Project Proposal

 The Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy has recently opened land up the the public, the Schiffendecker Preserve in Glenmont. The goal of the Conservancy is to make this preserve attractive to the public and become useful to groups looking to promote outdoor activities, while still preserving natural ecosystems.

Project Objectives: In order to accomplish this a detailed map of the land and all the features within it needs to be created to help with the planning of the development of this land. It is my intention for the upcoming weeks to create a map that will accomplish this.
Methods:  I will utilize different components to help produce a final product. Data collected at the site location will be gathered using a GPS device and then transferred to a computer. ArcGIS will be the computer software I will use to manipulate the data and produce a final map. The ArcGIS software has a wide range of tools that will allow for the completion of professional grade map.
Work Plan: This project will be spread out over the next few weeks of the semester.
Week of October 24^th: This week will encompass communicating with the client (The Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy) and finalizing a project plan.
Week of October 31^st: The gathering GPS data will be accomplished by surveying the Schiffendecker Preserve and marking trails and locating special areas with a GPS unit.
Week of November 7^th: The continuation of data collection and gathering any final points of interest.
Week of November 14^th: The processing of all the data that was collected will take place. This will include the transferring of GPS data to the appropriate file types used in ArcGIS. A draft of the final map will be produced and be given to the client for review and any other notes.
Week of November 21^st: A more final draft of the map will be submitted to the client for approval or any notes on any other information that needs to be present. Discussion will be held over the final presentation of the map and what media the map will be distributed.
By the end of  November the Final map will complete and presented to the client.
Data Sources: Information will be gathered from a combination of Bing.maps (for an aerial photo) and individual data points gathered by GPS unit. Siena college Environmental Studies Department may also have information relevant for the location from previous year’s projects.
Final Product: At the conclusion of this project I will be able to present my client with a map that highlights the different features of the land, which includes: streams, trails, wetlands, flood plains, beaver ponds, steep sections of land as well as large open areas. From this map the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy can better understand the layout of the Schiffendecker Preserve and be able to plan out a way to sub-divide the land for future use.

Location of the Schiffendecker Preserve