On December 10, 2009, the Hudson River Watershed Alliance, in partnership with the Hudson Valley Regional Council, unveiled a new mapping service that will help local decision makers and watershed groups better understand the environmental resources in their communities. The Hudson River Watershed Atlas is a regional online mapping service designed to enable users to visualize, explore, assess and better understand the natural resources and built systems of the Hudson River Estuary watershed. The Atlas can be found at www.hudsonwatershed.org .
“The Watershed Atlas is an interesting and informative tool for the people of the Hudson Valley to explore their local streams, rivers, and natural resources, and to further understand how their local resources fit within the context of the greater Hudson River watershed,” said Scott Cuppett, Watershed Program Coordinator for the Hudson River Estuary Program of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. John Crews, Executive Director of the Hudson Valley Regional Council, said “I think this is a great example of the effectiveness of public benefits organizations like the Regional Council and the Watershed Alliance coming together and partnering in an effort to deliver a tool such as “Atlas” that will add to our collective quality of life here in the Hudson Valley Region.”
The Atlas is built using an Adobe PDF platform, which allows users to select from a menu of 28 informative data layers to customize their own map. There are a total of 20 map panels that together provide geographic coverage of the Hudson River Estuary watershed. Each panel includes 25 different data layers which can be independently turned on and off, with three different possible background layers. Examples of data layers include, among others, streams, hydric soils, wetlands, FEMA floodplains, potential environmental justice areas, MS4 communities, lakes and ponds, fishing and public access points.
We really tried to pack as much information and data into the Atlas as possible, while at the same time not requiring extensive technical training or special software downloads. That being said, this service will work best on newer computers that have the most recent version of free Adobe software. The maps may take a few minutes to download, but once downloaded, there is a wealth of information that can be gleaned from the Atlas. Through this project, we hope to increase understanding and awareness of how watersheds function at the local level.
“The data, information, maps and tool-sets provided through this geospatial portal should fill a unique and useful niche for citizen scientists, land managers and decision makers within the Hudson Valley,” said John Mickelson, technical consultant on the project and Principal of Geospatial and Ecological Services. “It is my hope that our regions’ volunteers groups, planning, conservation commissions, and small municipalities will find their jobs just a little bit easier and their work just a bit more effective as a result of our project.”
The Hudson River Watershed Atlas can be accessed at www.hudsonwatershed.org . The Hudson Valley Regional Council obtained a grant in 2007 to enhance the capacity of the Hudson River Watershed Alliance and to undertake several projects. The Watershed Atlas has been funded in part by a grant from the New York State Environmental Protection Fund through the Hudson River Estuary Program of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
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On December 10, 2009, the Hudson River Watershed Alliance, in partnership with the Hudson Valley Regional Council, unveiled a new mapping service that will help local decision makers and watershed groups better understand the environmental resources in their communities. The Hudson River Watershed Atlas is a regional online mapping service designed to enable users to visualize, explore, assess and better understand the natural resources and built systems of the Hudson River Estuary watershed. The Atlas can be found at www.hudsonwatershed.org .
“The Watershed Atlas is an interesting and informative tool for the people of the Hudson Valley to explore their local streams, rivers, and natural resources, and to further understand how their local resources fit within the context of the greater Hudson River watershed,” said Scott Cuppett, Watershed Program Coordinator for the Hudson River Estuary Program of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. John Crews, Executive Director of the Hudson Valley Regional Council, said “I think this is a great example of the effectiveness of public benefits organizations like the Regional Council and the Watershed Alliance coming together and partnering in an effort to deliver a tool such as “Atlas” that will add to our collective quality of life here in the Hudson Valley Region.”
The Atlas is built using an Adobe PDF platform, which allows users to select from a menu of 28 informative data layers to customize their own map. There are a total of 20 map panels that together provide geographic coverage of the Hudson River Estuary watershed. Each panel includes 25 different data layers which can be independently turned on and off, with three different possible background layers. Examples of data layers include, among others, streams, hydric soils, wetlands, FEMA floodplains, potential environmental justice areas, MS4 communities, lakes and ponds, fishing and public access points.
We really tried to pack as much information and data into the Atlas as possible, while at the same time not requiring extensive technical training or special software downloads. That being said, this service will work best on newer computers that have the most recent version of free Adobe software. The maps may take a few minutes to download, but once downloaded, there is a wealth of information that can be gleaned from the Atlas. Through this project, we hope to increase understanding and awareness of how watersheds function at the local level.
“The data, information, maps and tool-sets provided through this geospatial portal should fill a unique and useful niche for citizen scientists, land managers and decision makers within the Hudson Valley,” said John Mickelson, technical consultant on the project and Principal of Geospatial and Ecological Services. “It is my hope that our regions’ volunteers groups, planning, conservation commissions, and small municipalities will find their jobs just a little bit easier and their work just a bit more effective as a result of our project.”
The Hudson River Watershed Atlas can be accessed at www.hudsonwatershed.org . The Hudson Valley Regional Council obtained a grant in 2007 to enhance the capacity of the Hudson River Watershed Alliance and to undertake several projects. The Watershed Atlas has been funded in part by a grant from the New York State Environmental Protection Fund through the Hudson River Estuary Program of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.