Will Allen, the Conservation Fund, NC, with Jazmin Varela (The Conservation Fund)

Will Allen, The Conservation Fund, NC, with Jazmin Varela (The Conservation Fund) [email protected]

This map was prepared by The Conservation Fund as part of the Nashville: Naturally initiative (a partner list is provided on the top left of the map). The primary purpose of the map was to educate the community on its water and wildlife resources during a public forum of the Nashville: Naturally initiative in September 2010. The forum and the associated maps were key elements in the development of an open space plan for Nashville-Davidson County, Tennessee. As a result of the maps shown in the meeting, the public 'voted' on resource priorities for implementation of the open space plan. This plan, with a detailed set of conservation priorities, policy recommendations, and benchmarks for success, is scheduled to be released in April 2011. Through a multi-step public involvement process, four key themes were identified for the open space plan, one of which was Connecting Water and Wildlife Networks (the others involved recreation, farming, and historic/iconic resources). A green infrastructure network design GIS layer was created, which represents an interconnected network of land and water that provides clean air, clean water, and other economic, environmental, and social benefits for people and nature. Put simply these areas were most suitable for protection of societal needs involving land and water resource protection. More information on the green infrastructure network design approach is available at: http://www.greeninfrastructure.net. The network design uses ArcGIS Model Builder workflows to develop hubs and core forests, wetlands, and aquatic systems linked by corridors. The map combines data from over a dozen disparate sources that provides an inventory of existing open space, an inventory of flood sensitive areas, and the green infrastructure network. This project resulted in the first comprehensive inventory of open space and analysis of potential future open space in Nashville's history. This was particularly important since Nashville experienced a 500-year flood in May 2010, so it was important for the public to understand the value of natural systems and how future conservation opportunities could mitigate flood hazards. As a result, it was important to show the regulated floodway, floodplains, open water, and the Mill Creek watershed. Subsequent to the creation of this map, a variation of the same map is being used by Mayor Karl Dean to highlight the important of long-term recovery from the flood and to explain to residents where important green infrastructure investments need to go in order to become a more resilient community. One cartographic challenge was how to highlight Davidson County but also provide the context of the surrounding landscape. This was achieved through the use of the ArcGIS Online shaded relief map service (and adding transparency to the green infrastructure network layer) along with a transparency mask outside the Davidson County boundary that lightened but did not remove the areas outside the county. As a side note, an earlier version of this map was brought to the ESRI map feedback session at the International Users Conference in July 2010, and we received very constructive feedback on how to best display the information to a general public audience.