District 5 of the Florida Division of Recreation and Parks comprises nine counties in southeast Florida and covers a linear distance greater than 300 miles. The north end of the district is Fort Pierce (Saint Lucie County), with the southern terminus being Key West (Monroe County). The center of the district, which includes Palm Beach, Broward, and Dade counties, is one of the most populated and highly developed areas in the United States.

Proper management of the limited natural resources within the district is complicated by invasive exotic vegetation, difficult prescribed burning conditions at the urban wildland interface, intense pressure from recreational use, and fragmented natural communities. Some of the rarest natural communities in the continental United States, including coastal sand pine scrub, tropical hardwood hammock, and coral reefs, occur in parks within this district. As the human population expands and residential development encroaches up to the boundary of each park, the protection and proper management of the natural resources within these natural areas will be vital to the preservation of rare plants and animals. In the past two years, ArcView 3.2 has become one of the main tools used by park staff to analyze and manage natural resources.

Since its implementation, ArcView has been utilized in many aspects of natural resource management within the district's parks. Digital orthophotography is typically used in combination with GPS data collected in the field to address management issues and needs. Management activities using GIS include, but are not limited to, the following: exotic vegetation management, prescribed fire prescriptions, habitat restoration, environmental damage assessments (e.g., oil spills, sea grass prop scar damage), beach erosion monitoring, vegetative mapping, timber management, endangered species mapping and monitoring, historic and cultural site mapping, and applied research.

David Boyd, environmental specialist II in Key Largo, says, "The program has great potential for use in promoting public awareness of the need to protect the coral reef ecosystem. In the future, we plan to map shallow reef areas and channel markers in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park for handouts that will allow boaters to navigate through the area without damaging the fragile corals and other marine life."

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, of which the Florida Park Service is a division, created and maintains a complete database of DOQs, quad maps, and other reference layers for the entire State. All data is compatible with ArcView 3.2 and easily downloaded from the division's network computer system. The database is extensive and includes a variety of reference layers such as natural communities, park boundaries, optimal boundaries, wetlands, soil types, and topography for every State park in Florida. The database is constantly updated, and new reference layers are continually being added. Access to the database is available to all DEP employees. Technical help and assistance to district staff, for more complex GIS procedures, are obtained from personnel within the Office of Park Planning, a bureau of the Florida Park Service. District staff also have the opportunity to attend Esri-taught introductory and advanced courses in ArcView.

Prior to GIS, district staff relied on hand-drawn maps, USGS 7.5-minute topographical maps, and digital planimeters to estimate point, line, and area features. Many area estimates were "best guesses" and often resulted in significant errors. This changed when the division acquired a Trimble Pathfinder GPS unit and ArcView 3.2 software in 1998.

Two of the most common natural resource management activities undertaken by park staff are the removal of exotic vegetation and prescribed burning. Numerous invasive species of plants and trees have been introduced into south Florida for landscape purposes, erosion control, and forage for wildlife. Some of the introduced species, such as Melaleuca, Australian pine, Brazilian pepper, and Old World climbing fern, have become highly invasive to the point where they have completely displaced native vegetation. Millions of dollars are spent annually to remove exotic vegetation from natural areas and restore native vegetation.

Within the district, exotic vegetation removal plans are currently being written for several parks. The plans will be used as a long-term method to monitor the success in the treatment and restoration of natural communities where invasive exotic plants have changed the structure and composition of the community. Data collected in the field using GPS is overlaid onto aerial maps and analyzed with ArcView 3.2 to identify sites where invasive exotic vegetation is prominent. Priority is given to areas where the most cost-effective method of treatment can be obtained using park funds, park personnel, and grant money. Based on field observation and subsequent analysis using GIS, grant proposals are written to obtain funding to treat the high-priority areas.

The vegetation of the Florida landscape evolved with frequent lightning-caused fires. Wildlife also adapted to frequent natural fires and developed adaptations to prosper within these frequently burned natural communities. However, increased real estate development has fragmented the landscape to the point where large naturally occurring fires that once swept across the landscape burning thousands of acres are no longer possible. Thus the use of small-scale prescribed fires is utilized to imitate the natural cycle of fire.

Prescribed burning in the urban wildland interface is extremely dangerous, and the use of GIS and digital orthophotography in defining the burn zone and analyzing firing patterns has resulted in a more accurate preburn analysis. Prior to writing a burn prescription, aerial maps of the general burn area are examined in ArcView 3.2. Aerial maps of the site are printed out and taken to the field where the ignition pattern is examined. Details of the burn are examined noting the proximity of smoke-sensitive areas (e.g., hospitals, residential areas, schools), and the prescription is fine-tuned based on predicted wind patterns. Natural community characteristics (e.g., vegetation species, canopy height, density) and fuel loads are examined using aerial maps in ArcView 3.2. Firebreaks are constructed or improved based on this analysis to control the spread of the fire. Safe zones are marked on the map to ensure that everyone involved in the burn knows the proper escape routes.

An ArcView feature that is often utilized is Export. This feature is commonly used to export JPEG images created in ArcView 3.2 into presentation software. Using this feature has proved beneficial in preparing presentations for the public and management. Additionally, images created as JPEG files can instantly be e-mailed to other staff members at distant locations for a quick review of natural resource management activities.

District personnel have only recently begun to realize the potential of GIS as a tool to manage and monitor the scarce natural resources of State parks in southeast Florida. The user-friendliness of ArcView 3.2 makes it the perfect complement for natural resource personnel and field biologists to utilize in their everyday work. Phil Myers, District 5 biologist, observed that "the ArcView software was easy to learn and is very beneficial as a tool in managing and mapping infestations of invasive exotic vegetation." As staff becomes more familiar and comfortable with the features and power of ArcView 3.2, this software will be utilized in other aspects of natural resource management.

For more information, contact Jeffrey Hutchinson, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Recreation and Parks (tel.: 561-546-0900, e-mail: Jeffrey.Hutchinson@dep.state.fl.us).