Development of an Instructional Natural Resources Information Model

Abstract

The College of Natural Resources (CNR) at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point is regarded as one of the leading undergraduate natural resources institutions in the nation. Because of this excellent reputation, the CNR has received numerous donations including 13 properties throughout the state. These properties offer excellent educational opportunities for students in the CNR. Currently the historical, legal and environmental information on these properties is outdated and incomplete. Through this project I have made this information more accurate and readily available for the faculty and students so that additional teaching and research will take place on these properties. The focus of this project is three properties in Central Wisconsin: the McLoud Memorial Forest, McDonald Island and the Sternberg Forest. These properties were chosen because of their close proximity to campus and their excellent educational potential. During the summers of 1996 and 1997, natural resources information was gathered on each of these properties, including groundcover, forestry, soils and wildlife data. The information was analyzed and digitally encoded into a geographic information database. The resulting maps and information are accessible to all students and faculty to use in their courses, through access to the CNR Home page on the World Wide Web. The model created for these three properties can be used by other CNR graduate students and faculty to develop an informational database for the ten remaining CNR properties. An instructional manual will be created to facilitate the use of this information.