Catoctin Mountain Explorer

The Catoctin Mountain Region in Central Maryland is located in the Blue Ridge physiographic province, marking the eastern edge of the Appalachian Mountains. Ecological resources of regional and statewide significance and a network of green infrastructure characterize Catoctin Mountain, which includes Catoctin Mountain National Park, Cunningham Falls State Park, Gambrill State Park, and public water supply watershed properties managed by the County of Frederick and the Towns of Thurmont and Emmitsburg. These lands provide recreational opportunities, wildlife habitat protection, wildlands experiences, water quality protection for healthy ecosystems and drinking water, and scenic vistas.

Using GIS to Identify Conservation Priorities

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources asked The Conservation Fund to develop tools for the Catoctin Land Trust that would facilitate their ability to identify and prioritize conservation and recreation opportunities in the Catoctin Mountain region. In turn, The Conservation Fund undertook a conservation needs analysis to determine the most effective means to provide the land trust with the necessary information. The result was the Catoctin Mountain Explorer, an easy-to-use, interactive computer mapping application using ESRI's MapObjects technology.

Customized GIS for Land Trusts

The Explorer has facilitated the land trust's ability to perform sophisticated parcel-level analysis and conservation prioritization without previous GIS experience. The Fund and DNR also provided significant GIS data development and analysis services to facilitate use of the Explorer by the land trust, including metadata creation.

For more information

The basic Explorer software framework can be customized for any geographic region and can be optimized through tailored GIS data development and analysis. For more information, click on the links below or contact Will Allen, Director of Geographic Information Services.