From the tidewater glaciers of Alaska to the "River of Grass" in Florida, a powerful mapping tool is shaping the future of our national parks. An evolving tool in modern technology, geographic information systems (GIS) capture, store, analyze, manipulate, update, and display all forms of geographically referenced information. Far from just another coffee-table book, Mapping the Future of America's National Parks is a unique resource for national park visitors and GIS novices and more advanced students. Filled with colorful maps, charts, and photographs, the book documents the spread of GIS into every corner of the National Park Service to repair trails and roads, locate artifacts, restore American battlefields, guide development, manage wildfires, and protect fragile lands. In Nevada, GIS helps researchers decide if endangered bighorn sheep have enough room to raise their young. In California, GIS helps biologists study California condors as the rare creatures venture into the wild. In Virginia, GIS guides archaeologists as they plot the course of colonial life in Jamestown.

The book is a must for the national park visitor who has ever wondered, how does it all work? Why did they put the road there? How did they know the fire would burn that way? Why did they reforest the Civil War battlefield? The stories inside provide dozens of examples of the invaluable role of GIS in national parks, from fire safety and hiking brochures to wildlife protection and park ecosystems. As a whole, the book tells the remarkable story of dedicated GIS specialists, scientists, and researchers in the National Park Service, working behind the scenes or trudging fields with hand-held computers, as they endeavor to map and preserve America's most special places for future generations.

"This book tells an inspiring story about how we preserve these magnificent places through the use of technology and geographic data. Geographic information systems (GIS) and related technologies, such as global positioning systems (GPS), are the scientific basis and the necessary tools for upholding the mandate of the National Park Service to conserve these American parks for your enjoyment, leaving them unimpaired for future generations."
Leslie Armstrong, GIS Program Manager, National Park Service

"The maps on these pages amply demonstrate the power of geographic technology in our national parks. They show how maps vividly distill complex patterns to ease interpretation and help point the way toward informed decisions. But the final decisions, the important choices that will preserve or imperil our natural and cultural heritage, are human choices. And they're ultimately our choices as U.S. citizens."
Allen Carroll, Chief Cartographer, National Geographic Society

"Mapping the Future of America's National Parks displays the impressive work of the National Park Service and its use of GIS software to preserve parks and all their varied resources for our benefit, and for all time. It is a privilege to work with such dedicated stewards as they apply geographic technology to meet the challenges of park management in the twenty-first century, ultimately for the betterment of our world."
Jack Dangermond, President, ESRI

About the editors:

Mark Henry an editor at ESRI Press, has written about national parks, archaeology, cultural history, and wildlife for the Riverside (Calif.) Press-Enterprise, where he was a reporter and editor. He previously reported for Newsday and the Los Angeles Times. He lives in Redlands, California.

Leslie Armstrong has served as the National Park Service GIS program manager in Denver since 1993. She previously worked for the National Park Service as the GIS liaison, office of the associate director, natural resources in Washington, D.C. As a team leader she developed and implemented the park service's first Web site, first spatial data clearinghouse, and first interactive map center. She lives in Evergreen, Colorado.

Mark Henry and Leslie Armstrong, editors, in cooperation with the National Park Service