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<br />II Discussion Topic: Lynn Johnson's Presentation <br />Recommending the Role of GIS <br />as Outlined by Current work with His Graduate Students <br /> <br />Please refer to handouts; notes supplement but do not duplicate info on slides <br /> <br />Role of GIS: <br />An opportunity to maximize data analysis for those who are "suspicious of scientific analyses" <br />because a GIS product is a "visually intuitive" approach to framing complex scientific systems in <br />such a way that is useful for sharing info with policy makers. Also, people and policy makers <br />can access the database directly, so there is less ambiguity in interpretation- less voodoo analysis <br />means less jargon to wade through. There is always uncertainty but GIS provides a basis of <br />common understanding. Showed example of a GIS pyramid [database ~ analyses ~ framework <br />for policy making]. <br /> <br />Objectives: <br />Maximize safety, maximize understanding, minimize cost for floodplain management plan. Try <br />to get to consensus around issue and plan of action. <br /> <br />GIS for Resource Atlas: <br />Start with a Resource Atlas of what the actual physical situation is [e.g.: digital terrain models, <br />slope/aspects info, land use/land cover for both current and potential build-out conditions, <br />hydrography, soils, parcel info, etc]. Much ofthis data already exists with County Open Space <br />and Planning Depts, and the Web. Lynn feels that there maybe enough info to develop one for <br />the whole City. Especially useful is that data can be put in or developed in an internally <br />consistent, compatible database. All liked this idea and we discussed the benefits of presenting <br />info to the planners and the public in this way. <br /> <br />(Christie Hughes, service hydrologist for the NWS in Boulder, enters and stays for about ~ hr. <br /> <br />Land use change assessment: <br />Showed USGS 30m LandSat satellite imagery that was used to update and portray landuse and <br />urbanization changes in North Denver/Boulder from1990 to 2000 (Level 2 Anderson <br />classification mapping?). This picture is worth a thousand words! The changes in land use from <br />open space to residential/commercial is pretty dramatic and it is visually not too difficult to infer <br />a 10% to 30% increase of impervious surfaces associated with that change. Policy decisions <br />must reflect the hydrology effects of this and also how the policy makers envision build-out. <br />Boulder does have a public mechanism to help guide/influence growth. However, the policy <br />makers are also at the mercy of economic factors of which they have little or no control. In <br />South Boulder Creek watershed there are areas that will grow. Can we or can we not regulate <br />that? It will impact the nature of the watershed and its response to rainfall in the future. <br />Aside: Lynn's group noticed that especially for smaller watersheds, the change from open space <br />to impervious surfaces had a very big effect on runoff - need to think of this in terms of waste- <br />water and water quality supply. <br /> <br />2 <br /> <br />