LAB 8 - Mapping the Station Fire in ArcGIS

This week's lab focused on the Station Fire in Angeles National Forest that occurred during August/September of 2009. The aspect that I have chosen to base my final lab on is the impact of the Station Fire on Significant Ecological Areas (SEA) and Sensitive Environmental Resource Areas (SERA) in the regions that were affected by the fire. I hypothesized that due to the fire's vast size and giant wake of destruction, it would have destroyed much of the SEAs and SERAs as it raged through the Angeles National Forest.


FIGURE 1

Source: http://inciweb.org/incident/maps/large/1856/1/

The Los Angeles Station Fire of 2009 was one of the most destructive fires in the history of the Angeles National Forest burning 161,189 acres of land, destroying 209 structures, and claiming the lives of 2 firefighters (Figure 1); the source of the fire was investigated and found to be the result of arson (1). Following the disastrous fire, the US Forest Service began to be the focus of some newspapers as people looked for someone ir something to blame. The main argument was that the US Forest Service had failed to clear the underbrush which contributed to the size and voracity of the fire thus inhibiting the fire fighters from containing it before it wreaked havoc on the region. However, the US Forest Service fired back stating, "the Station Fire is not the fault of federal land managers, firefighters, or environmental laws," said Richard Halsey, director of the California Chaparral Institute. "Huge wildfires will occur in Southern California regardless of how the government 'manages' its lands. They are an inevitable part of life here" (2). Additionally, recent estimates from USGS indicate there are approximately 10,000 acres of fuel treatments and more than 160 miles of fuel breaks within the Station Fire perimeter. In addition to this, many non-native plants have invaded the forest having the effect of increasing the flammability of the vegetation and landscape. Figure 2 maps the progression of the fire at different times throughout the duration of the Station Fire. The yellow color denotes the fire at its earliest stages in the early morning of August 29th and is followed by a light orange, then a dark orange, and finally a red color indicating the cumulative damage of the 2009 Station Fire. The dark grey lines on the map mark the state highways and should be used a reference point for the size and location of the fire.


FIGURE 2

The Los Angeles County GIS Data Portal defines Sensitive Environmental Resource Areas as regions that "show environmentally sensitive areas or watersheds that are meant to be undisturbed or have significant building restrictions" (3). In Figure 3, these areas appear as the blue regions on the map below. The concept of "Significant Ecological Areas" is unique to Los Angeles County who adopted the idea as part of the General Plan for the County. These regions are indicated in Figure 3 as the dark green regions. An area qualifies for recognition as an SEA if it possesses one or more of the following features, or classes:

1. Is the habitat of rare, endangered, or threatened plant or animal species.
2. Represents biotic communities, vegetative associations, or habitat of plant or animal species that are either one-of-a-kind, or are restricted in distribution on a regional basis.
3. Represents biotic communities, vegetative associations, or habitat of plant or animal species that are either one-of-a-kind, or are restricted in distribution in Los Angeles County.
4. Is habitat that at some point in the life cycle of a species or group of species, serves as a concentrated breeding, feeding, resting, or migrating grounds, and is limited in availability
5. Represents biotic resources that are of scientific interest because they are either an extreme in physical/geographical limitations, or they represent an unusual variation in a population or community.
6. Is an area important as game species habitat or as fisheries.
7. Is an area that would provide for the preservation of relatively undisturbed examples of the natural biotic communities in Los Angeles County.
8. Is a special area, worthy of inclusion, but one which does not fit any of the other seven criteria (4).

FIGURE 3

The damaging effects of the worst fire in the history of the Angeles National Forest are evident even today as the region tries to recover. As seen in the map above, the fire did not actually reach any of the Significant Ecological Areas nor Sensitive Environmental Resource Areas despite its massive size. This, however, did not prevent these regions from suffering losses as a result of the State Fire. The US Forest Service outlined the impacts and threats of the fire as follows:

• Ecosystem functionality through loss of vegetation, increased watershed response, and altered hydrologic regimes (i.e., increased debris flows and erosion, flash flooding, etc. – especially in stream channels). 
• Wildlife resources (animals and their habitat) through lack of vegetative cover, compromised water quality and quantity, increased spread of non-native species, loss of individuals, and potential loss of viability due to isolated populations. 
• Imperiled wildlife species native to the area either lost or stand to lose one of their last places of refuge in the world through habitat modification, increased watershed response, and exposure to new sources of threat. Species include the California condor, mountain yellow-legged frog, Santa Ana sucker, and other riparian species. 
• Heritage resources (archaeological and cultural) through increased erosion, vandalism, and potential for looting. 
• Botanical resources (plants) through watershed disturbances, threat from non-native, invasive plants, and increased unauthorized access. 
• Forested landscapes:  37,000 acres of the burn area supported forests of pine, fir, oak and other hardwood tree species.  Of these fire-impacted forested acres, 11,000 acres will not return to a forested status without human intervention. 
• Human life and property through debris flows, rock fall, flooding, hazard trees, and exposure to hazardous materials discovered after the fire (6).

Essentially, regardless of the fire's perimeter avoiding the actual SEAs and SERAs, the wildlife, resources, and general ecology of the region was impacted negatively. The cumulative area burned in the fire came extremely close to the border of one of the SEAs, however, I believe the firefighters were instructed to protect this area and were therefore posted along the perimeter of the Significant Ecological Area in order to prevent it from succumbing to the flames. The effects of this fire are still evident as the vegetation attempts to regrow and replenish. The fire was extremely hot and damaged not only the forest that it touched, but flora and fauna miles around suffered the consequences from this deadly fire. Figure 4 is an photograph taken in 2011 depicting how the forest has bounced back from the Station Fire of 2009. While there is substantial growth, the effects of the fire can still be clearly seen in the image. The charred remains of once magnificent trees atop the new growth of secondary forest is a familiar scene to visitors of the forest.


FIGURE 4

Source: Griffith Park Wayist

There is a light at the end of the tunnel for this seemingly unsolvable problem. The Forest Service in partnership with the National Forest System has developed a strategy to manage the rehabilitation of the Angeles National Forest. The Station Fire Restoration Strategy (SFRS) is a step-by-step plan for the Forest System to follow in order to achieve the ecological recovery goals outlined in the strategy. The objectives of the SFRS are to: 

1. Restore the ecosystem and human-made infrastructure (for example, recreation facilities) within the burned area to a better condition than existed prior to the fire. 
2. Identify, design, prioritize and schedule restoration projects over time. 
3. Design ecosystem recovery treatments and actions to facilitate the natural recovery process, working with nature. 
4. Develop a Volunteer, Interpretation, and Partnership stewardship program to enlist public participation in fire recovery efforts. 
5. Establish a community-based “Friends of the Angeles” organization to assist forest managers in future stewardship of the forest (6).  

The SFRS has began to be implemented in the Angeles National Forest and has already had positive results that promise to help in the replenishment of this forest and the future of the floral and faunal populations that were affected by the Station Fire of August/September of 2009.


WORKS CITED

1. Bloomekatz, Ari B. "Station Fire Was Arson, Officials Say; Homicide Investigation Begins." LA Angeles Times. 3 Sept. 2009. Web. 5 June 2011. <http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/09/station-fire-was-arson-homicide-investigation-begins.html>.

2. "California Chaparral Institute Provides Perspective on the Los Angeles Area Station Fire." Green Jobs, Green Careers, and Green Business Solutions for Sustainable Communities. California Chaparral Institute. Web. 06 June 2011. <http://www.californiagreensolutions.com/cgi-bin/gt/tpl.h,content=3241>.

3. Franchino, Nick. "Sensitive Environmental Resource Areas." Lacounty.gov. Los Angeles County GIS Data Portal, 2011. Web. 5 June 2011. <http://egis3.lacounty.gov/dataportal/?p=1664>.

4. "Significant Ecological Areas." SCOPE - Home. SCOPE, May 2005. Web. 06 June 2011. <http://www.scope.org/sea/index.html>.

5. "Station Fire Recovery Update: Public Meeting 3/23." Griffith Park Wayist. 16 May 2011. Web. 07 June 2011. <http://griffithparkwayist.blogspot.com/2011/03/station-fire-recovery-update-public.html>.

6. "Station Fire Restoration." US Forest Service Fact Sheet. US Forest Service, 15 Apr. 2011. Web. 6 June 2011. <http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5298487.pdf>.

LAB 7 - Census 2000/2010

This map represents data collected in the 2000 US Census concerning the concentration of the black population of the country. The data is divided according to the percentage of African Americans living in each county. The warmer colors denote regions of lower black population density whereas the cooler colors denote regions where the percentage of the population that identifies as African American is high. As displayed above, the region with the highest percentage of the black population in America is the South. This is typically attributed to the prevalence of the slave trade during the beginnings of the country during the era in which plantations were the main economy for many Americans. As a result, many African Americans still reside in the South where their most recent heritage has rooted itself. A smaller but significant proportion of the southwestern region of the US has also begun to attract the African American population as seen in the yellow color of some California counties.

The second map of the series exhibits population data for the percentage of Asians in residing in counties throughout the continental US. The Census data collected for this group of people reveals a very different population distribution trend with a large majority of the country's Asian population occupying counties throughout the state of California. Another pattern exposed by this map is the tendency for this group to distribute themselves in counties along the coastal region of the country. Overall, this group has spread out over a larger area than the African American population who predominately inhabit the southern part of the US. The Bay Area of Northern California appears to have the highest percentage of Asians consisting of 26-46% of the population. The Midwest seems to have lower percentages of its population made up of Asians. Also, there seems to be distinct clusters of Asian populations in specific counties throughout the country. This differs from the previous group in that the majority of the population resided in relatively the same region of the country. The tendency for Asian populations to gather in certain counties is a product of the network that Asians create for immigrants coming from their native countries. The extensive network of family, friends, neighbors, and business partners provided to recent immigrants provides a safety net and comfortable environment to those just arriving in the country. As seen with most minorities, this group also tends to be found in larger percentages in bigger cities.

The third and final map of this series represents all the minority data collected by the US Census Bureau in 2000. The minority groups consist of every ethnic population excluding the Caucasian, Black, and Asian populations. It appears that a majority of the minority groups reside in the American Southwest. This can be accounted for by the large immigration trend from Central and South America to the United States. This trend also applies to the general western region of the United States. I found this to be very surprising because I would assume that the East Coast would be more of a gateway into the country than would the West. In addition, the history of immigration to the melting pot that has become the US was typically through the eastern part of the country and not the western. The only explanation I could use to explain this phenomenon was the recent influx of immigrants from our neighbors to the south. Another trend revealed in this map is the tendency for large cities such as Miami and New York to have large percentages of their population to be made up of minority groups.


Overall, trends in population distribution by percentages show similar trends in all three minority groups represented. The Blacks, Asians, and other minorities tend to form clusters in which there are high percentages of their specific group in a particular region. Whether it be in large groups such as the African Americans in the South or with the Asian population in small clusters throughout counties in the western portion of the United States. Also, as expected, the big cities of the country seem to attract larger percentages of minorities than do the smaller, rural communities. The Midwest appeared to be the most homogenous group with the smallest percentage of minorities in all three maps. Additionally, coastal counties tended to have higher percentages than did inland counties. This was not surprising as most people entering a country tend to settle nearer to the coast making the ethnic diversity of this region much higher than that of the counties further from the ocean. Surprisingly, the West was a popular residence for Asian and other minority populations. This was unexpected in that the East Coast has typically been where most of the immigrants have come into the country from. However, a shift in immigration has taken place and many of the country's new citizens have roots in countries to the south.

LAB 6 - Data Elevation Models in ArcGIS

Extent Information:
Left: -117.79305°
Right: -117.7261°
Top: 34.355°
Bottom: 34.2916°

This region is a part of the Angeles National Forest in Southern California. This area is of specific interest to me because of my proximity to it. As a resident of the sprawling city of Los Angeles, I am constantly looking for substantial outdoor space to escape the urban environment. Angeles National Forest is the perfect place to explore and enjoy nature. In addition, my roommates recently hiked through this forest in order to bungee jump off a bridge in the middle of it. This area consists of 655,387 acres of open space with 5 wilderness areas, 10 lakes and reservoirs, and 240 miles of rivers and streams. The Angeles Forest is located in the San Gabriel Mountains just north of Los Angeles county. The terrain of the forest varies greatly but mostly consists of chaparral. Elevation of the region ranges from 1,200 feet to 10,064 feet.

LAB 5 - Projections in ArcGIS

Map projections are two-dimensional representations of the three-dimensional, spherical earth. The specific type of projection is important to note when viewing a map because of the particular distortions that accompany them. Distortions are inevitably caused by the application of a 3D image onto a 2D plane. Depending on the region being studied, different projections can be utilized in order to avoid distortions from occurring in the area of interest. Additionally, projections preserve specific attributes on maps such as distance and area. Three projections represented in this lab are equidistant, equal area, and conformal. All have their own particular potential and pitfalls. Each type is classified depending on the properties that they aim to preserve.

Conformal maps are designed to preserve angles locally. This has the effect of maintaining the proper shape of map features while, unfortunately, distorting their relative sizes. In order for both size and shape to be preserved, a globe is the only appropriate medium. The Mercator and Gall maps displayed in this lab are two types of conformal projections. The former is often used for nautical purposes because of its ability to represent lines of constant course, rhumb lines, as straight segments. However, the Mercator projection does not maintain the size or shape of landforms as the scale increase. Gall projections cause distortions of areas approaching the poles; forms near the equator preserve their size and shape.

Equal area maps preserve the size of forms at the expense of the shape. In addition, shape, angle, and scale all may be distorted in this type of projection. Straight meridians and parallels are an aspect of these maps. The meridians are equally spaced whereas the distances between the parallels vary according to where they occur on the map. The first type of equal area projection exhibited is Cylindrical Equal Area projection. This projection is often used as an intermediate mathematical step in the construction of other equal area projections. The second is the Hammer Projection the parallels are curved but there is no stretching at the center of the map. Equal area projections are used when examining maps for the purpose of comparing the relative proportions of landforms.

Equidistant projections are the third type represented in this lab. These projections are designed so the earth is centered in a way in which at any given point on a straight line radiating from the center to any other point represents the shortest distance and can be measured to scale. However, the distance between two points (neither of which are located on the line radiating from the center) will be distorted. The first of the equidistant projections is the equidistant cylindrical in which all meridians are standard, equally-spaced vertical lines and parallels are horizontal, equally-spaced, equally-long lines. The final map represented in this lab is the Sinusoidal projected map. All the parallels are straight lines and are also sine curves with the exception of the prime meridian. This type of projection is often used to show tropical latitudes.

LAB 4 - Introduction to ArcGIS

Exercise 1: Exploring Your Data

Exercise 2: Working with Geographic Features

Exercise 3: Working with Tables

Exercise 4: Editing Features

Exercise 5: Working with Map Elements

My experience with ArcGIS was not what I expected. While I knew that this software was going to be complicated with many different factors that need to be altered and manipulated, I had no idea just how complex it would be. I had some frustrating moments that oftentimes involved how exactly to save the files. It was my first time working off the Social Science Computer Lab with files that were on the lab's drive and could therefore not be altered. Because of this, I had some trouble when trying to complete the ArcGIS tutorial. I spent quite a few hours attempting to rectify this situation before finally figuring out exactly what the problem was. An unexpected benefit to this struggle was that I found myself understanding the program more and more as I retraced my steps and repeated the exercises. I also discovered that I could apply things I learned in one exercise to another. Moreover, the layer system can be confusing at times. When trying to work with one layer other layers may be on top or under it, which would cause complications frequently.

Some of the problematic aspects of the program were the zooming features. While in layout view, I would often zoom in/out only to discover one of my individual maps would be displaced in the window because I had selected the wrong part of the screen. Of course I'm sure this skill would come with experience with the program, but for a beginner, it set me back quite a few times. In addition, the program seemed a bit finicky at times. For example, there were several occasions when I would change something in a data frame only to see it change something unintentionally. Also, I had some trouble drawing "Airport Dr" because the tangent curve would not cooperate. I had to repeat the step about 6 times before it finally bent the right way. All these problems that I have listed are most likely due to my own inexperience and I'm sure I will improve my skills as we move forward in the class.

That being said, there were many positive qualities of ArcGIS. For example, the database management and application of data to maps was incredible. I know this is the basic purpose of the program, but it was really interesting to see it in action as I applied data to a region of the world. Also, I could see the program getting easier to navigate as I repeated the steps. I believe that once mastered, this program could be more user-friendly that the tutorial portrayed. I also believe that most of the complications I encountered were due to my own error of not saving the maps to the correct drive before proceeding with the rest of the lab. Hopefully this will not be repeated in future endeavors. With more exposure to this program, I am confident my skills will improve and tasks will become much easier to accomplish.

This program has incredible potential. As discussed in class, neogeography has the ability to engage all kinds of people and stirs up interest in map-making. As people are able to interact with and create maps, more attention is drawn to this field allowing it to expand and grow. GIS is a more complicated form of this new map-making phenomenon, but it definitely a huge part of the expansion of the field. It has the potential of revolutionizing the information databases that are applied to spatial mediums. For example, the future of tracking (i.e. available taxi cabs, real estate values) lies in the application of GIS. There are so many facets of this field that the all the opportunities that the field provides haven't been revealed. In my opinion, we have only seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of the potential of GIS; ArcGIS is a huge contributing factor in the equation. A pitfall of ArcGIS is that it cannot be purchased by everyone looking to use it; it is very expensive and also requires a very specialized skills set not possessed by many.