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City of Frankfort Uses GPS to Manage
Landscape
The
City of Frankfort, Kentucky has gone high tech. They've teamed
up with a Lexington company to help manage the landscape in and
around town. Athenic Systems has developed a state-of-the-art
urban forest management system using geographic information system
(GIS) and global positioning system (GPS) technology. It's helping
the city get a comprehensive view of their physical assets such
as trees, roads, buildings and golf greens. The project was carried
out with the assistance of a Kentucky Division of Forestry Urban
and Community Forestry grant.
Initially,
a GIS was created from information provided by the Frankfort Plant
Board. In 2002, nearly three thousand street trees (trees within
the public street right of way or in areas owned by the city)
were mapped inside city limits using GPS and identified by species.
The next step was to collect information on each individual tree
such as size, tree defects, presence of overhead power lines,
etc. in order for the city to monitor and manage their trees.
This excellent opportunity for volunteers encouraged public participation
in urban forest management. After receiving training in basic
tree identification and data collection, volunteers collected
data on every street tree using hand held computers, being the
first volunteer effort in the nation to use this technology.
The project
has grown to incorporate almost every city agency and their interests.
Athenic Systems is currently creating a GIS with information on
canopy cover, riparian areas, steep slopes, planting sites, deer
populations, invasive species and endangered species to name a
few. Due to the versatility of this information it will be used
by urban forest management staff and many other city agencies
as well. Volunteer participation helped the city to match the
grant and involved citizens in inventorying and appreciating the
city's trees.
For more information
and to volunteer in the project, see:
http://www.frankforttrees.org/
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