Original Update List
December 15, 2015
Adjusted a few routes and hazards as a result of the 9/26/15 Google Maps updated imagery. The resolution was so clear that stumps could be resolved. All the changes were due to stumps now view-able in the imagery, not rock shoals. I also bumped up the default opacity on the hazards layer so they'd be easier to see on mobile devices.
December 2, 2015
Added the mbtile file download link for the 2015 Google satellite imagery, taken 9/26/2015 with a water height of 1670.25 ft. Imagery is for the eastern half of the reservoir only, but is very clear at 35 cm resolution. A few route and hazard changes will have to be made as a result of this data, just have to find the time.
November 25, 2015
Added the 2015 NAIP Imagery mbtiles file. It's a pretty good addition to the imagery set. The water elevation is around 1671 feet, and high resolution (50cm).
September 22, 2015
Added the paper maps page. Added to the apple device guide, as you don't necessarily need iTunes to load the data onto your device.
September 10, 2015
Added the time lapse webcam video for the second part of 2015. On the main page, I added the KML file showing the boat path I took across the reservoir while attempting to follow my own routes on July 16, 2015...when the water level was nearly 1677 feet.
August 8, 2015
Added the time lapse webcam video for the first part of 2015. Changed the Garmin section. I can no longer recommend using Garmin units after getting a chance to test a newer unit. Added some images of the campsite registration pavilion to the campsite information page. Added the pavilion map to the image overlays section.
July 14, 2015
Added the webinar video.
June 16, 2015
Changed a few yellow routes and low water hazards after studying the 1952 aerial imagery and further studying the 2001 Landsat 7 satellite imagery.
June 14, 2015
Added offline map tiles from USDA Imagery (2006), NYS GIS Imagery (2009), and NYS GIS Imagery (2013). Also updated the "Available Imagery" page with a better chart of data.
June 11, 2015
Added offline map tiles from 2013 NAIP imagery. Added the QGIS guide.
June 9, 2015
Added offline map tiles from USGS aerial imagery taken November 4, 1952. That's not a typo, 1952! I had to rectify the imagery by hand, so it's not perfect. The KMZ download is available on the imagery page as well.
June 1, 2015
Added another draw-down image overlay and mbtiles file from the USGS Landsat 7 composite data. Refined some routes and polygons from the data.
May 31, 2015
Fixed the geo-referencing in the mbtiles file for the Blue Marble data. Found a program other than MOBAC that supported the different projections and export to mbtiles.
May 29, 2015
Added two new mbtiles ortho-imagery map files. NY State GIS satellite imagery from 2003, and USDA satellite imagery from 2008.
April 12, 2015
Pushed updated export file from the Garmin Basecamp project, found under the Garmin guide.
April 9, 2015
Added the Beaver River Dams project image overlay to the Government maps section.
April 7, 2015
Edited the Long Island route to partially red. Refined location and updated information for campsite #10. Changed a few menus at left.
April 6, 2015
Added the historical USGS Topographical map to the downloads section.
March 1, 2015
Added the "campsite information" page, linked in the welcome section on the main page.
January 27, 2015
Added the Conservationist article "Paddling Stillwater Reservoir" from the July/August 1981 issue, to the main page's links. Also added "Fulton History" link.
December 17, 2014
Implemented fixes on polygons and routes stemming from study of the aerial video listed in the previous update. Added archive page of updates, the list was getting too long.
December 3, 2014
Added the aerial video taken during the draw down of the reservoir in 2001 (taken Sept 2nd). Definitely helped validate all my routes. Only noticed a few small changes to low-water polygons that need to be made. Thanks to my own family, who took this video, but didn't remember it existed. ;-)
December 2, 2014
Fixed one low water polygon. Pushed updates to the Google and Bing Maps links. Updated picture at bottom. Uploaded new Garmin tile imagery, figured out the bug in MOBAC resulting in low resolution imagery.
December 1, 2014
Updated the Garmin handheld page with a guide for newer Garmin units (Oregon, Dakota, Montana). Untested at the moment, waiting for feedback. Also added the Depth/Fish finder section under guides.
November 20, 2014
Added another satellite image at approximately 1666 ft to the image overlays layer in Google Earth. Added a new KML file, found under the imagery documentation page, highlighting the location of the old wooden crib dam. Added elevation information about the lowest draw down level achieved, and the top of the old dam.
November 17, 2014
Added more image overlays, and 3D Hazards to the Google Earth layers. Refined a few more routes and low-water hazards.
November 16, 2014
Separated the links at left into categories. Added a few more links.
November 5, 2014
Added video page link in left menu.
November 4, 2014
Added the LocusMaps Android app guide. Added more picture links to the menu at left.
November 3, 2014
A user kindly provided me with some aerial photography of the reservoir during the 2001 dam maintenance and draw down. I made small refinements to several low water hazard polygons, a couple safe zones, and several routes.
October 29,2014
Added the Bing maps link so the routes and mid-water hazards can be viewed in Bird's Eye View, which has the highest resolution imagery available. However it is at high water. Bing Maps has a 200 object limit, so I could only add a subset of the layer information. Also cleaned up a few things in the routes and hazards layers.
October 28, 2014
Added another topographical mbtiles map download. This is the current USGS topo map available online.
Oct 22, 2014
Added some more web links in the menu on the left. Added a new topographical mbtiles map download. Similar imagery to what is contained in the old USGS paper topographical maps (circa 1950's). Probably more useful for hiking than boating but I figured I'd include it since it's also included in the Google Earth image overlay layer.
Oct 15, 2014
Cleaned up the KML code for the hazards layer a bit. Clamped all polygons to ground and fixed the draw order so the layer always looks correct no matter which order they are turned on and off. The changes only affect how objects are seen in Google Earth, not in the mobile apps. Also renamed all the polygons so they are more easily identified across water level groups.
Oct 3, 2014
Found low resolution satellite imagery of the 2001 draw down of the reservoir for dam maintenance. I used it solely to expand the yellow contours where it was obvious and fine tune the green paths and safe areas. Hopefully I can find some higher resolution satellite imagery or aerial photography for the same time period. Even the low resolution imagery helped quite a bit. Example images can be viewed here and here from September 3rd & 19th, respectively. Also, here, which is from an unknown exact date, but close in time.
Sept 29, 2014
Created a new mbtiles map download using the imagery discussed in the update on Sept 24, 2014. The resolution isn't that great, so the download is quite small. It is really just for reference and will not be very useful for navigation on the water. The map projection shows up over Philadelphia because MOBAC only supports a "Spherical Mercator" map projection, and the map source data is a Mercator projection. This is why the KML data does not show up over the tiles. (See May 31, 2015 update for fix to this file)
Sept 28, 2014
Fixed a few things. Changed the blue routes to green and widened them a bit after feedback that the blue lines were hard to see on top the map images of the water, especially in bright sunlight.
Sept 27, 2014
Switched to tri-color hazards layer to convey more information. Contains low, medium, and high water hazard polygons using the colors yellow, orange, and red, respectively. See the "General Use of Layers" guide for more information.
Sept 24, 2014
I found another source of offline satellite imagery that showed the water level at approximately 1666 ft. The imagery was not dated, so I can't be sure of the exact height of the water at the time, but it revealed a lot more information than the imagery available online. Using the new data, I was able to expand the hazard contours and refine the routes.
September 1, 2014
Initial tests by family members and several others using mobile devices on the reservoir.
July 15, 2014
Start of project. Created first version of map data. Got the initial web site up and running.