Article: University of Tennessee at Chattanooga helps map the future

The Community Resource Mapper, a new development resource for planners, was hardly a one-man job.

Andrew Carroll, manager of geographic information systems at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, put together the natural resources and land use project with Dr. Joey Shaw, an assistant professor in the school’s biological and environmental sciences department, and research assistant Lucas Ridley. But they were hardly alone.

Along with UTC, which provided the development of geodatabases and online programming, partners in the Community Resource Mapper include the Southeast Watershed Forum, NBII SAIN, Informational International Associates, the Land Trust Alliance and the Southeast Aquatic Resource Partnership.

Scott Robinson, coordinator of the Southeast Aquatic Resource Partnership, said it would have been extremely difficult for the public to know where to look to find reports and then to dig out all the information available in the online map.

“This is a great compilation of information,” he said. “It’s a very public tool, and we are proud to be a part of it.”

But Mr. Carroll said individuals may be interested in the types of resources on their property or in their community.

While he said most of the data came from public and private sources, UTC worked with the Southeast Watershed Forum and the Land Trust Alliance to create one of the maps — an inventory of conservation or public lands (essentially, protected green spaces).

Mr. Carroll said the entirety of the mapping data is constantly being maintained and updated. In fact, he said, the partners in the mapping are presently working with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to add yet another interactive map.

Financial support for the project also was received from Merck Family Fund, TVA, the World Wildlife Fund and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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