The following is taken from a lab done at Western Washington University, showcasing the use of cartographic representations to create an aesthetically pleasing, and informative thematic map representing Salmon Habitat data from the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. The project proposal follows the two images.
Final Output w/ NAIP Imagery Overlay:
Click here to download a high-res PDF of this map.
Lab 8 Output w/o NAIP Imagery Overlay:
Click here to download a high-res PDF of this map.
Project Proposal:
In an ever-more internet driven society, people are quickly becoming more and more used to interacting with web-based GIS solutions. These solutions provide a non-technical user with the ability to create a thematic map with selected layers, and query those layers to gain further information from a linked attribute table. Take for example the Greenwood County, SC’s online GIS viewer (http://gis.greenwoodsc.gov/giswebsite/default.htm). From this single page users can zoom to parcels, use the identity tool to view that parcel’s attribute table in a side frame, and simply click on another parcel to repeat the process. This dynamic display of data in a side frame allows for website design that is both small and compact, while also extremely informative.
The question is however, how can this be achieved in a paper map? I feel that through balanced cartographic design that it is possible to display key attributes for many different features in a particular feature class. A two-step process can be used to identify useful information. First be given rank based on priority to determine which ones have their attributes displayed. Attributes should then be chosen based on the level of importance to the audience of the map. An indexing system could also be developed to reduce the amount of text on the map to only the essentials.
Through an internship with the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission’s (NWIFC) Salmon and Steelhead Habitat Inventory and Assessment Project (SSHIAP) team, I have the opportunity to try my hand at such a project using fish distribution data for a selected area of study. I plan to use this opportunity to create a ‘proof-of-concept’ map that will incorporate Limiting Factors Analysis fish distribution data used by NWIFC. This data covers anadromous fish, and is currently in a polyline format.
The objective of my lab will be to display selected fish distribution information for a given number of stream features on a small-scale. Fish distribution information will most likely include the fish species and stock for its given extent on a stream.
I am choosing to use the LFA fish distribution data because it requires little pre-processing. Currently though, I am working as a very small part in the linking of fish distribution data to SSHIAP’s existing ArcHydro system through linear referencing. My hope is to continue this database management task through the spring to the point where I could produce a wall-sized map with key information for the SSHIAP team’s entire extent, WRIAs 1-23.