GIS in Katmai

A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer system used to manage and analyze geographic data. A GIS can store information about anything that can be represented by a location. For example, a ‘feature’ such as a trail or road can be represented in GIS as a line and information such as use, material, width, etc. can be stored as a record attached to this feature in the database.

A GIS can contain information about the natural world as well. For example, the landscape can be represented by a continuous grid of pixels in GIS. Each pixel can be assigned a value that characterizes that pixel’s location such as landcover type (e.g. tall alder shrub, spruce woodland, dwarf shrub-lichen) or elevation, usually determined by remote sensing or interpolation between sample sites.

Tools in GIS allow us to see and study spatial patterns and relationships between different kinds of data as well as select locations for sampling, construction projects, or management actions.

Some examples of how GIS is used at Katmai National Park include the following.

• The production of maps showing the park boundary, buildings, trails, roads, navigational routes, lakes, rivers, mountains, and other landscape features.
• To record location and track condition of park assets such as buildings, trails, roads, and utility lines.
• To record information about and map the location of sea bird colonies, bald eagle nests, invasive plant infestations, archaeological and paleontological sites, and signs of human visitation in the backcountry (fire rings, trash, tent sites).
• To study and monitor landscape change over time (vegetation, glacier extent)
• To study the relationship between animal movement or distribution and habitat condition.
• The creation of georeferenced aerial imagery that can be used for maps and to extract the location of features such as buildings, trails, roads, and campsites, and characterize landcover.
• The production of electronic maps showing moose survey area boundaries that park pilots use on their Garmin GPS’s or tablets for flying aerial surveys.
• To record information about and the locations of bears or moose during aerial wildlife surveys.
• To record information about and the location of coastal marine debris and dead bird surveys so park staff can return to the same location to resurvey.
• To study patterns of visitor use.
• To inform selection of sites for sampling, building, or resource surveys.
• Provide information to help managers determine the potential effect of management decisions on natural or cultural resources.
• Potentially, to help find a missing person or plane, by providing information to focus search efforts on likely areas.

More information on GIS in the National Park Service can be found here https://www.nps.gov/subjects/gisandmapping/gis-in-nps.htm


Some of the GIS data that National Park staff and partners collect is shared publicly through the following websites.

Katmai National Park’s, Alagnak Wild River’s, and Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve’s Exotic Plant surveys and data: https://aknhp.uaa.alaska.edu/apps/akepic/

Katmai National Park’s and Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve’s beached bird data and survey sites are included here: http://3.223.50.225:3838/Explore-data/ (COASST)

Katmai National Park’s seabird colony population survey data (has not been updated with recent results) is included here http://axiom.seabirds.net/maps/js/seabirds.php?app=north_pacific


Other sources of GIS data that are relevant to National Parks in Alaska include the following.

Crowd sourced plant and wildlife observation data: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations

Alaska Ocean Observing System, Data Resources: https://aoos.org/aoos-data-resources/

State of Alaska Open Data Geoportal: https://gis.data.alaska.gov/

NOAA CoastWatch (oceanographic data): https://coastwatch.pfeg.noaa.gov/data.html#

Benchmark locations and information: https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/NGSDataExplorer/