Running Project Log for Fire Mountain GIS Mapping Project, April 4, 2001 to June 10th, 2001

Running Project Log for Fire Mountain GIS Mapping Project, April 4, 2001 to June 10^th, 2001

Chris Connell

Week 1:

4/4/01 3 - 5pm

Selected topic for GIS project – Fire Mountain BSA Project.
Looked over Data provided by C.K. Eidem to see what data exists.

4/5/01 7:30 - 8pm

Phone Conversation with C.K. Eidem to determine what types of features and attributes he was looking for to be included in this GIS project for the BSA.
It was determined that the following should be included (if available):

Land use practices
Utilities (water system, sewage, electric, phones)
Timber Information (stand type, cut date, stocking percentage)
Critical Areas (wetlands, stream buffers, etc.)
Property Information (parcel numbers, acreage)
Facilities (campsites, buildings, program areas, and infrastructure)
Physical Geography (hydrology, topography, vegetation, etc.)

4/6/01 3 - 4pm

Began to develop scope of project, goals, objectives, and criteria (brain storming).

Week 2:

4/9/01 4 - 5pm

Andy Freed and I sat down and began to develop our rough draft of the scope of out GIS project.
We began to expand upon and write up the ideas from the brainstorming session.

4/11/01 3 - 5pm

Updated Mission, Goals, Bounds, and other components of our projects scope, development of first draft of project.
Gave brief synopsis to class of our project, what we want to do, so that the class is aware of the project we are working on; also to provide insight form others as to things we could do to improve upon what our project would include and/or analyze.

4/13/01 1:30 – 2:30pm, 3 - 5pm

Met with C.K. Eidem at the Huxley Map Library to discuss our approach to the Fire Mountain BSA mapping project, to see if we were on the right track for what he is looking for, and to discuss possible analyses that can be performed with the data we collect; analysis that will help the camp make good planning decisions.
Possible Analyses include drain-field locations for buildings, developable/non-developable land based on soils, hydrology, and other features, and handicap accessibility within the camp.
C.K. provided us with more information (digital and paper forms) about data he has previously collected while attending Western, for his Senior Project: Forest Conservation Plan.
C.K. outlined the types of maps he is looking for, and indicated that some funding is available for information (if a fee is required to access data sets).
Worked on modifying our first draft of the project’s scope, and discussed in class the types of analysis we might perform with out GIS project.

Turned in our First Draft of the Project Scope to Pat Buckley.

Week 3:

4/16/01 3 - 5pm

Discussed with Pat and Gene our project, received feedback to improve upon our project’s Scope, and to help determine what our next step in the process should be.
Looked at internet for existing Data sources : www.gisdatadepot.com , UW GIS site http://wagda.lib.washington.edu/data/skagit/skagit.html, and at http://www.goggle.com looking for applicable information and other websites with datasets for inclusion in this project.

4/17/01 12 - 2pm

Looked for Buffers and Buffer restriction for Hydrology for Skagit County in the Skagit County Code at http://www.skagitcounty.net/offices/Plannig_And_Permit/gma/udc.toc.htm.

Wetland Buffers Riparian Buffers

Type I: 150 Feet Type I & II Streams: 200 Feet

Type II: 100 Feet Type III Streams: 100Feet

Type III: 50 Feet Type IV Streams: 50 Feet

Type IV: 25 Feet

Developed a tentative checklist of things to be included in our GIS project for Fire Mountain, indicating possible themes and attributes for those themes that we may want to include: Themes, Attributes, Database information, and Analysis.

4/18/01 3 - 6pm

Worked on developing a GOAL for the Fire Mountain BSA GIS Mapping Project, a task that took a lot of time and thinking to accomplish.
Submitted our Second Draft of our Project’s Scope to Pat Buckley for review and comment.
Worked on developing a data dictionary for GPS field data collection (using Talbot’s guide to working with the Trimble GeoExplorer GPS Units).

4/20/01 to 4/21/01 6pm – 4pm

Collected data at Fire Mountain Boy Scout Camp using GPS units.
Tried to capture as many features as possible, that time would allow for, which are to be included in the GIS project.

· GPS Data dictionary information can be viewed using this Link: Fire Mountain GPS #1

Week 4:

4/23/01 3 - 5pm

Developed plan for the week and turned it into Gene, because Pat disappeared somewhere.
Downloaded and converted GPS Data into ArcView shapefiiles using Talbot’s instructions for converting Rover files into Shapefiles.
Worked on trying to match the coordinate systems of GPS data to data provided by Skagit County from C.K. (problem is there is no metadata with the data, and the coordinate system is unknown).
Began developing a ProcLib for Creating a GPS Data Dictionary, based on Talbot’s instructions.

4/24/01 1-2pm

· Looked at the Fire Mountain Boy Scout Camp Website to see the types of information it might provide to aid in the development of this GIS, located at www.firemnt.org.

· Website gave information on facilities and campsite name and capacity information (differs a bit from what was observed in the field). Later I discussed this with C.K. and he said it was best to use the data provided from the Website, and to send him a copy of what we found so the camp can update the campsites during one of the work party weekends.

4/25/01 2 - 6:15pm

· Re-converted GPS data to Shapefiles. There was a problem when going form one computer to another with the GPS Shapefiles. There was missing database information. To remedy the problem, I went back to Pathfinder and re-converted the rover files and immediately displayed them into ArcView. Once in ArcView, I began to edit the tables for each theme, adding useful information not colleted in the field, and then converted those themes to new Shapefiles. This seems to have solved the problem, because the data comes up correctly every time.

· As mentioned earlier, I went through each table for each theme, and added extra information, for locations that were collected using the extra point and line data options. The dike, diversion dam, and inflow and outflow points data tables were updated to include name of feature, type of feature, and location of the feature, among other things.

· Discovered that Skagit County data available form the UW GIS Data Source (http://wagda.lib.washington.edu/data/skagit/skagit.html) was in SPC NAD 27, which allowed our GPS data to match up correctly with the County Data.

4/26/01 12:30 - 2pm

· Worked with Andy to swap and Merge GPS shapefiles. We wanted to get all our field data into one folder, and to remove any duplicate information that may have been collected

· Began to develop a list of other possible GPS data we may want to collect to add to the GIS project.

· The additional data we may want include the following:

Ø Campsites on west side of lake

Ø South and North Dikes

Ø Ranger Station/Hodag

Ø Flag Poles

Ø Other Buildings in main camp

Ø Bjorn’s Island

Ø Bridge in Kit Carson Field

Ø Rock Garden and Cultas (?)

Ø Crystal Falls (?)

Ø Campfire Bowl

Ø Forest Cover Types

Additional data we need includes soil data and data from paper maps

4/27/01 3 – 4:30pm, 5:30 – 7pm (map collection)

Worked on developing an abstract for the Scholars Week poster presentation.
Converted soils and management units (MU) provided by C.K. in Corel Draw to a .DXF file so it could be imported into ArcView and converted to Shapefiles.
Began developing ProcLibs for converting Corel Draw (.CDR) files to AutoCAD (.DXF) files, for importing the AutoCAD files into ArcView and Converting them to Shapefiles, and for using the Shape Warp Extension to rectify data without a projection to a known projection (for soils and management units).

Note: when creating polygons for Management Units, select the appropriate lines for each area and use Xtools Extension (lines to polygon option) to convert the selected lines to polygons.

Went to Fire Mountain and met with C.K. to get paper maps for forest cover, utilities (main camp), DNR roads, property and parcel data, and corrected hydrology.

Week 5:

4/30/01 2:15 – 9:00pm

· Created separate polygons for each of the management units and began to edit its database, but need more information from C.K. as to the types of information he wants entered into the database.

· Began writing proclib for merging themes

· Performed a little editing on the parcel map dataset and databse to see what other information might be needed, and to begin figuring out and remembering how to perform certain editing functions within ArcView using extensions and other editing features.

5/1/01 3:30 – 6:30pm

· Began to edit and modify the parcel data database: entered property owners, parcel identification numbers, addresses of owners, and other information provided from the parcel maps acquired on April 27^th, 2001 from C.K.

· Created a new data dictionary for GPS data collection to take place on Friday May 4^th, 2001. The data dictionary includes information on features and attributes we determined we still needed for this project. For a copy of the Data Dictionary, click on this link: Fire Mountain GPS_2

5/2/01 1 – 2pm, 3 – 9pm

Continued to work on developing the Parcel theme database.
Clipped original parcel map with the camp boundary theme, using geoprocessing wizard extension, to make it easier to enter the correct information for each parcel, and to ensure that all the camp’s property was included in the database.
Merged the Clipped camp property theme with the original parcel theme and began editing and adding information to the parcel theme database for those parcels not included within camp property.
Went into the new parcel data theme (after Merging) to edit and erase multiple entries created for the camp parcel dataset. To do this I used the selection tool to select a parcel of land, and then examined the database to determine which record had incomplete data, and then erased those records for each parcel of land.

Note: The parcel theme’s dataset only includes information on the properties surrounding the camp property, and information that was provided by the camp about those properties such as owner, land use, address, and parcel identification numbers.

5/3/01 4 – 8pm

Worked more on the database development for the parcel data theme. When using the Information tool in ArcView, I noticed that one parcel of camp property continually displayed three sets of information when selected. What I determined through trial and error, and some visual analysis of the parcel in question, is that the camp boundary cuts across a parcel of land, and the County Parcel Data we were using, did not show the ownership distinctions for that particular parcel. I also determined that when I merged the camp property parcel data with the original parcel data theme, is that it created multiple records for the parcel.
Used Union Features option under the Geoprocessing Wizard Extension to remedy the problem of having multiple and conflicting information for a particular land parcel. I also edited the theme table and removed the erroneous records for the parcel.

5/4/01 12 – 4pm

Went to Fire Mountain to collect additional GPS data for buildings, parking lots, and other information we were unable to collect during the previous data collection in the field at the camp. The data collected reflects the outcome of our inventory of additional data needed that we developed on April 26^th, 2001, as described above.

Week 6:

5/7/01 12:45 – 2:30pm

Transferred new GPS data to Pathfinder Office, corrected the data, and then exported the data to shapefiles in ArcView
Opened the GPS data themes in ArcView and immediately converted them to shapefiles to ensure that no data was lost, and that all themes were saved (to avoid the frustration of having to re-convert the GPS data, as experienced during the conversion of the first set of GPS data collected earlier during this project.
Began to divide and create new themes such as main camp, activity areas, using the newly acquired data, and started to edit and add some attributes to the databases for the newly acquired themes.
Continued to Edit the Parcel data theme to make sure that the information was correct, and that the required data was in the database.

5/9/01 1pm – 5pm

Worked on updating detailed project log.
Worked on developing and finishing ProcLibs for GPS Data Transfer and conversion into ArcView Shapefiles and converting AutoCAD (.DXF) files into ArcView shapefiles (.SHP).
Continued to separate new GPS files into appropriate themes such as Staff Area, Main Camp, Program Areas, Shooting Sports (mainly to continue categorizing the features based on similar components.

5/11/01

Andy provided bi-weekly report on the status of our project. I was not able to attend class due to a prior engagement.

Week 7:

5/14/01 12 – 5pm

· Worked on finishing management units database file and performed last minute editing on it

· Worked on creating new themes using old themes, and editing databases for each theme

· Gave my information to Andy and he provided me with his

· Met with gene and pat to discuss the status of our poster for the presentation

5/15/01 2 - 7pm

· Worked on some analysis of Outhouse locations based on hydrology, access to roads, and soil characteristics.

· Printed rough drafts of each analysis to see how well they explained themselves and to make any additional modifications prior to sending the maps to the color printer.

5/16/01 12:30 – 9:30pm

· Worked on poster and analysis for poster presentation.

· Created all supplemental information for the poster with Andy to be included on the poster.

5/17/01 1-2pm

· Scholars’ week presentation in the Science Lecture Hall main entrance.

Week 8:

5/21/01 2:30 – 7pm

· Finally acquired a version of the Cascade Orienteering Club Map to be used for Wetlands and Topography

· Opened the file in Corel Draw so that the map image could be rotated so it followed true north rather than magnetic north, and it was saved as a DXF

· Opened the file in ArcView after loading the Cad Reader extension

· Used shape warp to match the images up with the parcel data, so wetland information could be gathered

· Digitized all wetlands for the camp property, within the bounds of what the orienteering map covered (52)

· Also digitized other hydrologic features to compare with hydrology and NWI coverages

5/22/01 9pm – 12:30am

· Edited wetland and Management unit themes, paying particular attention that the lake polygons within each theme matched up (to avoid overlapping themes with same feature).

· Began writing metadata for the management unit theme

5/23/01 12:30pm – 7:30pm

· Merged wetlands and Management Units themes to create Management Unit 33.

· Finished writing metadata for Management Units theme

· Wrote metadata for Camp Boundary and Parcel Data themes

· Created trails and additional Roads theme for the camp, based on the data received from the Cascade Orienteering Club.

5/24/01 4 – 6pm

· Digitized additional trails into the trails theme that were not included with the Cascade Orienteering Club data. The additional data came from the Fire Mountain Scout Camp General Reference Map created by C.K. Eidem.

2/25/01 12 – 4pm

· Gave Pat our bi-weekly report of how far we are on the development of our project.

· Wrote metadata for Trails and wetlands.

· Began to digitize building locations based on our collected GPS Data and the DNR airphoto.

Week 9:

5/28/01 Memorial Day Observance

5/30/01 1:30 – 5:30pm

· Finished writing metatada for the following themes:

· Management Units (management_units.shp)

· Camp Boundary (camp_boundary.shp)

· Parcel Data (land_data.shp)

· Wetlands (wetlands.shp)

· Propane Tanks (propane.shp)

· Staff Area (Staff_Area.shp)

· Hodag (Hodag.shp)

· Main Camp (main_camp.shp)

· Trails (Trails.shp)

· Re-checked each metadata file to make sure that no data was lost, especially the source lineage data (which often times is lost when creating new sources in the metadata collection tool.)

5/31/01 3 – 6:30pm

· Wrote and finished metedata for the following themes:

· Wood sheds (Wood_Shed.shp)

· OA Site (OA_Site.shp)

· Shooting Sports (Shooting_Sports.shp)

· Brownsea Area (Brownseaarea.shp)

· Bridge (Bridge.shp)

· Flag Poles (Fleg_Poles.shp)

· Fire Pits (Fire_Pits.shp)

6/1/01 12 – 4pm

· Went through all metadata themes that I created and edited them for errors (mis-spellings, wrong information, missing sources, ect.)

· Wrote metadata for

· Dikes (dikes.shp)

· Parking lots (parking.shp)

· Continued working on ProcLibs and updating Running Log.

Week 10:

6/4/01 2-5pm

· Worked on completing ProcLibs developed for use during this project.

· Edited trails theme to include additional information in database.

6/6/01 2-6pm

· Worked on developing drain field analysis

· Selected soils with good to moderate drainage and permeability and converted them to shape files

· Created hydrologic buffers on all streams

o 200 foot buffer on type 1 & 2

o 100 foot buffer on type 3

o 50 foot buffer on type 4

· Created wetland buffers of 100 feet

· Erased features that included stream buffers and wetland buffers as areas that are not suitable for drain fields

· Updated management units theme so it more accurately matched up with the forest cover/ vegetation theme created by Andy. Originally the Air photo was used to create and designate the management units, so it would make sense to have the management units correspond to the forest cover theme, as it was created based on the Air Photo.

6/7/01 3:30-5pm

· Finished creating themes for drain field analysis

· Soils with good to moderate drainage and good permeability

· Soils with 0% to 15% slope

· 100 foot wetland buffers

· stream buffers (as described above)

· Began to tinker with layouts to display drainage analysis

· Modified trails coverage so they matched up with roads theme; basically I edited the trails theme so trails met up with roads, as they do in the field.

6/8/01 1pm – 5pm

· Worked on final poster presentation for Wednesday

· Wrote metadata for the drain field analysis coverage

Finals Week:

6/11/01 12:30 – 3pm

· Compiled layout for drain field analysis map for the presentation.

6/12/01 6-11pm

· Worked on updating conclusion, analysis, and other information for the final project.

· Re-created the drain field analysis layout and saved as a JPEG

· Updated the project log

6/13/01 3:30 – 5:30 pm

· Present the results, analysis, and completed information required for our GIS project to the class in the form of a Final Presentation.

· Andy and I provided all the required information to Pat and Gene on C.D.