Mapping for Impact in a Changing California

Many of the natural resource challenges we face today around food, water, equity, energy, invasive species, fire, climate change, biodiversity - are complex problems that impact diverse public groups across multiple scales - and they require a spatial approach to make an impact. Addressing these challenges requires innovative and resourceful data collection, data synthesis, novel analytical tools, and increased communication and cooperation between scientists and citizens.

As the rate of advance in geospatial technology continues to accelerate with new ways to collect and use spatial data, mapping is increasingly embedded in all aspects of natural resource management. In this talk I will present a few case studies from my work mapping California landscapes that highlight novel sources of spatial data (e.g. LiDAR, UAVs, historical archives) and analytical tools (e.g. ML), and showcase ways in which geospatial infrastructure can help promote public participation and impact.

Speaker: Maggi Kelly, UC Berkeley