The document describes an Alta Ske-Cology GIS project to create an interactive map for a brochure. GPS coordinates of environmental education signs were collected along a trail. The map was recreated from the Town of Alta's summer map for the brochure. Deliverables include the final Ske-Cology map graphic and instructions for recreating the Town of Alta map for future use.

1. Maura Olivos
GEOG: 1820 – S. Festin
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Final Project
Alta Ske-Cology GIS Project
Abstract
As the world of Geographic Information System (GIS) moves full throttle ahead in the technological
world, it is important to remember that there are other fields like education and tourism that are also
constantly being revised and technologized. This project continues to help bridge the gap of social
science and informational technologies in order to introduce a new generation to a world of precision
and technology through a simple map. Though GIS and the Arc software are capable of so much
more, it is this tangible primary output of these systems that allows the unfamiliar to relate to this new
direction. Alta Ski Area’s environmental education program Ske-Cology is another program that looks
to bridge another well-known gap between recreational usage and environmental appreciation,
making this project a correlating pursuit. The deliverables of this project will support the increased
desire to have precise and modern means to execute a social-science program for all ages and
abilities. This report will bring additional background to the project subject, Ske-Cology, project
details, and describe and display project deliverables.
Background
In 1995 Alta Ski Area (ASA) partnered with National Ski Area Association (NSAA) and Vail Resort to
pilot a new environmental education program that looked to supplement activities around children’s
ski lessons to take the focus off direct instruction and allow the lesson to be more instinctive. The
program proved to be a success for both ski areas and was trademarked Ske-Cology. However, after
some years the program lost momentum and unfortunately lost the needed natural science leadership
to train ski instructors and update sign information.
In 2008, ASA incorporated the Alta Environmental Center (AEC) to guide the ski area in its energy
and operational efficiencies and function as the ski area’s educational and research facilitator over
their 2,200 acres of National Forest and protected watershed. With this in mind AEC first set its
sights to improve current programs that the ski area and Alta visitors would benefit from, so over the
winter of 2010-2011 an intern was hired and partnerships were formed to revamp the Ske-Cology
signs. The naturalist program was expanded and was an immediate success. In addition to updating
and offering more signs, AEC expanded the usage of the program for summer use and is also in the
middle of developing a training program for formal and non-formal educators, completing an
educator’s K-12 manual, and in regards to this project - developing an interactive GIS focused self-
guided tour brochure.
Summer expansion of the program and brochure was highly supported by partners, the Town of Alta
and the Forest Service, because Alta has grown to be a popular summer destination, but with minimal
information to the public in regards to the area’s importance. The trail chosen for the location of the
signs leads into Albion Basin, an area world-renown for its geological and ecological scenery and
sees tens of thousands of visitors each summer. The Albion Meadows Trail then became the perfect
setting for the summer location of Ske-Cology so as to help defer vehicle traffic up the mountain,
increase the use of this easy access trail and great entry into Albion Basin, and encourage
awareness and appreciation for Alta’s natural resources.
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2. Project Details
The primary reason this project became GIS based is because the AEC wanted to include the GPS
coordinates of the Ske-Cology signs in the brochure to allow for variety in utilization of the program
for educational visitors. Visitors could then choose to use the brochure-map as either a visual guide
or punch the coordinates into any recreational GPS unit to search for the signs. The signs were
placed along a primary, but under utilized, trail within Alta, Utah (Albion Meadows Trail) and locations
were mapped with a Trimble Geoexplorer 6000 Series – Geo x7 unit in October 2011. After the Ske-
Cology data was collected the AEC looked to figure out a format with which to display the information
in a brochure for the public. Since ASA did not have a summer map of the area, the AEC turned to
the Town of Alta for the design format of the map because the Town offered a summer informational
brochure with a map to visitors (Figure 1). It was decided that this map would be the best design
format for the Ske-Cology map because it is one that the public is already familiar with.
Figure 1: Town of Alta Summer Recreational Program brochure & map
The Town of Alta was more than pleased to share the map with the AEC, but unfortunately they did
not have the GIS services anymore to appropriately share the map document data appropriately. A
PDF version was given to AEC, but the resolution was too poor to include in a new map production.
To solve the problem and become the basis for this project, AEC decided to recreate the map by
obtaining the data from the Town of Alta, document the features needed and any manipulation of the
data. The instructions for the Town of Alta map would then be shared with the Town of Alta for future
use and reproduction.
The next process for this project was to download, apply a differential correction to the Ske-Cology
data, and decide upon a coordinate system and projection. The Ske-Cology data was configured to
the UNAVCO, Heber City, Utah control using the Trimble Software-Pathfinder Office v.5.10. The
projection for this project is Transverse Mercator and the coordinate system is NAD 1983 UTM Zone
12N aligning with predefined parameters for the state and municipalities because most of the data
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3. came courtesy of the Town of Alta. This datum information will be shared with visitors for the Ske-
Cology brochure and coordinates will reflect a longitude-latitude reference taken from the attribute
table.
Data collection proved to be rather straightforward. Layers could be added and removed to avoid
clutter and compare to the Town summer map for comparison. Manipulation of the symbology
became most time consuming in regards to where to go within the properties menu to change colors,
add halos, and displace symbols if needed. Full description of all symbology changes may be viewed
in the Deliverables section of this report.
The map is now complete and ready to be included in the Ske-Cology brochure for AEC to produce
(Figures 2 and 3). The final brochure still requires a few additional areas of information and
graphics, but it is expected to be completed by January 2012. Final map and instructions may be
seen in the Deliverables section of this report.
Figure 2: Page 1 of the Alta Ske-Cology brochure and map layout
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4. Figure 3: Page 2 of the Alta Ske-Cology brochure and map layout
Deliverables
Final products for this project include: 1) Summer Ske-Cology Map (graphic) and 2) Instructions to
recreate the Town of Alta Map (text).
1. Alta Summer Ske-Cology Map (Figure 4)
This map only represents the final image for the summer map of the Alta Ske-Cology
brochure. The brochure unfortunately cannot be completed at this time because additional
data and imagery needs to be produced outside of GIS software. However, this portion
was a major part of the brochure and AEC plans to have the brochure complete by January
2012. The only major disapproval with this current image occurred with the exportation of
the map document into a PDF, which made dashed lines into solid lines. This problem will
be fixed for the brochure by applying the map to a larger paper layout, hopefully preventing
the dissolving of the line features.
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5. Figure 4: Alta Ske-Cology Summer Map
2. Instructions for Creating Town of Alta Summer Trails Map
The following includes a listed of required data and instructions for manipulating the data to
output the same display as that of the map in the Town of Alta Summer Trails and
Information Brochure (Figure 1). Some of the display and symbology was slightly altered
for increased aesthetics of the map, but complete alteration does not need to be done to
maintain the same look as the original map. Two instructions were not included and that is
the symbology for the bike trails and the number labeling for the trails description key.
These are however simple additions of either selecting trails that allow for bike access and
adding text symbology for the final map layout.
Data: Town of Alta Geodatabase (layers in order of display)
• Vectors: 4. Campgrounds
1. Municipal 5. Buildings
2. Parking 6. MajorTrail
3. Restrooms 7. SkiLifts
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6. 8. Street
9. Creek • Rastors:
10. Lakes24k 1. Terrain
11. Summit
12. 500ft.Contour
Manipulation of Data (Layer Label Name Changes)
1. Terrain:
Layer Properties > Symbology > Show Elevation > Classify: Change & calculate meter
breaks to represent 500 feet starting at 10,500 and down.
Layer Properties > Symbology > Show Elevation > Label: Change labels to represent
elevation representation in feet
Layer Properties > Symbology > Show Elevation > Color Ramp: Change to appropriate
color ramp or change individual “Symbol” colors
Layer Properties > Display: Change Transparency to 10%
2. Municipal (Alta Summer Booth / Town Park)
Open Attribute Table > Select “Town Park” > Right Click on Municipal Layer >
Selections > Create Layer from Selected Features
“Town Park” Symbol Selector > Edit Symbol > ESRI US Forestry 1 > Color: Moorea
Blue
Open Attribute Table > Select “Summer Information Booth” > Right Click on Municipal
Layer > Selections > Create Layer from Selected Features
“Summer Information Booth” Symbol Selector > Edit Symbol > ESRI Public Signs >
Information, I
3. Parking (Public Parking): Symbol Selector > ESRI US Forestry 1 > Parking 1 > Edit Symbol
> Color: Cherry Cola
4. Restrooms (Public Toilets): Symbol Selector > Forestry > Restrooms > Edit Symbol >
Color: Moorea Blue
5. Campgrounds: Symbol Selector > Forestry > Campground
6. Buildings: Symbol Selector > Fill Color and Outline Color: Black
7. MajorTrail (Hiking Trails): Open Attribute Table > Select the Following OBJECTID: 98, 102,
106, 108, 110, 111, 112, 117, 120, 123, 124, 125 > Close Attribute Table > Right Click
Layer > Selection > Create Layer From Selected Tables > Turn off MajorTrail Layer and re-
title new layer “Hiking Trails”
8. SkiLifts (Ski Lifts): Symbol Selector > Style > ESRI: “Boundary,County” and Size: 3.00
9. Street (Paved Roads / Dirt Road): Open Attribute Table > Select from OBJECTID > 40, 41,
129, 182, 184 – 189, 190, 191, 197 > close attribute table > Right click on Layer >
Selection > Create Layer From Selected Tables > Re-name new layer “Dirt Road” >
Symbol Selector > Color: Gray 50% and Width: 2.00
10. Creek (Stream):
Symbol Selector > Style > ESRI: Stacked Multi Roadway
Symbol Selector > Color: Big Sky Blue & Width: 1.50
Symbol Selector > Edit Symbol > Layers > Click Second Box > Color: White
11. Lakes24k (Lakes): Property Layers > Symbology > Color 1: Big Sky Blue and Color 2:
Moorea Blue
12. Summit (Mountain Peak):
Symbol Selector > Character Marker Tab > Edit Symbol > Font: ESRI Default Marker /
Subset: Basic Latin / Color: White
Symbol Selector > Mask > Style: Halo and Size: 2
Symbol Selector > Mask > Symbol > Fill Color: Black / Outline Width: .30 / Outline
Color: No Color
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7. 13. 500ft.Contour
Change Symbol Selector Color to “No Color”
Layer Properties > Labels: Check box “Label features in this layer”
Layer Properties > Labels > Text String > Label Field: Choose CONTOUR
Convert Labels to Annotation: Change labeling to Add commas
Map Details
1. North Arrow: ESRI North 16 (Properties > Division Units: Miles > Label Position: above
bar
2. Scale Bar: Alternating Scale Bar 1
3. Background (Rastor): Transparency can be adjusted up to 20% depending on map
designer.
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