GEOG 385 Final Web GIS Project

Title: DWR – Yolo Bypass Fish Monitoring Sites (Map Web Application)

By: Jared Frantzich

Project Summary

Since 1998, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR)has been responsible for the Interagency Ecological Program’s: Yolo Bypass Fish Monitroing Program. This program has continued to grow and develop over the fifteen years of existence. The project now consists of three core long-term fish monitroing components that include: 1) fyke trap (for adult upmigrating fishes), 2) rotary screw trap (for outmigrating small adult and juvenile fishes), and 3) beach seining (for spatial composition of small adults and juvenile fishes). In addition, lower trophic levels are also monitored and this includes: aquatic and terrestrial insect drift, zooplankton, and chlorophyll a (as a surrogate for phytoplankton). The Yolo Bypass has recently become an important region of the San Fransciso Estuary for future intertidal marsh restoration, and this has created the demand from many state and federal agenices for more geographic information in regards to DWR monitoring efforts. Therefore, the development of a map web application that allows the user to not only find sampling locations, but also what is being sampled , sampling gear type, site habitat description (photos), and data avaliability could be very useful in educating wetlands ecologists and future mangement decisions.

To provide an accurate spatial map of all the DWR sampling locations GPS data was acquired for all sites and added to ArcMap to develop a basic map service. The acquisition of high detailed water layers from USGS NHD data was used to deliniate variations in stream type and channel composition. To provide a method for users to select locations based on there sampling type, geoprocessing task models were created to select sampling locations based on unique table attributes (e.g. traping locations or beach seine locations). To provide a web based platform the ESRI Flex Builder application was used to publish the base map service and the geoprocessing task model services. The final revised application can then be viewed in a web browser and users are able to use the assorted geoprocessing widgets to select and find information about different Yolo Bypass fish and lower trophic smapling locations.

Purpose

To provide a user friendly web based map application with information and spatial reference to long-term DWR Yolo Bypass fish and lower trophic monitoring site locations. As an example, the web application provides geoprocessing widgets to select groups of sites based on sampling gear types.

Description

Task 1. Add XY Data – GPS of Monitoring Sites

The GPS coordinates for all site locations was collected using a handheld Garmin unit and all data was recorded in NAD 83 datum. Location data for each site type (e.g. trap, beach seine, lower trophic, etc.) was added as XY data in to ArcMap and saved as a new feature class.

Task 2. Create and Modify Tables - Related to New Feature Classes

Once the XY data and feature classes were developed, further modifications to data tables were made through Editor tool to add unique fields to aid in developing the Select by Attributes geoprocessing task models.

Task 3. Create Map Service – Add, Clip, Symbolize Major Hwys, Weirs, USGS NHD water layers, etc.

Important map layers such as: USGS NHD water layers and major highway, were downloaded to add spatial reference. To focus solely on the Yolo Bypass, the USGS NHD and major highway layers were clipped to the extent of the study area. Additional modifications to symbology of site locations and their labels was done to create a refined base map service for the web application.

Task 4. Web Styling - Symbolize, Label and Modify Scale Ranges for: Feature Classes, Major Hwys, Weirs, etc.

To prepare the map for for the web application additional scale ranging modifications were made to symbols and labels for various feature classes.

Task 5. Create Map Service with ArcGIS Server – Publish Map as Service

Once the map was styled to my specifications and ready for the web, it was published to the local server.

Task 6. Create Geoprocessing Task Model for Web: Select by Attributes – for Fish Monitoring Sites

A new toolbox was created and 4 new geoprocessing task models were created in modelbuilder (YB_TrapSites, YB_YearRoundSeine_Sites, YB_HighFlowSeine_Sites, YB_LowerTrophic_Sites). These models were created to Select By Attributes specific fish sampling sites based on there gear types or sample collection type.

Task 7. Test and/or Run Models (4 models created) and Create the Geoprocessing Service

The models were tested and results were analyzed. Once the models were completed the model result was published as a geoprocessing service to the local server.

Task 8. Flex Builder - Open and Add: ArcGIS Base Map Layers and Connect to Created Map Service for Operational Layers

Next, ESRI Flex Builder was used as our web application platform. The online ESRI NAIP imagery was selected as a basemap layer and a connection was made to the local server to select my created Yolo Bypass Fishing Sampling map service as the operational layer.

Task 9. Use Widgets Tab to Add Created Geoprocessing Services (select fish monitoring sites applications)

In Flex Builder, the Widget tab was used to add our 4 published server geoprocessing model tasks to Select by Attributes the various sampling gear types and/or collection types.

Task 10. Modify Flex Viewer Map Layout Preferences; Adding Scale bars, Legends, Titles, etc.

In the Layout tab modifications were made to style the web map application. The addition of a legend and scale bar were added to provide map context to the reader.

Task 11. In Flex Builder - View the Final Revised Application in a Web Browser and Test the Geoprocessing Services

After the map was finalized, it was then viewed in a web browser and the 4 geoprocessing model tasks were tested to see the results.

Discussion

Difficulties/Troubleshooting

The difficulties were in time it took to develop the detailed feature class tables and then building the geoprocessing model tasks.

I also had some issues with geographic coorinates not matching between layers (and with imported XY data) and this caused some geoprocessing model result errors.

Final Product and Future Work

I would like to make more developed information tables and provide links to avaliable online data sources.

The addition of site photos would also be a great addition to the pop-ups, maybe include a url to a site photo and/or online data download location.