In this episode, we will explore how wetland managers and scientists are utilizing and accessing GIS tools and data sets to predict, model, monitor, and delineate wetlands. We will take a look in the Arc Hydro toolbox at the Hydroperiod tool, as well as see how scientists are using the new US Army Corps of Engineers Antecedent Precipitation Tool (APT) to simplify project area rainfall analysis.

Panelists:
Sandra Fox, MS, GISP Sr. Project Manager, St. Johns River Water Management District
Bakari Powell, Hydrologist III, St. Johns River Water Management District
Allen Ingram, Project Consultant, Spirit Environmental Consulting
Jacqueline Smolik, PWS, Project Manager, Spirit Environmental Consulting
Dean Djokic, Water Resources Practice Manager, Esri

Topics:
Introduction to powerful GIS tools and data sets for predicting, modeling, monitoring, and delineating wetlands
How to locate and find data for your projects
Arc Hyro Hydroperiod tool use to determine wetland areas susceptible to reduced inundation from proposed water withdrawals.
Explore the new USACE Antecedent Precipitation Tool (APT) for simplification of project area rainfall analysis now required for a wetland delineations as described in the updated Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR)
Q&A with Jeremy, Daniel, and our panelists/presenters

More from Jeremy:
As an ecologist conducting wetlands delineations, threatened & endangered species surveys, and baseline ecological inventories for over 17 years around the world, I have been able to avoid the rise of tech for many years more than people in most other professions, due to the lack of quality tools available to environmental scientists. It is the 21st century, however, and the wheel of innovation is rolling through every profession, including earth sciences.
In this webinar, we will discuss how it is essential that tech be simple, intuitive, and shaped by scientists. We need technology that wraps and enhances our existing methodologies and protocols. Our shared vision as scientists is that good technology should be almost invisible and is not simply a transference of inefficiency from one process to another. The wrong kind of technology just adds to the stresses of balancing conservation and monitoring with permitting and state and federal changes in the legal jurisdiction of water bodies.
Data collection and analysis are the foundation for the creation of knowledge, and knowledge leads to the protection of our natural resources while enabling economic progress. The right kind of technology gets out of the scientist’s way and allows for a greater percentage of attention and focus on the creation of this critical knowledge. In this webinar series, we discuss technology trends in the wetland science community from GPS collectors, field equipment, drones, data collection applications, digitization of the regulatory review process, with the goal-setting a high bar of expectations for new technologies that are becoming part of our everyday workflows.

The Ecobot Podcast is edited and produced by Earfluence.