Electronic Master Planning for Watershed Analysis

The Roaring Fork & Fryingpan Rivers Multi-Objective Planning Project is a comprehensive Watershed Planning study completed from 1998 to 1999 under the direction of the Colorado Water Conservation Board to create better tools for management of the Roaring Fork River watershed located in Western Colorado. This project consolidated existing and new data on the Roaring Fork River and its major tributary, the Fryingpan River, into one large Geographic Information System (GIS) database for comprehensive analysis of the watershed as a whole. Current aerial photography, historic aerial photography, satellite imagery and USGS information were all used to develop valley-wide base mapping of the watershed. GIS is a generic term referring to computer programs used to enter, manage, analyze, and display geographic or mappable information in a coordinate system. The power of GIS lies in the ability to derive problem-solving information from existing data through such techniques as map overlays and modeling. GIS can store this information in an organized and consistent form. The advantage of GIS electronic master planning is the ability to update and revise the database as new information becomes available. The end products of successful GIS projects are high-quality cartographic maps and accurate, usable geographic databases. They are a powerful, cost-effective tool for undertaking difficult spatial analysis projects, and afford many advantages over traditional mapping methods. The true power of GIS lies in its analytical capabilities - the ability to produce new decision-making information through an analysis of existing data.