Reporting on Woodland and Natural Cover Mapping (UTRCA weekly, July 23, 2021)
The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) works on behalf of its member municipalities to track and provide information on environmental conditions in the Upper Thames River watershed. One aspect of this work involves mapping and analysing woodlands and other natural cover, and reporting on these changes every five years through the forest condition grades and data in our Watershed Report Cards.
Recently, Cathy Quinlan, Terrestrial Biologist, has been delivering online presentations on changes in woodland and natural cover in the UTRCA watershed between 2010 and 2015. “GIS and digital air photography from 2000, 2006, 2010, and 2015 enable us to map vegetation cover and track changes over time,” Cathy explains. “We expect the 2020 digital air photos to become available in the next year or two.”
Cathy’s first presentation was at the UTRCA Board of Directors’ March meeting. She has also presented to City of London staff and advisory committees, with data specific to the municipality.
Cathy shared the value of delivering this information, saying that, “It is important to share this scientific information with our member municipalities to help inform decision making. Providing data on vegetation changes helps them – and us – evaluate the effectiveness of programs and policies. People often request the data after the presentation so they can review the numbers for their own municipalities. It often opens up questions about tree health, tree planting practices, and how we can conserve non-wooded habitats such as meadows.”
Staff are planning presentations for Oxford County in the early fall and other watershed municipalities after that.
- UTRCA Board meeting with presentation (starts at 56:45)
- Natural Heritage Studies
- Increasing Biodiversity