By Tony Bruno

A powerful, computer-based tool for displaying current and possible future land-use patterns in great detail is helping GSWA dramatize the need for better environmental planning in the ten towns of the Great Swamp watershed.

The tool, known as a Geographic Information System (GIS), allows its users to quickly and efficiently generate maps, via desktop computer, from data made available by a wide variety of governmental and private organizations. The maps may be brightly color-coded to show such information as wetlands, steep slopes and other areas of critical environmental concern; developed areas; public open spaces; and any number of other spatial features.

With such information at its disposal, GSWA is better able, according to resident expert Karen Patterson, to present its environmental concerns to the public and also to local municipal agencies such as environmental commissions and planning boards.

Recently, for example, GSWA presented a draft of its current GIS project – a build-out analysis of the Great Swamp watershed – to Harding Township’s Planning Board. A build-out analysis predicts a municipality’s or region’s future land development based on current zoning regulations and expected population growth. The presentation to the Harding board was well timed as the board was contemplating revisions to its master plan. In making the presentation, Patterson used several maps to display alternative future development scenarios based on a variety of possible environmental constraints – and compared the scenarios with one showing the consequences of unconstrained development. The data, presented at an open meeting, may help the planning board as it looks into the future.

Patterson, GSWA’s GIS analyst and Education and Outreach Director, has responsibility for all GIS information and its applications. She came to GSWA with a master’s degree in geography, and a number of courses in GIS. In addition, she has also participated in several post-graduate GIS training courses and conferences. Also, she notes, "As anyone who has worked with computer technology can appreciate, self-teaching through trial and error is a powerful and essential learning tool."

Before GIS, GSWA and other environmental groups relied on paper maps, which were – and still are – often more difficult to work with because of difficulties in keeping them up to date. Although GIS maps are only as accurate as the paper maps they are adapted from, they are easier to update and change in order to demonstrate different perspectives as necessary.

Of course, as with all computer-generated data, quality of input is the single most important determinant of quality output. Fortunately, GSWA can gather high-quality GIS-ready computer-mapping data from the NJDEP, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Sharing with other nonprofit groups has also enriched the overall databases of conservation-minded organizations.

A key benefit to this data-sharing, Patterson says, is the increased effectiveness of interaction with municipal decision-makers. "Shared data means less contradiction among conservation groups, a fact that adds to our overall credibility. This has produced a strong counterweight to such groups as the New Jersey Builders Association, which has repeatedly labeled the data assembled by conservation groups as outdated or inaccurate. With data supplied by state and federal agencies, and consistent with other conservation groups, voluntary organizations like GSWA can begin to withstand credibility challenges by development- friendly organizations."

Unfortunately, Patterson observes, the costs associated with GIS can be high and occasionally prohibitive to under-financed environmental groups. The computer hardware – desktop computer with sufficient hard drive and RAM and a quality color printer, plus the necessary software, can range in cost from $5,000 to $10,000 depending on quality. Training, data input, and technical support also add to the cost. Fortunately, GSWA has received grants from the Hyde and Watson Foundation, the Victoria Foundation and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation to support the project. It has also benefited from the help of several interns from Rutgers University.

In one of its first GSWA applications, GIS was used to support the recommendations made in the 1997 publication of Saving Space: The Great Swamp Watershed Greenway and Open Space Plan. GIS-generated maps showed all the lands in the watershed identified as having the highest protection priority. The publication has won several awards, including recognition from "Renew America", The US Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 5, and the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions. The recommendations it made provided the stimulus for the "streamways" project described on page 1.

The future of GIS as an integral part of the GSWA work is clear. Spatial analysis and its subsequent impact used at municipal meetings, enriching conservation publications, and assuring consistency among conservation groups are but a few of the major benefits associated with GIS. Providing data the "old fashioned way" would be extremely time consuming and most likely outstrip the resources of GSWA and other conservation groups. By adding GIS to its repertoire, GSWA has one more tool in the fight to stay even with developers, and – maybe someday – a step ahead!