Suitability Modeling

Identifying Suitable Habitats for Bald Eagles in the San Bernardino National Forest

Problem and Objective

I am a scientist working with the San Bernardino National Forest. They have asked me to determine suitable habitats for the bald eagles in the park. The weighted suitability model I develop will be used to prepare for a further field study. I am told that the criteria for a habitat is that it is less than two miles from a lake, far from any developed areas, there is near 45% tree cover, and located on a northeast-facing aspect.

Analysis Procedures

For this task, I used the ArcGIS Pro software. The data that was utilized was downloaded from the ESRI Web Courses "Suitability Modeling: Introduction" and "Suitability Modeling: Creating a Weighted Suitability Model." The Suitability Modeler was used throughout the process along with the Distance Accumulation tool and Aspect tool. Within the downloaded data, there was data for the major lakes, developed areas, aspect, and canopy cover. The lake dataset and the canopy cover raster were from the National Hydrography Dataset. The developed areas raster came from the National Land Cover Database. The elevation data was derived from data from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer.

To begin completing this task I imported all of the initial data into ArcGIS Pro. After reviewing each dataset, I determined to proper means for deriving the data into something that would represent the proper criteria. I used the Distance Accumulation tool to derive the necessary raster to represent the criteria for distance from major lakes and for the criteria for distance from devloped areas. I used the Aspect tool to derive the appropriate raster to represent the elevation criteria. Finally, I also derived the appropriate raster to represent the criteria for canopy cover. I then created a new Suitability Model and added all four of the derived datasets to the model. Once this was done I needed to set all the data to a common scale. The lake raster was transformed using the small function, the developed area raster used the large function, the canopy cover dataset used the near function, and the elevation dataset used the symmetric linear function. I then chose and applied weights to each input and ran the model to create the suitability map. Lastly, I was able to set the criteria for chosing the three specific habitats and I ran the model again for the answer.

Results

Application and Reflection

I found this task to be difficult. I had never use the Suitability Modeler in ArcGIS Pro and there were a lot of steps that went into it. A had to take this process slow and I definitely found myself repeating steps because I did them wrong the first time. Luckily, I was able to see results with every step and I would determine if they were appropriate before moving on. This was a new skill for me and I now understand how powerful it can be. Below I describe another scenario where I would be able to apply this skill.

Problem Description

I am GIS analyst employed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). They have asked me to determine where to place a new marine protected area on the Oregon coast to help protect the endangered Oliver Ridley sea turtle. NOAA has informed me that the criteria is based on proximity to existing existing protected areas, wave condition at the coast, and soil sediment type.

Data Needed

To run the suitability modeler I would need initial data on locations of protected areas, wave condition, and soil type. I would also need a boundary shapefile of the Oregon coast.

Analysis Procedure

Once the data is imported in ArcGIS Pro I would be able to being deriving the data sets so they are appropriate for the criteria. I would then create the new Suitability Model and use the all the derived datasets as inputs. Following this I would transform all the datasets to a common scale. I would then discuss with NOAA to understand the importance of each criteria and set the weight of the inputs accordingly. Finally I am able to run the Suitability Modeler the create the map of suitable areas for a new marine protected area. NOAA would be able to make the final decision about where to add the protected area using this map.

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