Volunteer Assisted Alameda Creek Alliance

Alameda Creek Alliance (ACA) is a non-profit organization committed to aiding with the restoration and protection of a portion of the largest watershed in San Francisco Bay, the Alameda Creek Watershed. Urban development has significantly impacted the natural habitat and inhabitants within Alameda Creek. The ACA aims to restore native wildlife, plants, habitats, and ecosystems within Alameda Creek along with protecting undeveloped areas. Efforts have been centered on brining wild steelhead trout, which were identified as an indicator species, back to the watershed.

Thomas Dann, a GISCorps volunteer in California, was selected to assist Alameda Creek Alliance. The goal of this project was to compose web maps, web applications, and surveys to be used by ACA volunteers and eventually the public. The ACA wanted to utilize web maps composed of watershed features and restoration areas of interest to create visualizations of the restoration effort and progress. These web maps are intended to be used as reference in web applications and surveys which provide users the ability to gather and share data.

The ACA provided access to the content including a large watershed dataset, areas of interest, and restoration features. This data was then modified using ArcGIS Pro to emphasize desired features and attributes within the study area. Restoration features were used to derive small reach segments within the study area. Coordinates were calculated for reach segments to enable high precision data collection. Content was organized using a file geodatabase and separate feature classes which were published to ArcGIS Online as feature services. The published feature services were brought into a web map which will be used for visualization and data-driven insights within a web application and as a reference for the data collection survey. Survey123 coupled with the reference map will provide volunteers and end users the ability to share on-going observations and updates within the study area.

Project completed.