A new way to map with conservation data Solving Texas’ natural resources challenges with TxMAP
The Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, a unit of Texas A&M AgriLife, is seeking to engage land managers, citizens and policymakers in visualizing natural resource conflicts and solutions through a new mapping application called TxMAP
A TxMAP view of land trends and demography datasets highlighting energy production and resources in West Texas. (Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute map) Like a trusty map from the glovebox with a pocket compass folded in the crease, geospatial data reveals the best routes to take and the dead ends to avoid when navigating natural resources, but ultimately requires inquisition by the user. The Natural Resources Institute built this new tool utilizing changes and trends that have been explored and developed with Texas data on privately owned farms, ranches and forests in the last few decades. The public accessibility of the data is a cornerstone of the Natural Resources Institute’s land trends research program, especially where collaboration with conservation-minded groups leads to better advocacy and resources for land stewards. As the adage goes, we shape our tools, and our tools shape us. In this case, they shape the users to be more inquisitive conservationists.
New mapping tool Over the last year, the institute’s geospatial analysis team ideated and developed TxMAP to allow users to see how the institute’s water, wildlife, military and demography data relates to the land around it. “For example, through TxMAP, we can compare threatened and endangered species data in one region with what’s currently being managed in another,” said Brittany Wegner, Natural Resources Institute project 8
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