The document summarizes the development and use of the Eco-Logical GIS for the 8-county Houston-Galveston area. Key points include: - The Eco-Logical GIS was created through a grant to integrate infrastructure and ecosystem planning in the region. - It identifies priority conservation areas and allows evaluation of transportation projects through a web-based, interactive GIS system. - Various environmental and socioeconomic metrics were developed and used to classify and score different ecosystem types in the database.

1. Eco-Logical GIS
The development and use of the Eco-Logical GIS for
the 8-county Houston-Galveston area
October 27, 2010
Bill Bass, GISP
Houston-Galveston Area Council
Socio-Economic Modeling
William.Bass@h-gac.com

2. Overview
 What is Eco-Logical?
 Our region
 Eco-Logical Stakeholders
 Eco-Logical Objectives
 Eco-Logical GIS Development
 Regional Eco-Logical Statistics
 Using the Eco-Logical GIS

3. What is Eco-Logical?
 Stems from a national effort by the Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA) to integrate
infrastructure and eco-system planning
 H-GAC was 1 of 15 agency to receive a grant
 Overall aim is to help advance FHWA’s
Eco-Logical goals through local and regional pilot
projects
Goals
Conservation
Connectivity
Predictability
Transparency

4.  6th Largest Metro
Area in U.S.
 Forecasted to have
9.5 Million people by
2040
 Variety of valuable
eco-systems
• Tidal Wetlands
• Coastal Prairies
• Forests
• Waterways
 Eco-System Benefits
• Mitigate flooding
• Improve air &
water quality
• Wildlife habitat
• Tourism &
recreation
Our Region

5. Eco-Logical Stakeholders
 Eco-Logical Advisory Committee (EAC)
• Multi-disciplinary committee
• Development of metrics and eco-types
• Guided development of a web-based GIS
 EAC included…
Galveston Bay Estuary Program Houston-Galveston Area Council
Harris County Flood Control District Texas Forest Service
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Katie Prairie Conservancy
US Fish & Wildlife Service Legacy Land Trust
Houston Advanced Research Center Texas A&M Galveston
Texas Sea Grant The Park People
The Trust for Public Land The Nature Conservancy

6. Eco-Logical Objectives
 Identify top priority areas for conservation
 Develop a metrics system to prioritize
environmental resources
 Establish measures by which potential
transportation projects may be evaluated
• Early conflict identification
• Regional analysis
 Develop a Regional Decision Support System
• Free GIS based application
• Interactive and web-based (no software necessary)
• Not just an online map, but also analytics

7. Eco-Logical GIS Development
 Development of metrics and GIS data for
measuring the intrinsic value of an ecotype
 Eco-Logical GDB
• Ecotype polygon features
• Ecotype classifications
• Calculated metrics for each feature
• Un-weighted score for each feature
GIS/SAS
Metrics
Model
Ecotype
Metrics
Eco-Logical
GDB
Eco-Logical
Advisory
Committee
Size
Shape
Quality
Adjacency
Regional Scarcity
Threatened Species
Isolation
Diversity
Watershed Scarcity
Metrics
Coastal Prairie
Upland Forest
Bottomland Forest
Tidal Wetlands
Ecotype Features

8. Eco-Logical GIS Development
 Definition of metrics and calculation
• Size: Area occupied
• Shape: Measure of compactness
• Quality: Beneficial properties of an ecotype feature
• Regional Scarcity: Rarity within the region
• Watershed Scarcity: Rarity within the watershed
• Threatened Species: Presence of threatened species
• Adjacency: Bordering other ecotype features
• Isolation: Degree that an ecotype is separated
• Diversity: Number of different ecotypes within 1 mile
 Scores for each metric were computed on a scale of
0-100 for each ecotype feature

9. Eco-Logical GIS Development
 Ecotype Features & Classification
 Imagery, land cover, and other environmental resource
data were used to identify features and classify levels of
quality
 Generally focused on areas 100 acres or more in size
 Ecotypes are not mutually exclusive (e.g. Forest with
wetland)  Classified based on the greatest coverage for
an area
Coastal Prairie
Coastal Prairie 1
Coastal Prairie 2
Coastal Prairie 3
Upland Forest
Upland Forest 1
Upland Forest 2
Upland Forest 3
Bottomland Forest
Bottomland Forest 1
Bottomland Forest 2
Bottomland Forest 3
1 = Highest Quality
2 = Intermediate Quality
3 = Lowest Quality
*All tidal wetlands considered
high quality
Tidal Wetlands Tidal Wetlands*

10. Regional Eco-Logical Statistics
399,286
465,994
222,065
40,179
1,127,524
-35%
-46%
-55%
-74%
-47%
*Change based on 2035 Regional Growth Land Use Forecast
Ecotype N 2008 2035* % Chg*
Acres
Coastal Prairie
Bottomland Forest
Upland Forest
Tidal Wetlands
459
345
276
142
1,222Total
613,298
855,530
492,468
153,054
2,114,350

11. Using the Eco-Logical GIS
 Using data in the Eco-Logical database,
developed a web-based interactive GIS
 Key Capabilities
• Layers accessible through multiple user interfaces
• Models accessible through multiple user interfaces
• Models can be integrated with other models
• Models and metrics are table driven, thus making
updates to the database efficientz
ArcGIS
Server
Eco-Logical Layers
Internet
ArcGIS
Desktop
Browser
(Flex API)
3rd Party
Apps
ESRI Base Maps
GDBAnalytical Models
Un-weighted
Weighted
iPhone/
IPad
ESRI

12. Using the Eco-Logical GIS
 Eco-Logical Homepage http://eco-logical.h-gac.com

13. Using the Eco-Logical GIS
 Browser-Based Flex Interface
MP4 Format
WMV Format
 ArcGIS Desktop Interface
MP4 Format
WMV Format

14. Additional Resources
 GIS Applications & Data
http://www.h-gac.com/go/cegis
 ArcGIS.com
H-GAC Community & Environmental Planning GIS

15. Thank You.
Bill Bass, GISP
Houston-Galveston Area Council
Socio-Economic Modeling
William.Bass@h-gac.com