Integrating GIS and GPS into Cultural Resource Management

1
Integrating GIS and GPS into Cultural Resource
Management

• Federal Training Work Group
• January 2004
• Cultural Resources GIS Facility

2
Large-Scale Landscape Documentation

• The Congressionally mandated Revolutionary
  War/War of 1812 Preservation study identified
  2,742 battles or associated historic properties
• 811 principal battlefields and properties were
  surveyed, spanning 31 states and DC
• Surveyors evaluated the current condition of and
  potential threats to each resource
• Based on the field surveys and research
  conducted, recommendations for the protection of
  these resources will be made to the NPS and the
  Secretary of the Interior
• In such a large survey, GIS and GPS were critical
  tools throughout the project
• Surveyors, trained in GIS and GPS technologies,
  used GPS to map the battlefield defining
  features, locations of troop positions, photo
  points, associated historic properties and other
  important resources

• Surveyors used GIS to draw boundaries for each
  battlefield and associated historic property
• We will use the GIS to overlay the boundaries
  with land use/land cover images and other data to
  assess how much acreage remains of these
  resources
• The data can further be used in with detailed
  parcel information to help local planners better
  protect these landscapes

3
Working with State and Local Partners

• Building on the methods we have generated to
  document battlefields and other cultural
  landscapes, we are working to integrate GIS and
  GPS into HALS projects
• In Whitesbog, New Jersey, we are documenting a
  2000 acre cranberry bog, its historic water
  transportation systems and the entire engineered
  landscape of the property

• Using GPS, we documented the locations of the
  bogs, canals, dams, sluice gates, roads and other
  key landscape elements
• Using this locational information, the GIS will
  tie together measured drawings of specific areas,
  aerial photographs, historic maps and other
  documents
• The end product of the project will be the
  digital data itself, delivered to the NJ State
  Forest GIS staff and the Whites Bog Preservation
  Trust

4
Working with Regional Partners

• With GIS and GPS we can build on the traditional
  HABS documentation methodologies, creating
  resource management tools for larger regions,
  taking advantage of this wealth of existing data

Cultural landscape boundaries

• The Cane River National Heritage Area,
  encompassing many Nationally recognized historic
  sites, and crossing many Federal, State and local
  jurisdictions, has been heavily documented
• GIS can locate individual resources, link the
  existing documentation and provide background
  information
• Together, this information with the powerful
  analysis tools in a GIS, allows managers to
  better care for each resource individually

Sites documented by HABS
5
Working with Other Federal Agencies

• CRGIS is working to bring the existing HABS/HAER
  covered bridge documentation to the internet.
• Creating an interactive database to allow the
  covered bridge community to update the World
  Guide to Covered Bridges information, link
  photos, drawings, websites and other information
  brings the documentation to the public

• Additionally, CRGIS will map the locations of the
  covered bridges through a web-based GIS
• Users of the web page will be able to query the
  database, but also the spatial data, providing
  new ways to visualize HABS/HAER documentation
• The end product will be an interactive web page,
  hosted by the Federal Highway Administration,
  where users can update bridge information, search
  the database, find locational information and
  make comments about individual bridges

6
Larger Initiatives

• The NPS is a Federal Agency, producing spatial
  data that describes cultural resources, and
  therefore must follow specific rules outlined by
  OMB Circular A-16
• Data we produce is part of the National Spatial
  Data Clearinghouse and must follow the standards
  produced by the Federal Geographic Data Committee
• Recently revised, Circular A-16 designates the
  NPS as the lead agency for cultural resources,
  responsible for the stewardship of the data, and
  establishing cultural resource spatial data
  standards

• assess existing standards and identify needs
• develop and implement FGDC standards
• develop plan for the implementation of standards
  and population of the data set
• collect and analyze information regarding user
  needs
• publish data online