Spring 2023 Projects
Huckleberry Suitability Analysis: Glacier National Park
One of the most iconic species residing in Glacier National Park are grizzly bears, yet these massive animals depend on huckleberries as a critical food source. Determining the locations of ideal huckleberry habitats through suitability analysis will identify the percentage of land cover able to sustain these vital plants. In addition, the path distance accounting for elevation change, slope, and an adjusted Tobler’s Hiking Function can illustrate the availability of huckleberries to public access.
Author
I have a bachelor’s degree in Geoscience from Colorado State University and am currently enrolled in my second semester with the Geospatial Information Technology program at Front Range Community College. I hope to continue my GIS education into a master’s degree by studying the convergence of natural resources and spatial analysis, and pursue a career that blends resource management with other natural science processes through the lens of GIS analysis.
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Identifying Major Fire Risk Areas Around Colorado Towns
The purpose of this project is to identify and rank the areas with the greatest need of forest thinning around the towns and cities across Colorado according to their proximity to urban areas, forest fire fuel loads, slope angle and aspect. This is intended to assist in the development of forest thinning management plans by indicating which areas pose the highest severe wildfire potential for Colorado's urban areas. By utilizing the findings of this project, state and local governments will be better equipped to focus resources in areas that will result in the greatest reduction of potential extreme wildfire risk to urban areas with a population greater than 250.
This is my second semester at Front Range Community College as I work to attain 29 credit hour GIS Certificate. My previous work and educational experiences are in Renewable Energies and Biofuels and I decided to pursue GIS as a career due to how interesting and widely applicable the industry is, as well as a growing personal desire to work from home. As my wife and I grow our family it has become more apparent how much time I spend each year commuting to and from work, so the goal is to get rid of the commuting time and exchange it with being present for my family. I try to spend as much time as possible recreating outdoors outside of work and school with my wife and my dog, no matter the season. My favorite activities are mountain biking, snowboarding/splitboarding, white water rafting, camping, and hiking, and I am constantly on the lookout for the next new place to adventure off to in Colorado. So far, my favorite places in Colorado to recreate are Crested Butte, the Headwaters of the Rio Grande, Steamboat Springs, the Arkansas River Valley, and the Glenwood Springs area.
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Residential Solar Suitability Analysis: Fort Collins, Colorado
In 2021, Fort Collins, Colorado adopted Our Climate Future, an ongoing and comprehensive framework related to combatting climate change. One of the primary directives of the plan is to“[p]rovide 100% renewable electricity by 2030 with grid and local sources”. Within this context, this study identifies Fort Collins solar suitable residential buildings and examines related city level trends. ...
Author
Currently, I’m about to finish my 4th semester within the FRCC GIS program. Professionally my background is in horticulture industry, but I grew to recognize GIS as an opportunity to learn new skills and change careers. Initially, GIS drew my attention because of the versatility of its application across fields.
Currently seeking employment within the industry, while I finish my GIS certification. Overall, my plan is to refine and build my knowledge through GIS related employment. Concurrently, I’ll continue taking classes, and ideally enter a graduate program.
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Tulare Lake - Southern Sierra, CA 2023 Flooding
Water is quickly flooding back into California’s Tulare Lake Basin, engulfing towns and farms, submerging roads, and reviving a so-called phantom lake. Tulare was once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi until settlers diverted its source rivers, forcing it to vanish by the mid-20th century. Now, it seems Tulare Lake is back with a vengeance. ...
Author
I currently live in Loveland, Colorado, and am married to Sarah Eaton. We have lived there for 5 years. I retired from Rocky Mountain National Park in 2014 as the Park Museum Curator. I worked for the National Park Service for 20 years, and for private business and universities conducting archaeological research and services for 20 years before that. My education includes a BA and an MA, both in Archaeology. My fields of research include the Rocky Mountain west and Southwest and Plains. Further interests include GIS, travel, politics, International history, and climate research. Lifelong education is a major goal.
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Armadillo Expansion
My project focuses on the nine banded armadillo expansion. This mammal has started to move further north in the last 20 years and I wanted to look at just how far it could go. I did a suitability analysis for it and I was originally going to look at the total range but because of how much data there was I looked at just Southern Illinois. The first thing I did was get temperature, relative humidity, and heat index data from the Iowa state mesonet website. ...
Author
My name is GIS Student and I am a Second Year GIS Student going for my associates. I live in Erie Colorado and have loved looking at maps since I was young. I Enjoy learning how to look at maps in new ways through online mapping software.
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Creating a Visual Representation of the Aquifers within Denver Basin
Groundwater is one of the earth’s most important natural resources. Groundwater is water stored in rock, sand, or gravel pores underneath the earth’s surface. The areas which hold groundwater are called aquifers. Groundwater makes up approximately 40% of the public and agricultural water supply. It is typically accessed through pumps and wells. ...
Author
My name is GIS Student and I am a first year bachelor’s student in the Geospatial Science program at FRCC. I am fascinated by GIS and its many applications. Currently, I am unsure how I want to apply my GIS skills in the future. However, I have selected a few industries which have caught my interest. I am highly interested in a career in either the energy or water sector. Both these sectors have a huge impact on our lives and our future. It is essential that there are skilled, knowledgeable, and innovative geographical scientists in both of these industries.
This semester, my project focuses on water. I want to have a better understanding of where our water comes from and where it goes. I want to, specifically, explore groundwater data and understand how we measure groundwater depletion.
Exploring Aquaculture Site Suitability
GreenWave’s Ocean Farming Hub and related Slack membership were launched with the intention of facilitating their 10-year goal of “providing training, tools, and support to a baseline of 10,000 regenerative ocean farmers to catalyze the planting of 1 million acres and yield meaningful economic and climate impacts” by providing a community forum and strategy dashboard. The published resources point to useful parameters for site suitability based on a variety of criteria, but the current recommendations require in situ data collection.
Author
The author spent nearly a decade learning how to grow food in a region that is currently experiencing some of the most rapid desertification on the planet. After years of wheedling crops to make the most of the paltry nutrients and water available, they became fascinated with the concept of aquaculture: a form of regenerative cultivation that efficiently feeds people and dramatically improves ocean conditions with very little input from farmers. Due to a worsening circulation syndrome, they can no longer work outside during the winter – but they can help those who can with GIS.
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Pine Beetle Infestation of the Colorado Rocky Mountains
For my final project, I aim to document the devastating impact of pine beetle infestation on the Rocky Mountains through historical data mapping. From my childhood memories of family trips to the region, I have witnessed firsthand the catastrophic spread of pine beetles and their effect on the local ecology. ...
Author
As a current student at Front Range Community College pursuing an associate's degree in GIS, I aim to further enhance the skills I have acquired during my nearly five-year stint as a GIS specialist. Although I gained valuable experience through on-the-job training, I believe that enrolling in this program will help me demonstrate a deeper understanding of the field and acquire additional skills that will set me apart in the industry. The newly acquired knowledge and skills will enable me to take on multiple roles within my organization, and coupled with my existing expertise, it will help me grow my career further.
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Westminster Power Project
I see humanity in general using available resources until they are gone. I wanted to find if there is a way that we can generate the power requirements of Westminster CO, using only available, and suitable rooftops. By doing this no additional land will be required to be developed for the sole purpose of power generation.
I created a Digital Surface Model (DES) using Lidar data to identify the topography of the rooftops located with Westminster. I then took into account the aspect, slope and if there were any obstructions to the roof.
Author
I am a student in my second semester at Front Range Community College. I am currently working toward my BAS in GIS. I have no previous experience with GIS but am finding the field both challenging and interesting. The things that can be done with so raw data have continued to astound me. My goals are to use the GIS degree to afford me the opportunity to conduct field work in a variety of environments. I would like to work in a dynamic setting providing useful GIS services for people that need help.
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Southern Boulder County Wildfire Risk
Boulder County has a long history of wildfires throughout the region. Contributing factors include its steep terrain, higher summer temperatures, seasonal winds, and an increased human presence in the wildland urban interface (WUI). This is an area where human development intersects wildland vegetative fuels (Boulder County, 2021). Southern Boulder County is especially vulnerable to wildfires because its mountainous geography incorporates the Table Mesa neighborhood.
Author
I hold a B.S. in Environmental Science and work full-time in traffic engineering. Some of my work includes creating GIS maps of traffic and roadway information such as traffic counts, crashes, and speed limits. I am also a part-time student at Front Range Community College working towards a GIS Certificate with 11 credits remaining. My previous GIS experience includes an introductory college course. I also completed a summer internship compiling maps of work orders and sign locations. After I earn my certificate, I plan on applying for a GIS analyst position. Eventually, I would like to become a GIS developer.
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Colorado Severe Weather Risk
Colorado is notorious for quickly changing weather conditions and different types of weather hazards. While winter weather and snowstorms are commonly thought of in this state, other severe weather including high wind (during any time of the year), large hail and tornadoes have the potential to be problematic and dangerous to life and property as well. The question is where is at a higher risk for all three of those. The project goal is focused on those weather hazards, finding which localized ...
Author
I'm from Colorado and have long had an interest in geography and the earth sciences. After completing an associate degree of science, I made the decision to pursue the full GIS Certificate at FRCC along with doing a couple GIS internships through the GeoEx Center. During this time I’ve gained a lot more confidence with everything related to GIS. Another passion I have is meteorology, so I'm looking for any way I can use GIS for weather related topics and data. Other hobbies I have are photography, hiking, nature and bird watching.
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Flood Risks Using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis and Height Above Nearest Drainage (HAND) Model Within Onion Creek
Halloween 2013 the Onion Creek in Austin Tx rose to historic levels as high as 41 feet with a flash flood that was measured twice that of Niagara Falls which killed 4 and damaged 1,200 houses. The creek has had a history of rising to over 38 feet. In the multicriteria analysis ran on the address it supplied 12 in the high zone, in the medium – high zone there ...
When covid hit I lost my job at the sports stadiums where I was a concession supervisor. Out of high school (09’) I went on to get a culinary certificate at Emily Griffith where I got my first job at Aramark Sports Entertainment as a Sous Chef. I cooked for many famous baseball athletes with several opportunities to personally meet a few. After 3 seasons of working the intensive heat of the kitchen I transferred into a management position in charge of the commissary between the culinary kitchen and concession for 2 seasons before becoming the concessions supervisor lead over the first level for 5 years before dreaded covid stalled stadium patrons and sidelined me on unemployment. Thankfully I had a needing urge to continue my education, so I enrolled into CCAurora. I had zero geospatial knowledge before I applied for the Honor’s designation for Human Geography. My research there focused on the hunter gathers: Hadza of Tanzania. I gained by Associates of Geography Summer 2022 transferring into FRCC’s Bachelor program where it is my second semester.
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Nantucket vs The Atlantic Ocean
This project is about the rising Atlantic Ocean encroaching on the island of Nantucket in Massachusetts. A problem people have been dealing with on the island since it’s been inhabited. This map looks at areas where the land may become susceptible to flooding in the next fifty-hundred years, and details the scope of the issue facing residents from different aspects of Geography.
Author
My name is Tammy Hills, I am completing my first year at Front Range Community College for a bachelors in Geospatial Science, with a GIS Certification. I am an avid fan of all things Geography; with Transportation, Climate Science, and Weather in particular. I have some previous experience prior to Front Range using ArcGIS, however, my overall goal here is to graduate and enter the workforce in a field relevant to my interests. Preferably, the ability to use GIS to effectively help logistical issues between different regions or countries would be a priority of mine.
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