Mapping Tools

 

Although I have experience using arcGIS, I am incredibly rusty, so I decided to try out Google's MyMaps. The tutorial video was helpful in getting me started but the program was pretty intuitive and straightforward. After adding a layer for the Richmond City boundary I added about a dozen of the bigger parks and hiking trails. Then my GIS instincts kicked in and I kept trying to find layers for more complex data sets like streams and wetlands. MyMaps isn't equipped to handle the features I wanted to add to my map so I went ahead and made a free arcGIS Online account, transferred over the two layers I had on MyMaps, and then started plugging in more detailed layers.

Here is the link to the Google MyMaps... map: Richmond, VA

I turned off some of the busier layers like trees and small ponds, but I'm currently pretty pleased with how my arcGIS map turned out. It comes complete with a detailed layer of all the creeks and streams, wetlands, terrestrial habitats, and a Chesapeake Bay Act Resource Management Area as well as a CBA Resource Protection Area. This was a pretty fun and easy-going activity for me and I honestly look forward to playing around with it some more and maybe creating my own layer or digging through DWR's map files to find some pertinent wildlife habitat layers. 

Here is the link to my arcGIS Online map: Richmond City Biodiversity

(It takes you to the "Map Viewer Classic" version because I couldn't figure out how to get a shareable link for the updated "Map Viewer" version. Some of the features won't show up properly on the version I shared so just click on the "Open in Map Viewer" on the upper right hand side of the page.)

I also started digging around Richmond City's documents pertaining to biodiversity and the environment and found a helpful starting point for investigating Richmond's ecosystems: Thriving Environment.pdf. Here's a baseline look at what my city has to offer:

“The James River is rich and critical habitat for thousands of plant and animal species. The James River Park System is biodiverse and hosts a rich array of species, 14 mammal species, 170 bird species, 10 frog species, 100 insect species, and more than 450 species of wildflowers, grasses, trees, shrubs, and wetland/aquatic plants. However, these plant communities are under stress from invasive species. The James River also serves as spawning ground for migratory fish, such as shad, herring, perch, and bass that swim from the ocean and the Chesapeake Bay to spawn at and above the James River Fall Zone.”