GIS/Mapping Projects - Vegetation Mapping Project

The Swinomish Geographic Information Services (GIS) and Water Resources Program worked on verifying vegetation points on the Reservation. The vegetation points were determined by NASA from the NASA spectral thematic mapper areal data. The point were determined by wavelength analysis. Our job was to ground truth these points to make sure that the analysis determined the correct vegetation type. The types were broken into 7 different catagories ranging from dense conifers, deciduous, shrubs, grassland, and bare earth.

Over 450 points were sent to us for verification. Only a subset of the points was ground truthed since a majority of the points were determined to be correct based on location and known history.

This data was sent back to NASA and a completed upland and tideland vegetation map will be produced. The map will have a resolution of 5m for the uplands and 1m for the tidelands.

This map will fill two critical holes in our data. First, this map will be the completion of the eelgrass vegetation map that was started in 2000. The upland data (which was a last minute add on) will help us complete the refinement of our recharge rate to the Reservation aquifers (a Groundwater Project).