- 1. Maura OlivosGEOG: 1820 S. FestinThursday, December 8,
2011Final ProjectAlta Ske-Cology GIS ProjectAbstractAs the world of
Geographic Information System (GIS) moves full throttle ahead in
the technologicalworld, it is important to remember that there are
other fields like education and tourism that are alsoconstantly
being revised and technologized. This project continues to help
bridge the gap of socialscience and informational technologies in
order to introduce a new generation to a world of precisionand
technology through a simple map. Though GIS and the Arc software
are capable of so muchmore, it is this tangible primary output of
these systems that allows the unfamiliar to relate to this
newdirection. Alta Ski Areas environmental education program
Ske-Cology is another program that looksto bridge another
well-known gap between recreational usage and environmental
appreciation,making this project a correlating pursuit. The
deliverables of this project will support the increaseddesire to
have precise and modern means to execute a social-science program
for all ages andabilities. This report will bring additional
background to the project subject, Ske-Cology, projectdetails, and
describe and display project deliverables.BackgroundIn 1995 Alta
Ski Area (ASA) partnered with National Ski Area Association (NSAA)
and Vail Resort topilot a new environmental education program that
looked to supplement activities around childrensski lessons to take
the focus off direct instruction and allow the lesson to be more
instinctive. Theprogram proved to be a success for both ski areas
and was trademarked Ske-Cology. However, aftersome years the
program lost momentum and unfortunately lost the needed natural
science leadershipto train ski instructors and update sign
information.In 2008, ASA incorporated the Alta Environmental Center
(AEC) to guide the ski area in its energyand operational
efficiencies and function as the ski areas educational and research
facilitator overtheir 2,200 acres of National Forest and protected
watershed. With this in mind AEC first set itssights to improve
current programs that the ski area and Alta visitors would benefit
from, so over thewinter of 2010-2011 an intern was hired and
partnerships were formed to revamp the Ske-Cologysigns. The
naturalist program was expanded and was an immediate success. In
addition to updatingand offering more signs, AEC expanded the usage
of the program for summer use and is also in themiddle of
developing a training program for formal and non-formal educators,
completing aneducators K-12 manual, and in regards to this project
- developing an interactive GIS focused self-guided tour
brochure.Summer expansion of the program and brochure was highly
supported by partners, the Town of Altaand the Forest Service,
because Alta has grown to be a popular summer destination, but with
minimalinformation to the public in regards to the areas
importance. The trail chosen for the location of thesigns leads
into Albion Basin, an area world-renown for its geological and
ecological scenery andsees tens of thousands of visitors each
summer. The Albion Meadows Trail then became the perfectsetting for
the summer location of Ske-Cology so as to help defer vehicle
traffic up the mountain,increase the use of this easy access trail
and great entry into Albion Basin, and encourageawareness and
appreciation for Altas natural resources. M. Olivos Page 1 of
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2. Project DetailsThe primary reason this project became GIS
based is because the AEC wanted to include the GPScoordinates of
the Ske-Cology signs in the brochure to allow for variety in
utilization of the programfor educational visitors. Visitors could
then choose to use the brochure-map as either a visual guideor
punch the coordinates into any recreational GPS unit to search for
the signs. The signs wereplaced along a primary, but under
utilized, trail within Alta, Utah (Albion Meadows Trail) and
locationswere mapped with a Trimble Geoexplorer 6000 Series Geo x7
unit in October 2011. After the Ske-Cology data was collected the
AEC looked to figure out a format with which to display the
informationin a brochure for the public. Since ASA did not have a
summer map of the area, the AEC turned tothe Town of Alta for the
design format of the map because the Town offered a summer
informationalbrochure with a map to visitors (Figure 1). It was
decided that this map would be the best designformat for the
Ske-Cology map because it is one that the public is already
familiar with.Figure 1: Town of Alta Summer Recreational Program
brochure & mapThe Town of Alta was more than pleased to share
the map with the AEC, but unfortunately they didnot have the GIS
services anymore to appropriately share the map document data
appropriately. APDF version was given to AEC, but the resolution
was too poor to include in a new map production.To solve the
problem and become the basis for this project, AEC decided to
recreate the map byobtaining the data from the Town of Alta,
document the features needed and any manipulation of thedata. The
instructions for the Town of Alta map would then be shared with the
Town of Alta for futureuse and reproduction.The next process for
this project was to download, apply a differential correction to
the Ske-Cologydata, and decide upon a coordinate system and
projection. The Ske-Cology data was configured tothe UNAVCO, Heber
City, Utah control using the Trimble Software-Pathfinder Office
v.5.10. Theprojection for this project is Transverse Mercator and
the coordinate system is NAD 1983 UTM Zone12N aligning with
predefined parameters for the state and municipalities because most
of the dataM. Olivos Page 2 of 2 3. came courtesy of the Town of
Alta. This datum information will be shared with visitors for the
Ske-Cology brochure and coordinates will reflect a
longitude-latitude reference taken from the attributetable.Data
collection proved to be rather straightforward. Layers could be
added and removed to avoidclutter and compare to the Town summer
map for comparison. Manipulation of the symbologybecame most time
consuming in regards to where to go within the properties menu to
change colors,add halos, and displace symbols if needed. Full
description of all symbology changes may be viewedin the
Deliverables section of this report.The map is now complete and
ready to be included in the Ske-Cology brochure for AEC to
produce(Figures 2 and 3). The final brochure still requires a few
additional areas of information andgraphics, but it is expected to
be completed by January 2012. Final map and instructions may beseen
in the Deliverables section of this report.Figure 2: Page 1 of the
Alta Ske-Cology brochure and map layoutM. Olivos Page 3 of 3 4.
Figure 3: Page 2 of the Alta Ske-Cology brochure and map
layoutDeliverablesFinal products for this project include: 1)
Summer Ske-Cology Map (graphic) and 2) Instructions torecreate the
Town of Alta Map (text). 1. Alta Summer Ske-Cology Map (Figure 4)
This map only represents the final image for the summer map of the
Alta Ske-Cology brochure. The brochure unfortunately cannot be
completed at this time because additional data and imagery needs to
be produced outside of GIS software. However, this portion was a
major part of the brochure and AEC plans to have the brochure
complete by January 2012. The only major disapproval with this
current image occurred with the exportation of the map document
into a PDF, which made dashed lines into solid lines. This problem
will be fixed for the brochure by applying the map to a larger
paper layout, hopefully preventing the dissolving of the line
features. M. Olivos Page 4 of 4 5. Figure 4: Alta Ske-Cology Summer
Map2. Instructions for Creating Town of Alta Summer Trails Map The
following includes a listed of required data and instructions for
manipulating the data to output the same display as that of the map
in the Town of Alta Summer Trails and Information Brochure (Figure
1). Some of the display and symbology was slightly altered for
increased aesthetics of the map, but complete alteration does not
need to be done to maintain the same look as the original map. Two
instructions were not included and that is the symbology for the
bike trails and the number labeling for the trails description key.
These are however simple additions of either selecting trails that
allow for bike access and adding text symbology for the final map
layout.Data: Town of Alta Geodatabase (layers in order of display)
Vectors: 4. Campgrounds1. Municipal 5. Buildings2. Parking 6.
MajorTrail3. Restrooms 7. SkiLifts M. Olivos Page 5 of 5 6. 8.
Street 9. Creek Rastors: 10. Lakes24k 1. Terrain 11. Summit 12.
500ft.Contour Manipulation of Data (Layer Label Name Changes) 1.
Terrain:Layer Properties > Symbology > Show Elevation >
Classify: Change & calculate meterbreaks to represent 500 feet
starting at 10,500 and down.Layer Properties > Symbology >
Show Elevation > Label: Change labels to representelevation
representation in feetLayer Properties > Symbology > Show
Elevation > Color Ramp: Change to appropriatecolor ramp or
change individual Symbol colorsLayer Properties > Display:
Change Transparency to 10% 2. Municipal (Alta Summer Booth / Town
Park)Open Attribute Table > Select Town Park > Right Click on
Municipal Layer >Selections > Create Layer from Selected
FeaturesTown Park Symbol Selector > Edit Symbol > ESRI US
Forestry 1 > Color: MooreaBlueOpen Attribute Table > Select
Summer Information Booth > Right Click on MunicipalLayer >
Selections > Create Layer from Selected FeaturesSummer
Information Booth Symbol Selector > Edit Symbol > ESRI Public
Signs >Information, I 3. Parking (Public Parking): Symbol
Selector > ESRI US Forestry 1 > Parking 1 > Edit Symbol
> Color: Cherry Cola 4. Restrooms (Public Toilets): Symbol
Selector > Forestry > Restrooms > Edit Symbol > Color:
Moorea Blue 5. Campgrounds: Symbol Selector > Forestry >
Campground 6. Buildings: Symbol Selector > Fill Color and
Outline Color: Black 7. MajorTrail (Hiking Trails): Open Attribute
Table > Select the Following OBJECTID: 98, 102, 106, 108, 110,
111, 112, 117, 120, 123, 124, 125 > Close Attribute Table >
Right Click Layer > Selection > Create Layer From Selected
Tables > Turn off MajorTrail Layer and re- title new layer
Hiking Trails 8. SkiLifts (Ski Lifts): Symbol Selector > Style
> ESRI: Boundary,County and Size: 3.00 9. Street (Paved Roads /
Dirt Road): Open Attribute Table > Select from OBJECTID > 40,
41, 129, 182, 184 189, 190, 191, 197 > close attribute table
> Right click on Layer > Selection > Create Layer From
Selected Tables > Re-name new layer Dirt Road > Symbol
Selector > Color: Gray 50% and Width: 2.0010. Creek
(Stream):Symbol Selector > Style > ESRI: Stacked Multi
RoadwaySymbol Selector > Color: Big Sky Blue & Width:
1.50Symbol Selector > Edit Symbol > Layers > Click Second
Box > Color: White11. Lakes24k (Lakes): Property Layers >
Symbology > Color 1: Big Sky Blue and Color 2:Moorea Blue12.
Summit (Mountain Peak):Symbol Selector > Character Marker Tab
> Edit Symbol > Font: ESRI Default Marker /Subset: Basic
Latin / Color: WhiteSymbol Selector > Mask > Style: Halo and
Size: 2Symbol Selector > Mask > Symbol > Fill Color: Black
/ Outline Width: .30 / OutlineColor: No Color M. Olivos Page 6 of 6
7. 13. 500ft.ContourChange Symbol Selector Color to No ColorLayer
Properties > Labels: Check box Label features in this layerLayer
Properties > Labels > Text String > Label Field: Choose
CONTOURConvert Labels to Annotation: Change labeling to Add commas
Map Details 1. North Arrow: ESRI North 16 (Properties > Division
Units: Miles > Label Position: abovebar 2. Scale Bar:
Alternating Scale Bar 1 3. Background (Rastor): Transparency can be
adjusted up to 20% depending on mapdesigner.M. Olivos Page 7 of
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