear habitats. (see Objective #2 below)
I then did a Intersect and combine the buffer around the streams and the three landcover areas the bears were mostly found in. Then I did a dissolve and the results came out in the Suitable Bear Habitats feature you see in the map below. (see Objective #3)
I was then was asked to find areas within the DNR managemnet lands that bears could inhabit. I mapped the DNR management lands and used Intersect and Dissolve just as before to find land that was both DNR and bear habitat. (see Objective #4)
However, before approval, the DNR wanted the areas to be at least 5 kilometers away from urban or built up land. So I performed a buffer on the land cover that included urban areas and used Erase to remove the parts of the DNR bear habitat that was within the buffer and the result is shown below as DNR Approved Habitats in map. (see Objective #5)
I then did a Intersect and combine the buffer around the streams and the three landcover areas the bears were mostly found in. Then I did a dissolve and the results came out in the Suitable Bear Habitats feature you see in the map below. (see Objective #3)
I was then was asked to find areas within the DNR managemnet lands that bears could inhabit. I mapped the DNR management lands and used Intersect and Dissolve just as before to find land that was both DNR and bear habitat. (see Objective #4)
However, before approval, the DNR wanted the areas to be at least 5 kilometers away from urban or built up land. So I performed a buffer on the land cover that included urban areas and used Erase to remove the parts of the DNR bear habitat that was within the buffer and the result is shown below as DNR Approved Habitats in map. (see Objective #5)
Results: The resulting map below shows the area that bears most likely are inhabiting and also where the DNR could safely use for bear habitats away from urban areas and within the DNR management areas. Their habitats are near streams and in heavily forested areas.
Map:
Data Flow:
Sources: The Michigan Center for Geographic Information
Landcover is from USGS NLCD: http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/mgdl/nlcd/metadata/nlcdshp.html
DNR management units:http://www.dnr.state.mi.us/spatialdatalibrary/metadata/wildlife_mgmt_units.htm
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