National Forest Foundation: Wildfire Modeling

| Kevin McMaster

The National Forest Foundation (NFF) was chartered by Congress and created with a simple mission: bring people together to restore and enhance our National Forests and Grasslands. Part of this nonprofit mission includes planning for wildfires and mitigating their impact by understanding fire behavior across a landscape. SymGEO was honored to partner with the NFF to explore wildfire modeling approaches and analytical results by combining GIS data processing with the Interagency Fuel Treatment Decision Support System (IFTDSS). The results of this project will help inform internal planning efforts and future studies.

The project area was located in Flathead National Forest, Montana, and was approximately 250,000 acres in size. Extensive modeling was performed using IFTDSS to determine how effective different landscape treatments were at varying treatment patch area sizes and total coverage amounts. Conceptually, treating fewer large patches would be more effective than treating a greater number of small patches distributed across the landscape (based on wildfire behavior). However, determining the level of effectiveness required landscape modeling and statistical analysis. Similarly, other relationships were explored, such as what is the relationship between the total treatment area and treatment effectiveness? Does a 10% coverage result in a 10% decrease in modeled wildfire results? What happens at 50% coverage? Only one way to find out!

GIS processing using ArcGIS Pro was used to screen out areas that couldn’t be treated based on slope, canopy cover, distance to streams, fire return interval, and several other factors. Tesselated grids were then developed at scales ranging from 100-acre patches up to 5,000-acre patches and fit into the treatable areas.

Average flame length was measured for untreated base conditions and then used to measure the effectiveness of treatment options.

Initial results indicate that measurable differences were observed across treatment types, treatment patch sizes, and treatment total coverage areas.

“SymGEO provided expert guidance around the analytical approach to explore fire resiliency GIS modeling. The IFTDSS modeling they provided was appreciated along with the framework to help the National Forest Foundation continue this important endeavor. They are excellent to work with and highly engaged in the process.“

– GIS Program Developer, National Forest Foundation

Talk to SymGEO today if your organization wants to explore data modeling processes and analytical results using ArcGIS Pro together – we are certified experts and here to help.

Preservation Society of Charleston Site Dashboards

| Kevin McMaster

The Preservation Society of Charleston (PSC) is a nonprofit organization established in 1920, dedicated to the preservation and enjoyment of the distinct character, quality of life, and diverse neighborhoods in Charleston, South Carolina. To assist in these efforts, SymGEO partnered with PSC to build a pair of project dashboards to feature their Charleston Justice Journey (CJJ) and Historic Marker program sites. The dashboards were built using ArcGIS Dashboards technology and designed to be mobile responsive for information on the go.

The Charleston Justice Journey (CJJ) project was launched in 2019 to recognize sites significant to African American history and the ongoing journey toward racial equality in Charleston and the Lowcountry. This online research and mapping initiative is a growing resource for deepening our collective understanding of people, institutions, movements, and events that shaped the course of the region’s civil rights history. Through this project, PSC is partnering with the community to elevate the full narrative of Charleston’s history.

The Historic Marker program was established in 1959, with well over one hundred markers placed around the city so far. The PSC sought to create a digital database of markers, that would be a resource for Charlestonians and visitors alike, with baseline stats and photographs of the markers, properties, historical photographs, drawings, and other information related to associated historical figures and events. Using the PSC Historic Marker Database, members of the public can create their own walking tour, research from afar, and learn more about the city’s vibrant cultural and architectural history.

“SymGEO played a key role in helping us build both of these important digital platforms. After listening carefully to our goals and answering every one of our questions, they helped us create two distinct interactive platforms that are user-friendly, informative, and advance our mission to protect and make Charleston’s cultural and architectural fabric more accessible to all.”

– Preservation Coordinator, Preservation Society of Charleston

Talk to SymGEO today if your organization would like to feature projects or sites using the power of Esri’s ArcGIS Online platform – we are certified experts and here to help.

One Tree Planted Projects Site

| Kevin McMaster

To complement our donor portal with One Tree Planted, SymGEO is pleased to announce a new project impact site experience that tracks the progress and positive environmental benefits of One Tree Planted nonprofit projects to date and features a data-driven dashboard using ArcGIS Dashboards. The dashboard has all current project metrics and locations that can be filtered by project type, status, location, or impact.

The site also features:

An interactive map that reveals the millions of trees planted around the world,

A deep dive into several project-specific stories showcasing the environmental benefits of planting trees,
A Forest Note video series that shows all the dedicated, determined work that goes into successful tree planting projects.

“The impact portal of global reforestation projects provides users with an immersive experience to navigate and better understand the impact One Tree Planted is having around the globe. Through interactive maps and insightful data visualization, it empowers users to witness the collective impact of reforestation efforts, fostering a deeper connection with the worldwide initiative to restore and preserve our planet’s vital ecosystems.“

– Geospatial Systems Manager, One Tree Planted

Talk to SymGEO today if your organization would like to feature projects or impacts using the power of Esri’s ArcGIS Online platform – we are certified experts and here to help.

Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Hubsite

| Kevin McMaster

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy seeks to improve quality of life through the effective use, taxation, and stewardship of land. As a nonprofit private operating foundation whose origins date to 1946, the Lincoln Institute researches and recommends creative approaches to land as a solution to economic, social, and environmental challenges. Through education, training, publications, and events, they integrate theory and practice to inform public policy decisions worldwide.

SymGEO partnered with the Lincoln Institute to build an internal, central ArcGIS Hub platform and support five of their Centers and Initiatives. This involved curating and displaying authoritative data layers detailing resource equity, population demographics, historic redlining information, land zoning information, and historic city spending and revenue information among others.

Configurable applications, including ArcGIS Dashboards and web applications, were built to facilitate the exploration of data and visualization of analytical results.

“SymGEO has the unique ability to distill content into compelling visual geospatial products and narratives that tell a story and help track impacts. They are very proactive, responsive, great communicators, and can spin up apps quickly as proof of concepts that help with design decision-making. It has been a great experience working with them collaboratively, and I highly recommend SymGEO as a geospatial solution expert.”

– Director, Partnerships and Strategy, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Talk to SymGEO today if your organization would like to build a central spatial data hub framework using the power of Esri’s ArcGIS Online platform – we are certified experts and here to help.

One Tree Planted Donor Portal

| Kevin McMaster

One Tree Planted wants to make it simple for anyone to help the environment by planting trees. By partnering with 680+ organizations across 80+ countries, they have restored forests, created habitats for biodiversity, and made a positive social impact around the world by planting over 100 Million trees! Learn more about the critical importance of their nonprofit mission in the following educational video.

Keeping track of the positive impact of 680+ partners can be a daunting task. Fortunately, through a collaborative effort with SymGEO, One Tree Planted built an interactive Donor Portal prototype that helps communicate project-specific information to funding partners. The portal was designed so that each partner will have their own specific page, featuring just the projects that their funding helped to support. The donor portal was built using ArcGIS Experience Builder, and leverages Dashboards, StoryMaps, and embedded content to provide data transparency and inspiration.

Projects are geo-located to show the global breadth of a partner’s funding impact.

Project-specific information is presented upon selection with links to the detailed project report.

Projects are also displayed on a dedicated mapping page and can be searched by name or geography.

The map links to a detailed project dashboard with key information and a virtual fly-through of each planting site.

The report section of the portal links to the most recent planting report, highlighting key achievements of the year.

The monitoring section uses before and after imagery to convey the landscape scale impact of the planting projects and details the methods used to monitor and ensure planting success.

“The impact of the prototype on our donors was nothing short of astounding. Collaborating with SymGEO to craft a functional prototype during the feedback-gathering phase proved instrumental in cultivating a comprehensive catalog of requisites across all donors.”

– Geospatial Systems Manager, One Tree Planted

Talk to SymGEO today if your organization would like to feature projects or impacts using the power of Esri’s ArcGIS Online platform – we are certified experts and here to help.

APTA Industry Footprint Update

| Kevin McMaster

Public transportation is a $79 billion industry that employs 430,000 people and supports millions of private-sector jobs. As the public transportation industry advocacy leader, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is dependent on accurate, current data to help inform critical decisions of their nonprofit work. The newly updated Industry Footprint is designed to collect, analyze, and present key statistics at national, state, and local levels. This application, produced in collaboration with our development partners at GeoMarvel, provides insight into APTA membership, public transportation providers, transit service, manufacturing and supply chain, and congressional/legislative contact information. Learn more about all the innovative platform enhancements in the APTA Industry Footprint Storymap.

“The SymGEO team worked on a tight schedule to deliver a series of impressive updates and fixes to our existing application, including a whole visual re-imagining. We are excited to work on even more innovations to the tool going forward together.”

– APTA Senior Director, Policy Development and Research

Would a custom mapping application like this be useful to your organization? Talk to our solution experts today about your unique GIS needs, the SymGEO team is here to help!

DC Trail Ranger QuickCapture

| Kevin McMaster

Trail Rangers are a consistent and helpful presence on DC’s mixed-use, paved trails, charged with assisting trail users, improving trail conditions, and working with local agencies to keep the trails clean, bright, and clear of obstacles. This amazing nonprofit program, run by the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA), is made possible through a grant from the District Department of Transportation’s Urban Forestry Division, and was featured in the Esri case study “GIS-Driven Initiatives Promote Active Transportation in Washington, DC“.

To help facilitate the data collection process and quantify work efforts, SymGEO was pleased to configure and deploy an ArcGIS QuickCapture application for the DC Trail Ranger team. Every trail service, maintenance task, work order request, or trail-side event is now captured by location with optional notes or photographs and tagged to the appropriate trail.

To assist with task management, the collected data was used to populate an internal ArcGIS Dashboard that lists all tasks and events by Trail Ranger and the date of the event. A public-facing version of the dashboard allows great visibility into all the activities undertaken by the Trail Rangers to better DC’s collective trail experience.

“As a field team that does a wide variety of outreach and maintenance tasks, ArcGIS QuickCapture has been great for record-keeping and storytelling of program impact. I can confidently say that staff stopped to sweep up broken glass in February 97 times!”

– Trail Ranger and Outreach Director, Washington Area Bicyclist Association

Talk to SymGEO industry experts today if your agency or organization is interested in data collection with the power of Esri’s ArcGIS QuickCapture technology – we are an award-winning, certified Esri business partner and are here to help.

APTA’s New Industry Footprint Platform

| Kevin McMaster

Public transportation is a $74 billion industry that employs 435,000 people and supports millions of private-sector jobs. As the public transportation industry advocacy leader, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is dependent on accurate, current data to help inform critical decisions of their nonprofit work. The all-new Industry Footprint is designed to collect, analyze, and present key statistics at national, state, and local levels. This application, produced in collaboration with our development partners at GeoMarvel, provides insight into APTA membership, public transportation providers, transit service, manufacturing and supply chain, and congressional/legislative contact information.

“We are happy with the results of our partnership with SymGEO. They produced a website that equals our ambition and stature as an association.”

– APTA Director of Policy Research and Development

National-level statistics and APTA membership overview are provided on the homepage of the Footprint platform. Navigation links in the header help direct the audience to the section of interest. The top-level summary narrative for each section explains the importance of that component. Search functionality enables the audience to find a person, state, or legislative district of interest. Upon search, the local infographic “map” section is opened to explore in greater detail.

Search functional is enabled for legislators, states, APTA members, and committees in the upper-left corner. Selecting a search result will update the map with the associated geographic area and associated statistics. Map controls include the ability to turn on or off layers of interest, search for a location, switch the basemap, and zoom controls. Quick layer selection is provided to switch between state, congressional, or legislative geographies.

If a state is selected or the map is clicked upon, legislative information opens in the left-hand panel. This searchable section provides easy access to contact information for policymakers throughout the nation.

Upon selection of a search result or clicking on a map area, statistics and summary infographics are generated to help characterize the geographic selection. This information is compiled in a print-ready format, designed to help inform and energize a policy discussion for that geographic area.

Would a custom mapping application like this be useful to your organization? Talk to our solution experts today about your unique GIS needs, the SymGEO team is here to help!

APTA Industry Footprint

| Kevin McMaster

The SymGEO team was honored to redesign the flagship custom mapping application for the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) called the Industry Footprint. This application is designed to explore APTA membership, public transportation providers, transit service, manufacturing and supply chain, and congressional / legislative information. There is a wealth of information packed into one application!

The newly modernized Industry Footprint first begins with a look at APTA membership and transportation provider data at the national scale. It’s not easy making intuitive sense of thousands of data points, but fortunately, there are visualization tools designed to help. SymGEO uses a novel cartographic predominance approach that shows the relative number of members and dominant industry category in each congressional district with a firefly symbology effect to give it a pleasing glow.

“The SymGEO team worked on a tight schedule to deliver a series of impressive updates and fixes to our existing application, including a whole visual re-imagining. We are excited to work on even more innovations to the tool going forward together.”

– APTA Senior Director, Policy Development and Research

State-wide information is provided upon zoom-in and includes details about the many APTA members, providers, bus and rail service areas, manufacturing supply chain, and legislative representative information. Most of these data sets required updates as part of this project, and several had broken over time as congressional data APIs had changed since the first version of this tool. This required extensive code logic updates and re-writes by our fantastic development partner, GeoMarvel, and included many stylistic and responsive updates to match the new modern design comps from our design partner.

There are several search options available to help users find the information they are looking for and create the perfect map for their report or policy advocacy for their nonprofit work. For the detailed legislative information, users can locate their area of interest and select a congressional district or an upper / lower house state legislative district. Contact information is provided for the appropriate representative as well as a snap-shot of transit facts and membership data pertinent to that area.

Print-ready interactive reports are also offered for the convenience of researchers who need to share their findings with others, either as digital pdfs or hard-copy prints.

Finally, the application was redesigned for a fluid and responsive mobile experience. This allows data access on the go, in a meeting, or wherever needed.

Talk to our mapping application experts today if you have an aging custom application that needs some modern TLC – the SymGEO team is here to help!