Introduction
Since the early 1990s the AMC Research Department has been compiling map-based information on the natural and human landscape of the Northern Forest region of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. In recent years we have expanded our program to include the Central Appalachian region from western Massachusetts to northern Virginia. The purpose of this work has been to provide information and analysis on the condition of these landscapes, the distribution of important ecological and recreational features, and the threats and conservation opportunities facing them.

Working in partnership with other conservation organizations, public agencies, land trusts, and local grassroots groups, we use this information to identify areas that we believe should be a priority for conservation, analyze the potential impacts of development, and develop specific conservation proposals where opportunities exist.

Until now, access to our information has been limited to organizations and individuals actively involved in conservation activities across these regions. We have developed this site to make this information more readily available to a broader audience. It is our hope that this site will allow you, the user, to gain an appreciation for these important landscapes and to better understand how citizens across the region are working to conserve the most valuable parts of them.

For detailed information on the layout and functioning of the site, see the detailed Help section accessible from either the homepage or the individual map pages.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Basics
A Geographic Information System is a computer program that allows geographically referenced information to be displayed and analyzed digitally. Each individual element (such as a lake or a road), referred to as a feature, can be represented as a point (for example, mountain peaks), a line (roads, rivers, etc.) or a polygon (lakes, towns, etc,). Information is stored in the form of data layers. Each layer represents a particular type of feature -- roads, lakes, wetlands, etc. A data layer also contains an associated database, in which information about each feature (such as a lake’s name, size, or management classification) can be stored. This database can be queried to identify features with a particular characteristic (for example, all lakes greater than a certain size). Also associated with each data layer is a metadata file, which provides information on the original sources of the data and how the layer was developed.

Other data may be stored as a raster file (also known as a grid or image). In this case, the data does not represent individual features. Instead, the area covered by the data is divided into a checkerboard of small squares (a grid), with each square assigned a particular value representing a characteristic of that land area, such as elevation or land cover.

When data layers are combined into a map, they are drawn or overlaid on top of each other to create a composite image. A layer will cover any layer underneath it, so it is generally desirable to have polygon data underneath point and line data.

GIS software also allows layers to be combined or analyzed to generate new data in ways that are impossible (or at best exceedingly tedious) with paper maps. Because this site was not designed to provide this type of analytical capability it is not described here.

Technical Details
This site has been designed to work with Internet Explorer version 5.0 and higher and Netscape Navigator version 4.7 and higher in a Microsoft Windows environment.  The site will not function properly with Netscape Navigator 6.0 or 6.1.  You might like to update your Netscape browser or your Internet Explorer browser version.  In addition, the site may not function as well as expected with some browsers or operating systems, such as Mac, Unix, Linux, etc. If you experience technical difficulties using this site, please let us know so we can continue to improve performance.

This site involves a high level of interaction between the user and the server.  Unlike static Web pages that only need to be downloaded once, this site requires multiple calls to the server.  Therefore, the site will perform best when using a high-speed broadband Internet connection (cable, T1, DSL, etc.).  Although the site will function properly with 28K or 56K telephone modem connections, performance will be noticeably slower and our users will have to be patient.

The site has been designed to work with a screen resolution of 800 x 600 pixels.  However, using a higher resolution (1024 x 768) will allow more room on the page for the actual map image.  You may change your screen resolution in Windows by going to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Display > Settings and moving the pointer on the bar labeled "Screen Area".

Capabilities
While we have made every effort to provide information that is as accurate as possible, you should be aware of limitations. The data contained in these maps was derived from a wide range of sources with varying levels of accuracy in both their spatial representation and the associated information. You should consult the layer information and metadata about particular data layers to better understand their source and limitations. The Appalachian Mountain Club makes no warranty as to the accuracy, validity, or reliability of the data on this site or its fitness for a particular use.

This site has been designed to provide information for large landscapes stretching across several states. The information it contains has been developed primarily from small-scale sources -- generally 1:100,000 scale or smaller. It is best suited for looking at fairly large regions such as major watersheds or large ownerships -- areas encompassing at least several towns. It does not contain the more detailed information that you would find on 1:24,000 scale maps. Therefore, this mapping service has limited value for detailed examination of local areas (such as an individual town).

The site is intended as an informational resource about the natural landscape of the Northeast. It is not a fully functional GIS system. There are three areas for which you should be aware of site limitations:

Querying/information retrieval: Using various tools provided on the site ("Info," "Identify," "Article"), you will be able to retrieve information about particular features on the map or the general subject of the map. Using "Find", you will be able to locate a particular feature by its name. However, the site does not provide the ability to conduct more open-ended searches. For example, for a particular parcel of conservation land, you will be able to determine who the owner is, but you will not be able to identify all conservation lands owned by the National Park Service.

Analytical capability: The site does not provide the type of analytical functions associated with full-fledged GIS systems, such as buffering, intersecting, generation of statistics, etc. You will not be able to combine or analyze data in a way that generates new data.

Map design: You will have some control over the appearance of the maps, primarily through use of the "Visibility" control (and the "Add/Remove Layers" function on custom maps). In addition, the navigational tools ("Zoom," "Pan," etc.) provide the ability to focus the map on a particular geographical region. However, you will not be able to change either the order in which the data is layered or the way individual layers are represented.

About the Maps
Most of the maps on the site have been designed by the AMC to provide information about a particular subject, such as land sales or conservation priorities. The content of the maps has been developed by the AMC and includes the data that we believe will help users understand that subject and its landscape context.

Maps titled "Custom Map" are intended to provide access to the full range of data on this site without the filter of a particular subject. A custom map allows you to add and view data layers that are not included in any of the individual subject maps. In addition, custom maps allow you to view layers in combinations that are not available on the subject maps (for example, examining the relationship between Land Sales and Roadless Areas).

Data Sources
While some of the data layers included on this site were originally developed by the AMC, most were derived from existing data obtained from a wide range of publicly available sources. The list below includes the sources for much of the data used by the AMC. Information about the source of a particular data layer can be obtained by clicking on the data layer name in the "Layer List" for a particular map.

The Websites of these agencies give you access to a wealth of downloadable GIS data (for those with their own GIS capability) as well as to the metadata for most of the original source data used by the AMC. You can also obtain original source metadata by contacting the AMC.

All data provided to the AMC (and ultimately to users of this site) by these agencies comes with the provision that it is the user’s responsibility to understand the content and limitations of the data and to use it appropriately.

• Maine Office of Geographical Information Systems, http://apollo.ogis.state.me.us/
  
  
• New Hampshire GIS Project (GRANIT database as archived at the Complex Systems Research Center, University of New Hampshire), http://www.granit.sr.unh.edu/
  
  
• Vermont Center for Geographic Information, Inc., http://www.vcgi.org/
  
  
• New York State Adirondack Park Agency, http://www.northnet.org/adirondackparkagency/gis/index.html
  
  
• New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (no map data available online)
  
  
• United States Geological Survey, http://mapping.usgs.gov/
  
  
• National Atlas of the United States, http://nationalatlas.gov/index.html
  
  
• United States Census Bureau TIGER data, http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/
  
  
• Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., http://www.esri.com/data/index.html