Presentations from the
7th Annual OFWIM Conference
Baltimore, Maryland
November 1st-5th, 2002

The Use of ArcIMS to Assemble and Deliver California's Fish and Wildlife Information (Haney, CFGD)

It is hard to dispute the importance of the spatial component of natural resource information: Depending on the data-type and scope of a given issue, "where" something is may be as important as "what" it is. Unfortunately, collecting, managing, and sharing the spatial component of natural resource data can be a daunting task requiring specialized hardware, software and skill sets. This, however, is changing with the advent of web-based GIS software such as ArcIMS. These newer tools can be utilized in such a way as to put the power of GIS into the hands of managers, biologists, and the public without requiring them to have specialized equipment or extensive training. Additionally, these tools offer fish and wildlife information managers a new approach to collecting, managing, and distributing data using the spatial component as an organizational tool. With this in mind, the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) has been developing custom applications using ArcIMS to both assemble and deliver fish and wildlife information via the web. To facilitate the rapid development of geography-based data-delivery applications, CDFG has developed an Active Server Page (ASP) template utilizing the ArcIMS ActiveX connector. Applications developed using the CDFG template are extremely lightweight on the client end and require only that the client have an Internet browser (e.g., Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape) and an Internet connection. In addition to bringing the powere of GIS to average users, the CDFG template provides an excellent means of providing access to other sources of information (e.g., photos, documents, in-depth data queries etc.). While the bulk of the development has been toward the delivery of natural resource data, CDFG has also been working to develop tools to more effectively collect the spatial component from its biologist and staff. Several ArcIMS tools have been developed that allow users to digitize spatial features (points, lines and polygons) and to submit these features to a database along with the rest of their information. The development, implementation, and use of these tools will be discussed as will an overview of the system architecture. For examples of these tools and more information, please visit CDFG's Internet Map Services page at http://imaps.dfg.ca.gov.

Visit the CDFG Internet Map Services Web site at: http://imaps.dfg.ca.gov

This presentation available as:
PowerPoint presentation (Haney): ArcIMS_CFWI.ppt
Adobe Acrobat Reader file (Haney): ArcIMS_CFWI.pdf